Protection of cultural heritage in the First World War – Conference at the European University Viadrina / Interview offer

Destruction and theft of cultural assets are part of the tactics of historical and current wars, while at the same time this approach violates international conventions.

From Monday, May 13 to Wednesday, May 15, the European University Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder) is hosting a conference focusing on attacks on cultural heritage and its protection during the First World War.

The English-language event entitled "'Art Protection' in World War I and the Historiographies of Art and Culture in the First Half of the 20th Century. Stakeholders – Networks – Concepts" was developed in cooperation with the Federal Institute for History and Culture of Central and Eastern Europe. It is funded by the German-Polish Science Foundation.

When and where?

Monday, May 13 to Wednesday, May 15, 2024
The conference venue is the Collegium Polonicum in Słubice.

Interested parties can register for participation by Friday, May 10, by sending an email to kunstschutz@europa-uni.de.

Further information on the program: https://arthist.net/archive/41613

Note for journalists:
As an expert on historical and current cultural heritage protection, Prof. Dr. Paul Zalewski, holder of the Viadrina Professorship for Monument Studies and host of the conference, is available for interviews and background discussions. If you are interested, please send an email to presse@europa-uni.de.
 

Background: The attack on cultural property by war is a clear violation of the provisions of the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict. This so-called protection of art has its origins in the Hague Land Warfare Convention ratified in 1907. The effectiveness of this first international agreement on the protection of cultural property in the event of war was put to the test just a few years later, during the First World War. The conference aims to examine the strategies and practices of dealing with cultural heritage in the various theaters of war during the First World War from a comparative perspective. The effects of the concept developed at that time on current threats – for example in Ukraine – will also play a role.