When cultural heritage becomes collateral damage in war
Dozens of churches, historical sites and museums have been damaged by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The destruction is a reminder that, despite enjoying protection under international law, cultural institutions – like civilian populations – can suffer significant losses in a war.
This content was published on April 15, 2022 - 09:00
On the vast expanses of a nature park in canton Vaud, a group of young people and members of the civil protection service hover over a collection of objects that are visibly charred. They carefully move, inspect, photograph and classify the items one by one.
The group are taking part in a training exercise in rescuing artefacts organised by the conservation and restorationExternal link programme of the Arc technical college (HE-Arc). In all, 13 students are learning what to do if disaster strikes in a museum, a library or a building housing archives. This involves work such as separating items that are destroyed beyond repair from those that should be kept for future restoration.
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