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Heritage Preservation in East Central Europe: Practices, Resources, Communities

When dealing with heritage in times of war, we will discuss two different aspects. The first involves safeguarding, rescuing, relocating, and evacuating heritage under the threat of military conflict, alongside its instrumentalization in wartime propaganda and its destruction as part of genocidal practices aimed at breaking the enemy’s spirit. The second aspect focuses on the reverse practices that emerge in response to the threat of destruction: the documentation, collection, and classification of items considered of importance, along with new memorialization and commemoration practices.

Lesson 9. Heritage in Times of War

When dealing with heritage in times of war, we will discuss two different aspects. The first involves safeguarding, rescuing, relocating, and evacuating heritage under the threat of military conflict, alongside its instrumentalization in wartime propaganda and its destruction as part of genocidal practices aimed at breaking the enemy’s spirit. The second aspect focuses on the reverse practices that emerge in response to the threat of destruction: the documentation, collection, and classification of items considered of importance, along with new memorialization and commemoration practices.

Recommended literature
  • Baroudy E. J., & Albakjaji, M. (2025). State Responsibility for the Protection of the Cultural Heritage During Wartime Before the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Journal of Posthumanism, 5(3), 1151–1163.
  • Bjola, C., & Liberatore Vaselli, F. (2026). Virtual reality as strategic communication: cultural defense in wartime Ukraine. European Security (London, England), 1–22. 
  • Gabowitsch, M., Homanyuk, M. (2025). Monuments and Territory: War Memorials in Russian-Occupied Ukraine. Amsterdam University Press.
  • Giusti S. (12.03.2026): The ‘warization’ of cultural heritage: the case of Ukraine, International Journal of Cultural Policy, https://www.tandfonline.com/journals/gcul20?src=pdf 
  • Kovalenko, Y. (2025). Digital preservation of Ukrainian Audiovisual heritage during wartime: challenges and institutional practices. Culture Crossroads, 27(1), 73–86.
  • Parfan O. (2024). What is Museum Digitalization and Why is it Necessary? — The Experience of Ukrainian Heritage Monitoring Lab, https://scienceatrisk.org/story/what-is-museum-digitalization-and-why-is-it-necessary-the-experience-of-ukrainian-heritage-monitoring-lab 
  • Segerberg A. (2024). To save a cultural heritage: Lessons from a volunteer network’s support to Ukrainian cultural heritage institutions. Alexandria: The Journal of National and International Library and Information Issues 34 (3), https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/09557490241230502
  • Sokil, M., Syerov, Y., & Boiko, V. (2024). From Destruction to Digitization: Safeguarding Ukraine’s Cultural and Archival Heritage in Wartime. In P. Starchoň, K. Gubíniová, & S. Fedushko (Eds.), Data-Centric Business and Applications 208, 253–280. Springer. 
  • Varian О. (2024). “Misja — zachowanie tożsamości i pamięci: straty muzeów w obwodziezaporoskim w Ukrainie, spowodowane rosyjską agresją wojskową (lata 2022–2023)”. Zbiór Wiadomości do Antropologii Muzealnej 11, 283-322.
  • Vonnák D., Jones S., with contributions by J. M. Rasmussen and S. A. Hardy (2025). Mobilising Care for Cultural Heritage in Russia’s War Against Ukraine. University of Stirling.
  • Walasek, H., & Carlton, R. (2017). Bosnia and the destruction of cultural heritage. Routledge. 
  • Авраменко О. Сербулов Д., Рубанська А., Назарук Т. (2024). Телеграм-архів війни. Ініціатива збереження та впорядкування даних з соціальної мережі Telegram про російську війну в Україні. Дворічні підсумки проєкту / Центр міської історії, https://telegram.lvivcenter.org/files/telegram-archive-report-28022024.pdf
  • Аналітичні матеріали RES-POL: сектор культури і мистецтва, 2024-2025, https://www.ppv.net.ua/uk/works_categories/analytical-studies/works/respol-arts-and-culture-2024
  • Звілінський С. (2025). Локальні історико-рятівні дослідження та усна історія в прифронтових громадах, Українська асоціація усної історії, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfAHXM8ZhYo
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