ABSTRACT
While military theorists have long questioned the sense in allowing troops to damage the cultural property of enemies, such destruction has been common throughout history. Many look to the Monuments Men of the Second World War as ‘best practice’ regarding the protection of cultural property (CPP) but, despite the international community introducing the ‘Hague Convention on the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict’ in 1954, these units were essentially disbanded at the end of the war. Consequently, when they led the invasion of Iraq in 2003, neither the US nor the UK had ratified the 1954 Convention nor did they have anything but the most rudimentary capability regarding CPP. The Blue Shield is the international organisation created to advise UNESCO on matters relating to CPP.
This chapter will outline the history of CPP and discuss the work done by the Blue Shield. This work has been criticised for lending academic legitimacy to the illegal invasion of Iraq and has been regarded by many in uniform as unnecessary and irrelevant to their role. Any relationship between the heritage community and military introduces ethical and practical issues that must be addressed if we are to better protect cultural property.
