The 1954 Hague Convention at 60 – a Report on the Joint Annual Meeting of the Smithsonian Institution and the U.S. Committee of the Blue Shield

By Krystin Husz

The tragic events unfolding in Syria and Iraq are taking an immense human toll. But the costs to culture are also mounting. The U.S. Committee of the Blue Shield (USCBS) is a nonprofit organization committed to the protection of cultural property worldwide during armed conflict. Its work is relevant as never before. This year’s annual meeting of the U.S. Committee of the Blue Shield was held jointly with the Smithsonian Institution on Friday, September 19, 2014, at the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington, D.C. The meeting celebrated the sixtieth anniversary of the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict and featured speakers whose current research and efforts reflect the goals and purpose of the Convention. Dr. Nancy Wilkie, President of the U.S. Committee of the Blue Shield, began the meeting with an introduction to the work of the USCBS.

We were honored that Harry Ettlinger, one of the last surviving members of the U.S. Army\’s Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives (MFAA) section of the Civil Affairs Division from WWII (the famous “Monuments Men”), served as the keynote speaker. Mr. Ettlinger recounted for the audience the story of his family’s arrival to the United States, his own path to becoming involved with the MFAA, and how he felt upon finding the caches of Nazi-stolen art in the salt mines. He remarked on the new precedent the MFAA set when, “for the first time, … instead of taking art that didn’t belong to us, we sought its return to [the] rightful owner[s].” In keeping with the spirit of the original Monuments Men, U.S. Army Major Tommy Livoti announced the creation of the 38-Gulf Civil Affairs program, which will specifically include art and cultural heritage professionals.

The next speakers were Dr. Patty Gerstenblith and Dr. Laurie Rush, board members of the U.S. Committee of the Blue Shield. Gerstenblith reflected on the successes stemming from U.S. ratification of the 1954 Hague Convention and the no-strike list provided to NATO during its enforcement of a “no-fly” zone during the Libya conflict in 2011. She noted, however, that these successes should not obscure the many challenges that cultural heritage protection still faces, including full compliance by the United States with the Convention and the current conflicts in the Middle East. Rush provided a brief recap of the Combatant Command Cultural Heritage Action Group‘s (CCHAG) annual workshop, which occurred the day prior to the Blue Shield meeting. The report from the annual workshop will be available at www.cchag.org.

Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO, began the second-half of the meeting and reflected on the invaluable role cultural heritage plays in a community’s recovery after traumatic events such as natural disaster and armed conflict. Bokova recounted the unfortunate method in which destruction of cultural heritage has been used as part of genocidal campaigns in the past and stated that, with regard to the current conflicts in Syria and Iraq, “our responsibility is higher than ever” to respond and safeguard cultural heritage for the future.

A panel of international speakers provided important updates. They included Salam Al Kuntar (University of Pennsylvania), Susan Wolfinbarger (American Association for the Advancement of Science), Katharyn Hanson, (American Association for the Advancement of Science), Corine Wegener (Smithsonian Institution), Sarah Parcak (National Geographic Society), Amr Al-Azm (Shawnee State University), and Brian I. Daniels (University of Pennsylvania).

Dr. Al Kuntar and Dr. Al-Azm spoke individually about Syria. Al-Azm, echoing Bokova’s earlier remarks, said that “Syrians will need a way to reconnect once the conflict ends,” making cultural heritage protection an issue of saving the future, not just the past. He also pointed out that the true “Monuments Men” of Syria are the nameless men and women who are in Syria and risking their lives to protect cultural heritage when possible and document its destruction. Al Kuntar discussed efforts to protect the collections of the Al Maara Museum in Syria.

Ms. Wegener recounted local efforts in Mali and by cultural heritage professionals at the Museum of Islamic Art in Cairo to protect their collections despite armed conflict and civil unrest. Dr. Parcak, using Egypt as a case study, demonstrated how satellite imagery is an effective tool for tracking looting of archaeological sites.

Dr. Wolfinbarger spoke about the use of satellite imagery to retrospectively look for early signs of conflict at the Preah Vihear Temple in Cambodia. She also spoke jointly with Dr. Hanson on an exciting new project involving the collaboration of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the University of Pennsylvania, and the Smithsonian Institution. As a part of the project, “Developing a Research Community and Capacity for the Study of Cultural Heritage in Conflict,” Wolfinbarger and Hanson analyzed satellite imagery to study the extent of the destruction at Syria’s six World Heritage sites: Aleppo, Bosra, Crac des Chevaliers, Damascus, Palmyra, and the Ancient Villages of Northern Syria. The images helped confirm ground reports of destruction, but more importantly, they helped determine how extensive the destruction actually is. Although the majority of the sites have sustained significant damage, the images suggest that Damascus is undamaged. The full report is available here. Dr. Daniels followed and spoke briefly about the additional research component to the project which will focus on asking who engages in intentional destruction of cultural heritage and why.

Dr. Wilkie announced the first ever USCBS Award for Meritorious Military Service in Protection of Cultural Property and presented it to Brigadier General Erik C. Peterson, Commanding General, US Army Special Operations Aviation Command. In accepting the award, General Peterson offered inspiring remarks about the importance of protecting cultural property during the course of modern conflict.

The annual meeting closed with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Smithsonian Institution, represented by Dr. Richard Kurin, the Smithsonian’s Under Secretary for History, Art and Culture, and by Dr. Wilkie. This MOU establishes a close relationship between the Smithsonian and the U.S. Committee of the Blue Shield and recognizes the ability of the organizations to work together in protecting cultural heritage during times of armed conflict and natural disaster.

Krystin Husz is a J.D. Candidate at the DePaul University College of Law and an intern at the U.S. Committee of the Blue Shield 

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