DESTROYING HERITAGE : a conflict strategy

International law considers the deliberate destruction of heritage to be a war crime.

Since 24 February 2022, Ukraine has been facing the devastating destruction of its cultural heritage. Attacks on symbols of Ukrainian identity, cultural centres, schools, archives and museums are often planned and deliberate. In the last two years, UNESCO has observed that 343 cultural sites across the country have been damaged, including 127 religious buildings, 31 museums, 151 historic buildings, 19 monuments, 14 libraries and one archive centre.

This exhibition presents images collected by Polish and Ukrainian photographers who documented the appalling destruction of these sites in Ukraine.

The aim here is to highlight an aspect of war that is often overlooked: the attack on identity and cultural diversity. Through these images, everyone is encouraged to question the importance of preserving cultural heritage in the midst of conflict, in accordance with international law, and to recognise its essential value in shaping a nation's identity and resilience.

This exhibition, co-produced by the European Heritage Heads Forum and Les Halles Saint-Géry, has been made possible thanks to the work of the Polish National Institute for Cultural Heritage and the image collection work carried out by the Polish Centre for Cultural Support in Ukraine. The photographs were taken by Marek Lemiesz (PL), Tomasz Grzywaczewski (PL) and Yurii Veres (UKR).