Speaker: Corine Wegener, art historian and retired U.S. Army reservist
Details: The “Monuments Men and Women” of World War II provided a roadmap for cultural heritage protection in war, later codified in the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict. Despite efforts to improve training and security, loss of cultural property during armed conflicts has increased in recent years, partly because of intentional targeting by armed nonstate actors. Wegener will describe the work of the Word War II Monuments Men and Women and the modern military’s role in cultural heritage protection.
In a new project unveiled in October, Wegener will help train modern “Monuments Men” — service members who will work to preserve cultural treasures during wars, ABC News and other outlets reported. The program is part of an agreement between the Smithsonian Cultural Rescue Initiative and the U.S. Army Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations Command at Fort Bragg in North Carolina.
