Postwar reconstruction and the recovery of cultural heritage: critical lessons from the last fifteen years

The impact of war on a people's cultural heritage is a difficult topic to broach. In times of death and destruction, people come first. With the end of active combat and the start of recovery, the immediate human needs of shelter, food and health have priority. So does proper respect for the memory of the dead. None of this can, nor should, be denied. A concern for cultural heritage at such a time runs the risk of appearing to be indifferent to these priorities.