ARHIVSKI VJESNIK 37. (ZAGREB, 1994.)

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M. Pandžić, Some experiences and problems... Arh. vjesn., god. 37 (1994) str. 69-78 It should be understood that many losses and damages have been made also by transporting the precious archival material in an another country or just in another center of power, other than where the archives has been created, on the provenance principle. That could be done and has been done by force, we have too many examples, in all countries, in all centuries, past and present, that it has been done by force

. By military force or other, like administrative force, by rough and forcible centralisation, like e.g. in former Soviet Union, or by occupant forces, or by political powers, e.g. by Nazi or comunist governments, or any other undemocratic or genocide, culturocide action. On the other side, the archivists and archival services throughout the world with other democratic and cultural forces, should be always in action to prevent such annihilation, and protect the archives by all means, however could it possibly be! A well known handbook of Sally Buchanan, under the title "Disaster Planning: Preparedness and Recovery for Libraries and Archives", with a good bibliography (by Toby Murray), was published as a RAMP study inside General Information Programme and UNISIST (Unesco, Paris, 1988), still has only a small contribution about war danger and preparedness for danger and damages in armed conflicts whatever their kind could be. So it seems to me suitable on the end of this paper, to point out for another comprehensive study or handbook, written by an Austrian author Hans Foramitti in a series of studies published by an Austrian official body "Bundesdenkmalamt" (Federal bureau for the protection of monuments of culture, published by Bohlau (Verlag) Wien-Kln, 1970). The title of this work in three volumes is PROTECTION of MONUMENTS of CULTURE ("KULTURGUTERSCHUTZ"). The whole second volume (310 pages) is dedicated to the jeopardized monuments of culture endangered in the war or by fire ("Gefährdung der Kulturguter durch Waffenwirkung und Brand"). Very good compilated bibliography includes also some works dealing with possibility and danger of a nuclear war. It seems to me that such a work and similar ones are also necessary in this moment of world history. Some further suggestions and conclusions are, as follows: a) That a list be made of the most important archival institutions in countries which are considered to be at risk or in some danger. This should be a worldwide scheme, perhaps for all countries except those in highly developed areas of Western Europe, North America and Japan. b) The creation of instructions or recommendations for creating standard inventari sation. c) Because of inadequacies in the Hague Convention of 1954, new international legislation, procedures and mechanisms should be drawn up to protect cultural property during armed conflict. d) Countries at risk should be persuaded to form comprehensive lists of their archival material of highest, or of high value (according to the criteria in part 6) for 76