For whatever cause a country is ravaged, we ought to spare those edifices which do honor to human society, and do not contribute to increase an enemy’s strength–such as temples, tombs, public buildings, and all works of remarkable beauty. . . . It is declaring one’s self to be an enemy of mankind, thus wantonly to deprive them of these wonders of art.
–Emmerich de Vattel, The Law of Nations, 1758
I have studied in detail the state of the historic monuments in Peterhof, Tsarskoe Selo, and Pavlovsk, and in all three towns I have witnessed monstrous outrages against the integrity of these monuments. Moreover, the damage caused–a full inventory of which would be extremely difficult to give because it is so extensive–bears the marks of premeditation.
–Testimony of Iosif Orbeli, director of the Hermitage, before the Nurnberg tribunal, February 22, 1946
For whatever cause a country is ravaged, we ought to spare those edifices which do honor to human society, and do not contribute to increase an enemy’s strength–such as temples, tombs, public buildings, and all works of remarkable beauty. . . . It is declaring one’s self to be an enemy of mankind, thus wantonly to deprive them of these wonders of art.
