The most valuable works of art will be taken away. Poland creates a plan in the event of war with Russia

The Minister of Culture of the Republic of Poland Hanna Wróblewska awarded in an interview with the British daily the Financial Times that the ministry is preparing a plan to evacuate the most important Polish works of art in the event of Russian invasion. Our museums can no longer operate as part of the theoretical concept of security – she added.

The minister explained that he was conducting talks with the authorities of other countries that could accept evacuated works of art from about 160 institutions run by the Polish state. In addition to paintings and sculptures, plans also include rare books and musical instruments. Private museums and galleries are expected in the footsteps of the state authorities – “FT” wrote on Saturday.

The plan, which is to be finalized by the end of the year, is part of the wider government security program of Prime Minister Donald Tusk, which includes strengthening the protection of borders and the doubt of the number of Polish Armed Forces to 500,000. soldiers – reminded the daily.

The project of the Ministry of Culture is supervised by Maciej Matysiak, a former army colonel, who was the deputy head of the Polish military counterintelligence. He currently manages the Security and Crisis Management Department, which was created within the Ministry of Culture.

“We needed a person who worked in the army, but also knows the crisis management,” said Wróblewska.

The plan is partly based on the experiences gained while providing help to Ukraine in the relocation of its works of art after Russia began the invasion in 2022. Minister Wróblewska added that the ministry's activities also include documentation update, necessary when downloaded to the country of deported works.

Wróblewska admitted that Similar actions are taken by the authorities of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. She noted that one of the biggest challenges is to determine which works of art should qualify for the “priority evacuation” category. “You can't evacuate everything,” she summed up.

“FT” also reminded that Poland is still trying to attract works looted during World War II. “About 20 works are returned to Poland from Germany, the USA and other countries every year, but many still have to be recovered,” said the Polish minister. (PAP)

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