Protection of Cultural Heritage During Crisis Situations

Crisis situations such as catastrophes, natural disasters, armed conflicts and others pose a threat to different values. The author presents various definitions of a crisis situation found in the literature and concentrates on crisis management which might be treated as an interdisciplinary field of science. In order to achieve efficiency in crisis management one needs to apply a remarkable skill of working under pressure. In crisis situations mainly human life and health, natural environment, economy, spiritual and material values of the state or the region and its inhabitants are threatened and the functioning of state administration institutions may be also impaired. Among the protected values cultural assets seem to be neglected and legal documents in this sphere aren’t being updated. Therefore the author has presented his attempts at providing an analysis of available expert literature and legal acts, and using different research methods (such as comparison, synthesis or reasoning) he has presented the current condition of the discussed problem, indicating some potential shortcomings of the system. The plans for the protection of historical monuments are an integral part of the civil defence plans and they undergo annual updating. The author also discusses the theoretical problems in crisis management in Poland, which can be analysed in the context of strategic, tactical and operational management.