Thanks to the association's broad network of restorers, it doesn't matter what material the cultural heritage that has just been hit by a disaster is made of. With the operations manual, its chances of being rescued increase. Nadine Thiel from VDR says: “A low-threshold approach was important to us. Imagine the pastor in the middle of a flood disaster, standing in front of his soaked church archive. He needs to know very quickly what he has to do now. The aim of the handbook is to enable lay people to provide “first aid” in a disaster.” However, the handbook is not only aimed at cultural institutions such as museums or small churches, but also at cultural institutions and emergency services. It is therefore only logical that Dirk Aschenbrenner, President of the Association for the Promotion of German Fire Protection, was involved in its creation. After all, the handbook can also be consulted after a fire.

Will the manual now be used internationally? Translations are indeed planned. For Nadine Thiel, Ukrainian is right at the top of the wish list alongside English. As a volunteer member of Blue Shield, an association that works to protect tangible and intangible cultural heritage in conflicts and disasters, the future of Ukrainian cultural assets after the war is close to her heart.

The entire e-book is available at this link: https://www.einsatz-kulturgut.de/