Intangible cultural heritage (ICH) is not immune to crisis. In fact, pandemics, natural disasters, and conflicts can threaten the veOn 13 December 1943, German occupation forces gathered the inhabitants of Kalavryta in Achaia, separated families, led the men and teenage boys to Kapi’s Hill, and executed them. Today, the Municipal Museum of the Kalavritan Holocaust stands on that hillside — a lighthouse of peace and collective memory. It uses storytelling, touchscreens, digitised archives, and multilingual presentations to keep these events alive for generations that did not experience them. This is crisis management of ICH: not preventing the crisis, but ensuring the community’s memory, identity, and culture survive it.
1. Why ICH is Especially Vulnerable in Crises
Intangible cultural heritage is, by definition, non-physical — it lives in people, in communities, in practices. This makes it uniquely vulnerable to crises. When the people who carry a tradition are separated, silenced, traumatised, or killed — when the spaces where they gather are destroyed — the tradition itself is at risk of disappearing.
UNESCO identifies four types of destruction relevant to ICH in crisis contexts:
- Deliberate damage — targeting cultural heritage to erase identity.
- Forced neglect — preventing practice through restriction, isolation, or displacement.
- Looting and trafficking — removing material supports for intangible traditions.
- Collateral damage — unintended loss during conflict or disaster.
2. Pandemics: Disruption of Transmission
The COVID-19 pandemic revealed how dependent ICH is on physical gathering. Rituals, festivals, and community celebrations — the primary mechanisms for passing traditions from one generation to the next — were suspended or cancelled. The consequences included loss of income for artists and craftspeople, interruption of apprenticeships and informal transmission, a shift to digital platforms (partially effective but unable to replicate embodied learning), and psychological disconnection from community identity.
Key challenge: Not all communities have equal access to digital technology. The digital divide in crisis conditions can deepen already existing inequalities in ICH preservation.
3. Natural Disasters: Loss of Place and Social Network
Earthquakes, floods, and wildfires can destroy sacred sites, community centres, and performance spaces — along with archives, instruments, and costumes. But perhaps the most damaging consequence is the fragmentation of the social networks that sustain ICH. When people are displaced, community structures fragment. The psychological and emotional effects of disaster — trauma, grief, disorientation — further complicate the process of keeping heritage alive.
Communities often show remarkable resilience: moving celebrations online, organising smaller local gatherings, rebuilding social bonds around shared cultural memory.
4. Conflicts and Wars: Deliberate Destruction
Conflicts are often the most destructive force for ICH — and uniquely so, because they can be intentional. Cultural heritage is sometimes targeted specifically to erase a community’s identity: destroying sacred sites, banning languages, criminalising rituals, forcing communities to abandon their names and practices.
When communities are displaced, the social structures necessary for intergenerational transmission collapse. Traditional knowledge and skills — when they live only in memory and practice — can be lost in a single generation.
And yet: ICH can also be a tool for post-conflict reconciliation. Cultural traditions and storytelling help close gaps and rebuild trust. Community events signal the return of normalcy and stability. Shared heritage can be the basis for renewed cooperation.
Case Study — Periphery of Achaia, Greece (University of West Attica)
The Kalavritan Holocaust Museum
The Municipal Museum of the Kalavritan Holocaust stands as a model of crisis-informed ICH management. It uses digital storytelling — touchscreens with photos of the victims, educational programmes, a digitised library — and a multilingual website (Greek, English, German, French) to transform collective trauma into a resource for peace education and international understanding.
A network of Greek holocaust sites (http://www.greek-holocausts.gr/) extends this memory across the country. Cultural routes connecting cities and villages associated with wartime atrocities can be developed, turning sites of tragedy into spaces of learning and reconciliation.
▶ Video: Interview with Mr. Grestas, Manager of the Kalavritan Holocaust Museum
The Odontotos Rack Railway — Economic Crisis as ICH Crisis
Operating for more than 120 years, this unique rack railway connects Kalavryta through the Vouraikos Gorge to the Corinthian coast, crossing traditional villages and natural landmarks. High maintenance costs now threaten closure. This is not a wartime crisis, but an economic one — and the heritage implications are the same: the loss of a living, practised tradition that defines the community’s identity and sustains local economies.
▶ Video: 120-year-old operating railway, Vouraikos Gorge, Kalavryta
Other ICH dimensions of Achaia: Cooperative dairy products (Feta of Kalavryta – protected designation of origin); Achaia Clauss winery and barrel-making technique included in the national ICH inventory; alternative tourism (hiking, rafting on Ladonas River) supporting local economies while preserving natural and cultural landscapes; Kastria Cave as part of the UNESCO Global Geopark network.
Risk Management: Principles for ICH Crisis Preparedness
| Risk Type | Preparedness Measure | Recovery Strategy |
|---|---|---|
| Pandemic | Digital documentation and archiving before crisis; online transmission platforms | Emergency funds for practitioners; gradual return to live events |
| Natural disaster | Off-site digital backups; community emergency plans | Rebuild social networks; restore community gathering spaces first |
| Conflict | International protection frameworks (UNESCO); documentation in safe locations | ICH as tool for reconciliation; intergenerational storytelling |
| Economic crisis | Diversified funding (public + private + tourism) | Community cooperatives; sustainable cultural tourism |
Activities
→ Crisis Scenario Analysis (groups, 25 min): Choose one of the four crisis types (pandemic, natural disaster, conflict, economic). Apply it to a specific ICH element from your own country. Map: (1) What would be lost first? (2) What structures would need to be in place before the crisis to minimise loss? (3) What would recovery look like, and who would lead it?
→ Museum as ICH (individual, 15 min): The Kalavritan Holocaust Museum converts collective trauma into living cultural heritage. Is a museum about atrocity a form of ICH? Justify your answer using UNESCO’s five ICH domains. Then consider: what would be lost if this museum closed?
→ Digital Storytelling Proposal (pairs, 20 min): Design a digital storytelling project for one threatened ICH element in your region. Include: (1) format — podcast, documentary, or interactive website; (2) target audience; (3) languages of production; (4) mechanism for community involvement; (5) one specific risk of decontextualisation you will guard against.
Key Questions
- What specific preparedness measures should be in place before a crisis — and why is post-crisis recovery not enough on its own?
- What are the four types of destruction UNESCO identifies in conflict contexts? How do they apply differently to ICH compared to tangible heritage?
- What makes the Kalavritan Holocaust Museum a model of crisis-informed ICH management?
- Why is the threatened closure of the Odontotos rack railway an ICH crisis, not just an economic one?
- How can ICH contribute to post-conflict reconciliation? What are the risks of using heritage this way?