[Clarification: the Latvian War Museum has clarified its statement – it was ‘aware’ of Nazi War Diggers’ plans to excavate.]
On the 28th(?) of March 2014, National Geographic changed their information concerning Nazi War Diggers and claimed that, ‘during filming, our production crew remained in close contact with local museums, including the Latvian War Museum‘. The understandably outraged [One member of staff at the] Latvian War Museum has stated that it did not approve of Nazi war diggers, it does not approve of Nazi war diggers and, in fact, it tried to stop Nazi war diggers [clarification].
When I saw National Geographic’s claim (on the 29th), in disbelief, I queried, [Do] the Brotherhood Cemetery Committee and the Latvian War Museum Approve of this Work?
Latvian War museum are not approving such activities. We tried to stop Diggers[‘] activities [by] drawing state institutions[‘] attention, but unsuccessfully. Problem about Diggers are much complicated and should be solved [at] state (law) level. We as museum cannot do that. Only what we can do is [appeal] to these people[‘s] conscience.
Maybe you should send this article to State Inspection for Heritage Protection?
http://www.km.gov.lv/en/ministry/contacts.html?auth_unit=244#244
[Not all of the name-based e-mail addresses have the same format (and the ones in a different format don’t work). If you make ones in the same format, they will work.]
What was done with whom?
1. How do the Nazi War Diggers, ClearStory, National Geographic Channels International and/or the Fox Entertainment Group define ‘close contact’?
2. Can the Nazi War Diggers, ClearStory, National Geographic Channels International and/or the Fox Entertainment Group provide any evidence whatsoever of the Latvian War Museum’s approval?
3. Did the Nazi War Diggers, ClearStory, National Geographic Channels International and/or the Fox Entertainment Group describe the relationship as ‘close contact’ because it did not communicate the nature or result of the relationship?
4. By ‘close contact’ between Nazi War Diggers and the Latvian War Museum, did the Nazi War Diggers, ClearStory, National Geographic Channels International and/or the Fox Entertainment Group mean that the Latvian War Museum felt obliged, out of professional and humanitarian concern, to accept the responsibility of curating the cultural property that had been unprofessionally and unethically dug up by Nazi War Diggers against the museum’s wishes?
5. Who established the narrative of ‘close contact’ between Nazi War Diggers and the Latvian War Museum?
6. How was belief in this ‘close contact’ maintained despite the Latvian War Museum’s express disapproval and its efforts to actively prevent Nazi War Diggers?
7. Was/were the person/people who was/were responsible for the ‘close contact’ with the Latvian War Museum also responsible for Nazi War Diggers’ other partnerships, approvals and connections? (Concomitantly, are the Nazi War Diggers’ other partners, supporters and contacts genuinely partners, supporters and contacts?)
8. Similarly, Nazi War Diggers worked with a group that (sometimes) worked with the German War Graves Commission (Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge (VDK)), but the Diggers did not work with the Volksbund itself and, otherwise, the Volksbund ‘had nothing to do with it and do not want to be associated with it’. Did the Nazi War Diggers, ClearStory, National Geographic Channels International and/or the Fox Entertainment Group have any contact with any state institutions or professional archaeological organisations in any of the countries where they worked, or did they work directly and solely with local metal-detecting groups? (Concomitantly, who established and maintained those working relationships?)
‘during filming, our production crew remained in close contact with local museums, including the Latvian War Museum’
(c) Nationl Geographic, 28th March 2014
conflict antiquities 