Within weeks of the outbreak of World War I, German troops had destroyed the historic centres of Leuven in Belgium and shelled the cathedral in Reims. These damages were harshly condemned in the Entente states’ war propaganda as violations of international regulations of the Hague Convention (1907). As a reaction the German implemented the so-called Kunstschutz [Monument Preservation Service]: Academics were asked to take steps to ensure the basic security of the monuments, to document the damage done and to research heritage sites in the occupied territories. These demonstrations of a careful handling of the cultural goods had a clearly propagandistic attitude and were intended to be “mitigating” in the forthcoming peace talks. At the same time, the research and photo campaigns formed a platform for cultural and academic exchange between the occupiers and the occupied, with long-term effects in the following decades. Although Kunstschutz took place in the context of a mechanized war, which had devastated wide areas of land, the protection of art in World War I was a milestone on the road to a transnational appreciation of cultural objects. For the first time in the history of military conflicts, protection was provided for the cultural heritage of inimical and conquered territories. The planned presentation will take a closer look at the activities of the Deutsch-Türkische Denkmalschutz Kommando [German-Turkish Monument Protection Command] within the larger framework of the Kunstschutz in the Middle East, and as a platform for transnational scientific exchange. In addition, the paper will investigate how Kunstschutz became a "travelling concept" and how it was transnationally appropriated for example in the context of the Russian protection initiatives during the occupation of the Ottoman provinces of Trabzon, Erzurum and Van.