In ancient Greece and Rome, military victories were commemorated with a display of captured arms and standards. A trophy

Trophy

A trophy is a reward for a specific achievement, and serves as recognition or evidence of merit. Trophies are most often awarded for sporting events, from youth sports to professional level athletics...

 (from the Greek tropaion

Tropaion

A tropaion , whence English "trophy" is an ancient Greek and later Roman monument set up to commemorate a victory over one's foes. Typically this takes the shape of a tree, sometimes with a pair of arm-like branches upon which is hung the armour of a defeated and dead foe...

) was originally a war memorial

War memorial

A war memorial is a building, monument, statue or other edifice to celebrate a war or victory, or to commemorate those who died or were injured in war.-Historic usage:...

 assembled from such items on a battlefield. The Roman triumph‎ also displayed these items as well as cultural objects, which later came to be called war trophies. Body parts of slain enemies have sometimes served as trophies since antiquity, in a practice called human trophy collecting

Human trophy collecting

The practice of human trophy collecting involves the acquisition of human remains. The intent may be to demonstrate dominance over the deceased, such as scalp-taking or forming necklaces of human ears or teeth, or to commemorate the deceased, such as the veneration of the relics of saints. It can...

.

In more recent times, it has been common for soldiers to return home with souvenirs, such as enemy weapons and flags, while larger military items captured in battle, particularly weaponry such as machine guns and artillery pieces, became the property of the state to which the soldiers responsible for the capture belonged.

In the 20th century, the victorious alliance states removed large quantities of property, including cultural objects. After the First World War, the Treaty of Versailles

Treaty of Versailles

The Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The other Central Powers on the German side of...

 authorized the removal of large amounts of property from Germany, which it termed "reparations

World War I reparations

World War I reparations refers to the payments and transfers of property and equipment that Germany was forced to make under the Treaty of Versailles following its defeat during World War I...

".

After the Second World War, the Potsdam Conference

Potsdam Conference

The Potsdam Conference was held at Cecilienhof, the home of Crown Prince Wilhelm Hohenzollern, in Potsdam, occupied Germany, from 16 July to 2 August 1945. Participants were the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States...

 authorized the removal of certain property from Germany, such as the merchant marine fleet. Germany, during the war, had removed large quantities of property

Nazi plunder

Nazi plunder refers to art theft and other items stolen as a result of the organized looting of European countries during the time of the Third Reich by agents acting on behalf of the ruling Nazi Party of Germany. Plundering occurred from 1933 until the end of World War II, particularly by military...

 from the countries that it had occupied. In some cases, for example the Soviet "trophy brigades", official looting was euphemised

Euphemism

A euphemism is the substitution of a mild, inoffensive, relatively uncontroversial phrase for another more frank expression that might offend or otherwise suggest something unpleasant to the audience...

 as the taking of "trophies".

Cultural Objects

Article 56 of the Hague Convention of 1907, stated:
However, the article was not much respected during the remainder of the century.

In 1954, a further convention was signed at the Hague: Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, and two protocols have strengthened its force.

Many works of art moved from their pre-war locations during the turmoils of the 20th century. UNESCO

UNESCO

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...

, the United Nations

United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...

agency responsible for culture has been seeking to resolve issues relating to cultural objects displaced in connection with the Second World war. However, the conference in Spring 2007 failed to reach a consensus on a draft non-binding declaration.