Talk:Looting

Examples section
The examples section seems to add no value to this article. I think it should be removed. Toddst1 (talk) 17:26, 6 October 2017 (UTC)


 * I strongly disagree. Without concise chronological examples, it is merely a dictionary entry. Xirja (talk) 02:25, 7 October 2019 (UTC)Xirja
 * No it is not. There is serious and well-verified content. Drmies (talk) 14:11, 7 October 2019 (UTC)

Wholesale removal of material deemed unencyclopedic?
14:23, 4 September 2019‎ Drmies talk contribs‎ 13,264 bytes -13,090‎ →‎Examples: there is no point in such a list

14:41, 6 October 2019 (UTC)Xirja (talk • contribs)


 * Toddst1, I see now that you had the same concerns I did. Here we have, a user with two dozen edits, telling us you are in fact incorrect. They did finally insert an edit summary in their revert (the third one). Anyway, I strongly disagree with the very existence of this list, which adds nothing to the article. BTW this whole article needs a serious scrubbing--one of its gems is "But looting can be dangerous because of bandits." Right. Drmies (talk) 15:11, 6 October 2019 (UTC)
 * Thanks, That restoration was not an improvement. Toddst1 (talk) 19:54, 6 October 2019 (UTC)

No mention of rape?
An entire article about looting and pillaging by military forces, and the word "rape" doesn't appear once? Isn't that astonishing? And no mention of another possible synonym, "sack"? And no links to famous acts of pillaging, such as Nanking or Rome? Acsenray (talk) 17:06, 3 June 2019 (UTC)

looting in riots
Shouldn't this page cover the looting that often happens during riots and protests (like the recent George Floyd protests)? I myself cannot understand why this happens, but unfortunately it often does. So shouldn't this be covered on this page? TGRFAN (talk) 01:03, 1 June 2020 (UTC)

I agree and added a section called “Socio-Economic” looting and wrote a paragraph defining it. It was completely removed as “editorializing” with no further explanation.Jintili (talk)

Yes Yamkēluar (talk) 15:36, 5 August 2021 (UTC)

peak of looting in the late XIXth early XXth century?
«(...) and reaching its peak in the New Imperialism era (...)» I would like some sources and numbers suporting this; please. IF the movement of «outlawing the spoils» started after the napoleonic wars, it would be strange to place THE PEAK of looting in an era when most armies had became paid armies.

I actually came to this article looking for knowledge, so I am not an authority on the matter, but what I found is really lacking. Even I (who am looking for knowledge) know that the process of disciplining armies began in the XVIIth century, by paying soldiers. Soldiery evolved from «an entreprise» in which «looting» was «the pay» to «a job» paid for by wages. Soldiers became expected to behave, as much as you can expect a young man with a gun to behave. The process was not straightforward; it evolved after the napoleonic wars, pari pasu with the (british) parliament reform and a succession of civil service «reforms» during the XIXth century, which gradually extincted sinecures and replaced remuneration by «loot» by proper pay in the form of wages and salaries. By the late XIXth century, loots was way into phasing out. Occurences did happen, still do, but they are illegal, sanctioned by military police and NOT an expected remuneration of warfare.

To my knowledge, the last use of «loot» and licence (authorized by military command) in a war was Francisco Franco's use of his moroccan troops in the early stages of the spanish civil war. Does anyone know of a later occurence? 213.13.151.6 (talk) 16:01, 29 July 2022 (UTC)


 * In the article they mention the taking of industrial equipment after WWII by Soviet troops in Germany as falling under looting. This is not true. There were several treaties which stipulated the reduction of German industrial capacity. If looting is taking stuff by exploiting a fluent power situation, that was not looting. My parents were there and the German word for it is 'Demontage' = dismantling. The German wikipedia has an article 'Demontage' (subchoice reparations). I suggest you use a machine translation to get an idea which percentage of industrial capacities was to be reduced in which areas.
 * Wars offer the opportunity for looting decades after the event. My family's land in the former East Berlin should have been returned to us, but the then Kohl government just took it, when freedom and democracy broke out in East Germany. They exploited the fluid situation after the Wall fell, to declare it theirs. It was a very valuable piece of land, Prenzlauer Promenade 191 in Berlin, so obviously Kohl, often nicknamed Kohleone, could not resist to abuse the newly found power over other people's property. We did not have the money to take the government to court, make the lawyers work on percentages is illegal.
 * There is no mentioning in the article if looting has a statute of limitations. But since looting is a war crime it probably can be pursued like forever. Ally Hauptmann-Gurski 2001:8003:A070:7F00:CC45:5621:758B:169 (talk) 05:33, 31 May 2024 (UTC)

What looting episodes should be mentioned?
Someone wants the looting in ucraine mentioned.

I also saw minor looting episodes mentioned, probably according to the nationalistic antipathies of the writer. This is not how episodes should be selected for mention. Instead, historical turning points and particularly severe occurencies (for its time and circunstance) should be mentioned, and minor events should be actively omited; on purpose. Because what you don't say is just as important as what you do say. 213.13.151.6 (talk) 16:06, 29 July 2022 (UTC)

Photo for "Modern conflicts" section
I did't find this recent replacement photo very informative. In contrast to the one it replaces, it doesn't illustrate the topic "Looting" very well. It looks like a mostly empty room; there's no hint that it's a museum, or that it has been recently looted. The efforts to assert the replacement seem politically motivated. Understandable, which is why I think a picture of a less recent instance would be an improvement. The (too) modern conflict depicted is a raw spot for many. signed, Willondon (talk) 17:08, 2 March 2024 (UTC)


 * I saw the picture a few days ago & I don't think it should be there. Especially since it's not discussed in the text, nor is it an especially unique depiction of looting.
 * What would be more interesting could be the trend of soldiers making videos of their own looting to post to social media. There are so many examples and it's a recent phenomenon. With a photo reflecting this. Or a picture of the looted artefacts from a museum in Gaza that were then put on display at the Israeli Knesset. Annabeeee (talk) 13:10, 3 March 2024 (UTC)
 * very informative. In contrast to the one it replaces ...he efforts to assert the replacement seem politically motivated. Understandable |
 * ..There are all sorts of photos of the "caught red-handed vibe" . You could have these as examples in the same military conflict of the replacement photo  (1) (2).
 * To assume that one is particular is reliably out of all others is more "Impartial" or "Illustrative"  than any other  that nothing else can substitute it,  is a long shot  (There is in fact an entire Wikipedia article for that matter ; clearly showing a phenomena , rather than what could be challanged as  an isolated , individual act by a few members   ).
 * In contrast to the original photo : there is yet to be an RS source which suggests that looting (Robbery on a mass scale against civilians ) was a noteworthy part of such events.
 * That's especially said since RS sources seem to state that in the conflict of the original photo : it's the  other team  that has committed a  looting of civilian properties at noteworthy rates  (1) (2) (3) (4) (5).
 * You also have a "caught red-handed" footage of such things (1) (2).
 * ..Willondon : this picture is more than just an "illustration" ; this is giving implications on the events , which may actually be the "POV" , "Political" motivation you seem to detest.
 * This is Wikipedia, we don't  push narratives , subtly or explicitly  . We simply stick to what multiple sources state.
 * Unless you start putting a picture of every wartime looting incident :  the current picture is partial.
 * Either we revert the Kherson replacement picture   ,  remove the whole  current picture  in the section  ,  or instead find another picture of a conflict where people won't suspect prejudice or foul play.
 * ..I said my piece . 176.44.74.34 (talk) 16:09, 3 March 2024 (UTC)


 * I couldn't understand all of what you were saying, but I sense we would agree on some things: (1) Wikipedia should not be adopting a non-neutral point of view; (2) pictures of looting involving recent or current situations almost inevitably have a politically charged signifigance (on both "sides"). So I would say replacing the picture with a more neutral one would be a vast improvement, or removing the picture altogether could be a solution. I still think the suggested replacement has practically no value in illustrating the topic: it shows an empty room of some sort. I support replacing the current one partly because it, too, is not a very good illustration of the topic (it could be someone hoarding an item, or taking part in a chaotic sales event). When I did a Google Image search on "looting", many of the matches showed things like (1) three or more people, (2) entering through broken windows, (3) a ransacked shop, etc. Someone would need to seek out one with a license that Wikipedia can use.  signed, Willondon (talk)  17:29, 3 March 2024 (UTC)
 * It's great to see you realised these things.
 * ..Anyway : I think we found the proper answer.
 * The problem with the article is that almost all the looting incidents in it are war-related, and none seem to give the impression that mass-robbery (Looting) can also occur in civil contexts .  The defintion is broad enough to include all incidents in which anarchy and lawlessness is a key element in them.
 * Unlike Political conflicts : there is no distrust, or otherwise some of the moralistic-emotional baggage that would call heated disputes and accusations of prejudice or justifications.
 * The most memorable and contemporary example of such things are the George Floyd protests at their peak 4 years ago (In fact : I just noticed they were mentioned in the article ).
 * I managed to find these two pictures, and two videos  (1) (2) (3) (4).
 * Both have the "caught red handed vibe" you seem to be looking for . Not to mention the pictures show more than just a single individual  as to dismiss such incidents as isolated robberies, and there are probably tens , if not hundreds of RS sources that agree looting did occur during the George Floyd protests.
 * I think these are the best replacements to both the Kherson Museum picture, and the current picture .  Not to mention they broaden the scope of  events which are considered to be "Looting" to more than just military conflicts.
 * What do you think ? . 176.44.74.34 (talk) 12:35, 4 March 2024 (UTC)
 * Yes, those are exactlly the sort of thing that illustrate looting well. Unfortunately, they're probably not licensed for Wikipedia to use. I checked the Wikimedia Commons, but didn't see anything close to a good illustration for this. Well, at least we have an idea of what we want. Natural disasters (epecially floods) are often occasions for looting; so that's a good place to look, too.  signed, Willondon (talk)  18:11, 4 March 2024 (UTC)
 * Yes, those are exactlly the sort of thing that illustrate looting well. Unfortunately, they're probably not licensed for Wikipedia to use. I checked the Wikimedia Commons, but didn't see anything close to a good illustration for this. Well, at least we have an idea of what we want. Natural disasters (epecially floods) are often occasions for looting; so that's a good place to look, too.  signed, Willondon (talk)  18:11, 4 March 2024 (UTC)

Thanks,. I like the latest replacement. signed, Willondon (talk) 15:35, 5 March 2024 (UTC)

Photo for gallery
To extend the discussion above, I think the picture that was replaced in "Modern conflicts" and has now been added to the gallery is unsuitable for the same reasons as above: (1) it carries unnecessary baggage that makes it difficult to maintain a neutral point of view, (2) more importantly, it is not a very good illustration of looting. It shows a man with an armful of similar items in a shop of some sort. signed, Willondon (talk) 15:17, 6 March 2024 (UTC)
 * If he is not a soldier of some kind, not a relevant image to the topic of looting. Dimadick (talk) 17:39, 9 March 2024 (UTC)