14-18 - "Cursed be war": the few memorials peace

"Died for France." This formula is the essence of thousands of memorials that have been erected between 1920 and 1925. To remember those who have fallen in combat, to honor their memory and their sacrifice, these memorials embody feeling, the trauma, these widows, these orphans of parents who have lost a loved one during the First World War. The "End All Wars" bled France; more than one million and three hundred thousand soldiers died in the trenches and mud. The survivors of this barbarity were, themselves, to never cut their innocence and their carelessness.

This trend of building memorials 14-18 is not specifically French. But its magnitude in the hexagon is incommensurate: more than 3600 which is almost all the municipalities of the country. The symbolism of these buildings, located mainly on the village squares or in cemeteries, is particularly strong. There are many representations of uniformed soldiers incarnation of the tragic fate of these hairy. The figure of the woman, it is an allegory of suffering, of France, is another of these themes used to glorify the dead who have shed their blood for their country.

Peace and Brotherhood

But few, a few dozen are memorials directly opposing the war. One of them, Dardilly in the Rhône, even calls for brotherhood among peoples, a formula enthroned at the top of the obelisk-shaped building. This formula is unique, especially when you replace the monument in the context of the time it was built, as the figure of another German, was defeated hated. No weapons or flag is present on the sculpture and no glorification of the dead hero for France. The only objective reference to the war comes from the main scene: a mother who fled with her child in a house fire.

Another example of these memorials pacifists, is in the town of Gentouix in Allier. The sculpture of a child, the tight right fist and waved facing an obelisk inscribed with the names of the dead of the town consists overall. But it is above the words "Cursed be war," in the stele of the dead, which gives the monument its own. Its very existence has long been considered problematic by the authorities.

In 1922, the prefect is the highest representative of the State Department even refused to attend his inauguration. The monument has become a gathering place for the peace movement, where every November 11 is sung the famous . During the First World War protest song that was censored and banned by the military command for its anti-military lyrics.

Here is his refrain:

Adieu la vie, adieu l'amour,

Bye all women

It's all over, it's forever

This infamous war

This is Craonne on the shelf

We must leave the skin

Because we are all doomed

We sacrificed