How and why do National Cemetery/Memorials built in the 1920's commemorate those who died in World War One in such different ways?

History Coursework

How and why do National Cemetery/Memorials built in the 1920’s commemorate those who died in World War One in such different ways?

In the cemeteries of the British and French (Allied) cemeteries the graves were very clear and light. The gravestones were always made of a type of white, light stone. This was because it showed to whoever visited them that these men fought bravely and that they died for a cause. There are also details on them that show their names and births and in the French cemetery of ‘Notre Dame de Lorette’ you see that the graves reflect what religion they believed in e.g. Christian, Muslim and Jewish). However the British graves are the most descriptive as it shows the following things: These include their name, insignia, religious signs and their age (This is unlike the French who only had some information on the headstones. It only showed the age and name). All this information is shown only if the soldier was known. There were also messages on the gravestones from the family. If the soldier was unknown then a general message of ‘A soldier of the great war, known unto God’ was engraved on the headstone. This meant that even though the soldier was unknown to the public, God still knew him and that it was there to show that he had fought in the war so that he wasn’t disregarded and also showing that he fought bravely in the war. There was also another message on the memorial of a stone plinth that is compulsory to every British cemetery from WWI. On it says ‘Their Names Liveth Forever More’ (this message was formed by the famous writer Rudyard Kipling as his son died in the war). However, they did not have personal family notes on the headstone because they were unidentifiable.

Compared to the Germans however they are very memorable and forgiving. As you look at the German cemetery at Langemarck you see that it is much more out of place and hidden away. The graves are flat and low and very insignificant. This is probably because the Germans lost the war and therefore maybe may Germans didn’t want to remember that they lost in the war. As well as this none of the German soldiers had single graves o themselves (as in British cemeteries) and many were shared between 4-40 people in a single grave. In Langemarck you can see that there is a mass grave with about 25000 soldiers in of which about 8000 were unknown. In contrast to this there are no mass graves at all in the British graves, which contain single graves for each person. However in the main French cemetery there are 4 mass graves each with about 5000 unknown soldiers in each grave. This means that overall there were 20000 unknown soldiers in Notre Dame de Lorette.

The layout of both sides of cemeteries was very orderly and often there were row upon row of headstones. The German headstones were rowed tidily but even so they looked tatty and gloomy, as they were just black stone plaques. On the other hand the British and French cemeteries were tidy but unlike the German ones the headstones were very close together to show comradeship between soldiers. Also in many British cemeteries headstones faced the way that they were attacking as in Tynecot Cemetery.

The French cemetery of Notre Dame de Lorette was different to all the rest. This was because even though the headstones were close together, once again showing comradeship. There were vast amounts of space as well. Also I noticed that different soldiers belonging to different religious were segregated. I think that this is somehow racist because even though the people weren’t Christians they still fought for France.

There are also many memorials and sculptures in each of the different cemeteries that are only present for that specific one.

In the German cemetery of Langemarck, there is an effigy of four soldiers in a tableau vivante representing mourners for the war dead of Germany. Emil Krieger who, like Rudyard Kipling, lost a relative in the war made this particular sculpture.

And in various British cemeteries there is a cross, which shows the respect and gratefulness of all people that have been affected and those who visit. Often there would be a wreath of poppy’s to show this respect.

In the British cemetery of Brandhoek there was a cross as in many other cemeteries. In many of the British cemeteries that are we visited there were, of course, other sorts of memorials. Things like a little blockhouse/entrance way and normally it would hold a visitor’s book and some sort of message on the wall as in Brandhoek cemetery.

However you could ...

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However you could tell that in the German cemetery of Langemarck that their entrance arch was used for different purposes. On the walls of this entrance way there was a map of Germany and as well as this there were names of the people that were know in that cemetery. I think this meant that they were patriotic but at the same time sad as it meant that there was a feeling showing as to how many people had died.

The visibility of the German cemetery is not very good. This is because it is hidden away behind some walls and bushes and nothing shows you that there is actually a cemetery there compared to the British and French ones. The British cemeteries have signs and are open to the road to see but the French cemetery is over the top. This is because it is on top of a hill and also it has a lighthouse shining its light at night, which can be seen all around the hill. There are also buildings, which commemorate the dead. If you look inside the German cemetery it is very dark and there are trees keeping out the light from coming through. Again this is on the theme that the Germans were ashamed that they lost the war and that they were ashamed of starting the war in the first place. Contrary to this the main British cemetery that we visited, ‘Tynecot Cemetery’, was visible to all that was in a certain distance to it and you could see it quite close that it was very big.

There were not always just British and French soldiers in their respective cemeteries either. Sometimes there were people who had died in similar positions to the enemy but had been buried by the enemy. For example behind the Thiepval (this memorial was for the Somme area as the Menin Gate was for the Ypres Salient) memorial there were two main columns of headstones with the British on the left side and the French on the right. In some extreme cases there may even be German soldiers buried in British cemeteries like in Brandhoek.

During the war there were circumstances when stretcher-bearers would come out and mistakenly rescue injured enemy soldiers. Even though they were the enemy, doctors who were behind the lines would still treat them. If they died then they would be sometimes buried by the by the enemy they were fighting. The British did this in Brandhoek as a sign of respect to them. However they were separated from the British soldiers and they were put at the end of the cemetery.

These places all had certain purposes and atmospheres that were so different to each other. For example, in the British cemeteries there was a light and respective atmosphere for the fallen soldiers that had died for an abuse. The lightness of the gravestones and generally everything around was fresh like the plants and grass and the whole being well kept, clean and in order. This generally lightened the mood so as not to take all people despair and remorse as the governments wanted people to fight in future wars. However, in the German cemetery the land was badly kept and the grass had been worn out. This is almost the opposite of the British and French cemeteries. Thee plaques that had replaced the black crosses were tatty and dirty and the visibility was poor. The trees being so tall kept out the light. Again this represents the atmosphere of sadness and almost anger that the war was actually fought land lost. Hitler served in the war as a corporal and in his book was ‘…and all of it was in vain…’

I think that the main thing that led to his difference was because that the Germans did lose the war and therefore disliked the Allies who won. Whenever you lose something you feel a sense of jealousy and hatred for the other person and so whatever you do for a while afterwards will show this hatred and angriness. In this case the Germans were angry that they were led on such a pointless war in which nothing was gained.

Even though the Belgians and French were on the winning side they still hated and disliked the Germans for what they had done. All the allies had suffered majorly and the French and Belgians were not left out. Indeed the Belgians probably lost less than the French but by comparison to their population it was a huge amount. Therefore they were very unwilling to allow the Germans cemeteries let alone splendid and great ones. Nevertheless they were allowed but they were not as great as the allies’ cemeteries.

At the end of the war the Germans, who had placed their cemeteries everywhere behind the lines, were told to dig up many of their cemeteries and situate their graves in certain big areas. The areas that were allotted to the Germans were quite big but the amount of land given was small in relation to the amount of men that needed to be buried. As well as the land being so small, it also cost the Germans a certain amount of money. For this reason many graves had about 20 soldiers in, with the highest being about 40 men. In these cemeteries you can see that there is no real purpose shown to the soldiers and what they had done whereas in the French and British cemeteries that we visited all show purpose and the whole cemetery trying to show that they soldiers had died for a cause. It also suggests that their sacrifice was a noble thing and again that they had died for a purpose. It shows that they died for a tomorrow and that they died for what life is like today.

There are many purposes to the point of memorials. In the particular example of the Vimy Ridge memorial there were many uses for it. This was the fact that the Canadian government who was still a part of the British Empire wanted to show that they were great and that they could govern their own country. This was because at this time they wanted to become independent and therefore had to show it. And they had good reason to show it. They captured the German trenches in the Vimy area by themselves while both the French and British tried to capture it over 3 months but never succeeded. This memorial again was used to promote war and this particular memorial has 11285 names of missing soldiers in action. Edward VIII officially opened it in 1936.

At the end of the memorial there is a lady. This represents a symbol of Canada mourning her dead soldiers who fought bravely for her.

Canada eventually gained independence in 1931.

The Canadians were not alone in advertising war however. The British and French also did do similar things. Things like the Thiepval memorial and Menin Gate did give a place with which the relatives could lose their ‘demons’. Notre Dame de Lorette is one of the French cemeteries that advertise war almost over the top. It sort of reassures the relatives that their sons and husbands died for a cause and dying for their country was noble and courageous. The flags especially show this sense of patriotism. The ossuary also shows a sense of patriotism with complete silence within the building and the bones and remains of certain citizens of France who had been the most patriotic. I think that the French are trying to show that they should respect what they did and is saying that they should follow their example should the time come.

Within the British cemeteries there are also many small memorials that show patriotism and remembrance. It was compulsory for every British cemetery and there was the Cross of Sacrifice and the stone plinth on which was carved the words 'Their names Liveth evermore'. This showed that the British also were patriotic and did provide some sort of remembrance.

There were also a large number of tourists who visited the cemeteries and memorials in the worst hit countries, which include France and Belgium. Over seven million visits were made to the Imperial War museum in the 1920/30’s and the war memorials, which were made in the towns and villages throughout the country were described as tourist attractions. The battlefields were one of the most popular places to visit in those times and as soon as the military objections which prevented tourists from going there were lifted in July 1919, Thomas Cook & Son was one of the first tourist companies to announce tours there. Initially there were two proposed tours. The first one was 35 guineas and offered maximum luxury while the other cost 9 and half guineas. However there were many people who did not like the tourists visiting the battlefields. One of the main reasons for this was their uncaring attitude towards the experience that the common soldier had gone through in those places. This was said to ‘trivialise’ the war experience and the tourists themselves were said to have no comprehension of the experiences that servicemen and the bereaved.

Rowland Fielding was disgusted when he conducted an American Army doctor over the Loos battlefield because all he cared about was collecting souvenirs. He wrote to his wife with horror. Some of the sentences he wrote were:

‘It is horrifying to see this sacred ground desecrated in this way, and still more so to think when the cheap tripper is let loose. With his spit he will saturate the ground that has been soaked with the blood of our soldiers.’

Perhaps one of the most important things the cemeteries and memorials like Thiepval and the Menin Gate was that they held the names and graves of loved ones. For relatives it would have been hard to come to terms with the loss of their loved ones and even a name carved in stone would have helped.

The sense of loss was still very powerful in Britain and the most significant proof of this would have been the war memorials in the small towns and villages. The two-minute silence on the 11th November is the most visible manifestations of this however. These few acts were mainly of remembrance by communities of certain parts of the countries but people also remembered certain individuals that were close to them. One of the ultimate acts of individual remembrance would have been to journey as a pilgrim to a place associated with the war. They included cemeteries, battlefields, memorials and museums. The impulse to make pilgrimages was shared by many people from the fighting nations. The cemetery at Langemarck drew thousands of German tourists and pilgrims in particular.

The battlefields of the Great War were one of the most profoundly visited by the bereaved and veterans. These pilgrimages were different to the memorials in Britain because battlefields pilgrims were both in the presence of the dead and, if they were veterans, the presence of their past. The journey was therefore an opportunity for the relatives to remember the dead and to come to terms with the grief and guilt. Large pilgrimages, such as the 1928 British Legion pilgrimage (this included 11,000 relatives and veterans), were public journeys, which united bereaved relatives and veterans with political, military and often religious leader in an act of mourning for the dead. However, the emphasis on the dead implied that their sacrifice was worthwhile, which in the 1920/30s was a key issue in the debate about the meaning of the war.

Relatives travelled to the graves of their loved ones or if no body could be found to one to the memorials to the ‘Missing’. In either case it was the name on the headstone or the memorials which drew the. Pilgrims took photographs of the names on the memorials or of the headstone over the graves and occasionally pilgrims would kiss the name of a loved one or the headstone under which he lay. Many pilgrims at that time also traced the name of their loved one on paper so that they could take it back with them.

The name on the memorial is so important to the relatives because this distinguished the individual from the thousands of dead. It was the last identifiable link to the person. Many pilgrims often brought gifts in memory of the dead. They carried flowers from their gardens to place on the grave of their relative who had been killed or they would leave a wreath. In return they usually collected something from the grave or battlefield to take back with them.

The most dedicated pilgrims would carry diaries or letters written by the fallen and use this in an attempt to re-create certain experiences that their relative may have gone through. They also sometimes wore the medals and often small photographs of the dead.

Pilgrims would return with a variety of mementos, which include a flower, a length of barbed wire, mould from the headstone, stones from the grave or seeds from the plants growing there. This enabled them to carry home a memory or link of the dead. One might say the spirit.

The dangers and suffering that the relatives would have went through would have also consolidated them because it put them closer to their dead.

As time went by the increasing amount of women who travelled there changed the tone of the pilgrimages. This was done by placing an even greater amount of emphasis on the need to solemnly remember the fallen in the war. One women commented: ‘Where we have had free tickets we have given them to those absolutely poverty stricken women who have lost many sons in the War and are anxious to see their graves. We feel that the women who go will realise that this is not to be in any sense a holiday of a tour, but is an extremely solemn occasion and that they will help us to maintain the right atmosphere.’

Veterans often returned to the battlefields on which they had fought. For many of them it was a nightmare comprised of long periods of boredom punctuated by moments of extreme fear, pain and sadness. However, they were also participating in a titanic event, which left an indelible impression upon them. The past experiences and memories of the veterans were often more than something to be recalled and retold as a story; many returned to the battlefields with a strong sense of foreboding and unease. The journey for them was to confront their past and not feel guilty anymore. Many veterans were unable to do this and a soldier who revisited the river Lys could not urge himself to walk up the river to the places he once knew because of the reminder of the past was ‘too sharp a reminder of the pain and waste, the slaughter and fury…’

However for some veterans it was a chance to get rid of the nightmares of the war. He described himself as ‘a foreigner among the living, and half a foreigner to myself – a man who had lost part of himself…’

For years he had pictured himself in marshes seeing ghosts of men in grey. Being unable to let go of the war he found that it continued to visit him in the form of nightmares. His pilgrimage provided the means for him to find a new part of himself by forcing himself to understand that the war had been won and therefore lost only in memories.