War Memorial Kortrijk-Dutsel

When the German troops take Aarschot on August 19, 1914, the inhabitants of the neighboring villages would also suffer. That day, seven residents of Kortrijk-Dutsel died.
The village was just outside the combat zone when Belgian and German troops fought between 9 and 13 September 1914 during the second attack of the Belgians from the Fortress Antwerp. When the Belgians withdrew on September 12, there was great unrest among the population and many residents of Kortrijk-Dutsel fled to Houwaart. German guns shelled the village. A dozen buildings and the church were hit, but no fire broke out anywhere. The next day the Germans arrived in the village. Innkeeper Swijggers was arrested and taken to a prison camp in Germany for four months. The following month German troops lodged in the village several times and the mayor and city councilors were taken hostage to counter any resistance.
The Belgian soldiers who had died on the territory of Kortrijk-Dutsel during the military operations in September and were buried here and there, were solemnly interred in the cemetery on 26 February 1915.
The stately monument belongs to the Tiense Steenkapper A. Geets. This memorial commemorates the names of the soldiers who died in September 1914 and the civilians killed on 19 August.

Next to the monument we see the graves of the few soldiers of Kortrijk-Dutsel who fell during the First World War. As often happened then, the next of kin or relatives had the body transferred from the distant cemeteries in West Flanders to the more intimate village cemetery.

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Source

• Text: Jan Rymenams
• Photos: Jan Rymenams