Statue Lieutenant-General Bernheim

Louis Bernheim (1861-1931) is a Belgian officer who distinguished himself during the siege of Antwerp in August 1914, on the Yser Front and during the Final Offensive in 1918.

Square Marie-Louiza is home to a monument to Lieutenant General Bernheim, a work by sculptor Edmond de Valériola and inaugurated in 1936.
Bernheim was born in 1861 into a family of Jewish-French emigrants.
His military training began in 1878 and two years later he enlisted in the Grenadiers as a second lieutenant. Afterwards he taught himself at the Royal Military Academy.
At the time of the German invasion of Belgium on August 4, 1914, he held the rank of lieutenant colonel. He was given command of the 3rd Brigade during the Siege of Antwerp and under his leadership this unit later fought around the Nete.
In November 1914 Bernheim was promoted to major general and in early 1915 he was given command of the 1st Division of the army, which was in charge of part of the front created after the Battle of the Yser.
Bernheim was seriously wounded by a shell impact during a troop inspection in September 1915, but was back at his post after just two months.
In 1916 he obtained the rank of lieutenant general.
In September 1918 he was given command of three divisions, which together had to formulate a Belgian response in the context of the Hundred Days Offensive against the Germans.
Bernheim received the following awards after the war: the Order of Leopold and the American Army Distinguished Service Medal.

Bernheim's unequal treatment of Dutch, he had all orders given to the soldiers in French, was the direct reason for the formation of the Front Movement of disaffected French-informed Flemish soldiers.

After the war, Bernheim was appointed Inspector General in the army and in 1926 he retired. He died in Paris in 1931, while visiting his daughter. His funeral there was attended by King Albert, among others.
Source : Wikipedia

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• Text: Luc Van Waeyenberge + Marie-Christine Vinck
• Photos: Luc Van Waeyenberge (1, 2), Marie-Christine Vinck (3, 4, 5)