Memorial "Shot At Dawn" Poperinge

Since the summer of 2018, a work of art called "Shot at Down" has stood in "Viscount Dirk Frimout Park" This monument to soldiers executed during World War I does not stand in Poperinge by chance. The Poperinge town hall housed a death row in which an estimated 50 soldiers awaited the execution of their sentence. Most of the cases involved military offences such as desertion, cowardice, insubordination or mutiny. The court martial consisted of its own officers and there was hardly any serious defence. Those convicted who were often even still minors were executed "Shot at Dawn" at dawn.

The design is by Dutch artist Anno Dijkstra and was inspired by the war memorial that stands in Poperinge's Grote Markt. Belgian bronze caster Peter Berghman from Roeselare worked it into a bronze sculpture 6 metres long and 4 metres high. Passers-by can look into the artwork and step.

"Exceptionally, the statue lies on its back and is supported by two trestles. In this way, we want to encourage people to think about the war in a different way. It is a monument about healing. The wound of war can only heal when all the stories are told" (Peter Berghman)

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Source

• Text: Francky de Rous & TracesOfWar
• Photos: Francky de Rous
• https://www.annodijkstra.nl/projects/to-serve-1/