Monument to the Fraternisations

Dedicated in 2015, it was born out of the wishes of Corporal Louis Barthas, who fraternised with the enemy here in 1915. A strong symbol of humanity, it is a universal and timeless work.
The Monument des Fraternisations is built on the road connecting Arras to Béthune, surrounded by the important sites of the Great War in Artois.
It borders the La Targette national cemetery and the 11500 French soldiers buried there bear witness to the violence of the fighting between 1915 and 1917. Adjacent is the La Targette British Cemetery and, in the distance, the German military cemetery of the White House and its 45,000 soldiers, the largest German cemetery in France. The three main warring parties are represented there.
The monument consists of two groups of glass symbols symbolising the fragility of fraternisation - where silhouettes of French, British and German soldiers stand out.

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Source

• Text: TracesOfWar
• Photos: Kenneth van Cauter