YPRES SALIENT Besieged city

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1 YPRES SALIENT Besieged city Dear student, This worksheet is meant to allow you to pause for a moment longer by certain items in the museum. This doesn t mean you cannot look around at other objects, stories or themes in the museum - on the contrary! You can take photos in the museum as long as you don t use flash. FLIGHT Fear of violence and terror of war caused thousands to flee. At the peak of the fighting, in October 1914, one and a half million Belgians - a quarter of the population - fled to The Netherlands, France and Great-Britain. Task: Listen to the eyewitness account of Richard Wybouw BATTLE OF THE YSER YPRES I After the fall of Antwerp (7-10 october 1914) the war shifted to the Westhoek. Here the war movement stranded. Ypres had the bad luck to be in the wrong place at the wrong time... Task: See how the Ypres Salient took shape. Question: When did the Cloth Hall and the Cathedral go up in flames? Educatief Worksheets Pakket In Flanders In Flanders Fields Fields Museum Museum - Besieged - Ieperboog City Noord Bus 1

2 YPRES IN RUINS The city of Ypres was reduced to rubble. Task: Discover the story behind these objects. YPRES II In order to get the front moving again, the military sought new weapons to break through the lines. Scientists such as the German chemist Fritz Haber, who made possible large-scale attacks using gas from 1915 onwards, aided them in their efforts. Chemical weapons seem best suited, given that gas can overcome fortifications on the ground, thereby robbing the defenders of the earth s protection (Fritz Haber). Poisonous gas could be spread by the wind, unhindered by obstacles on the ground. Question: What were the consequences for the civilians who remained behind? 2

3 BEHIND THE FRONT Communal life for civilians and soldiers was often difficult. Civil liberties were increasingly restricted; labourers were pressed into service without pay; and occupied areas were systematically plundered. Survival was increasingly difficult. Achiel Van Walleghem was a chaplain in Dikkebus. He began to record everything he saw in a diary. Task: Listen to his stories. Question: Which fragment do you find most compelling? IN FLANDERS EARTH The war may have vanished in time, but thousands of aerial photos taken during the war bring it back to life in an instant. Task: Find the centre of Ypres. Place the historical photos in the contemporary landscape and see how the city is reduced to rubble. 3

4 RECONSTRUCTION Did it make sense to rebuild a city like Ypres, which had been completely destroyed? Would it not have been better to preserve its ruins as a monument? And if you choose reconstruction... will you build a modern city or a copy of the old one? Eventually it was decided to rebuild the city in a traditional style, with only a few concessions to modernity here and there. Question: What is your opinion? COMMEMORATION Of the nearly ten million who died, more than died in the Westhoek alone. Those who remained lived with scars on body and soul, with loss and disillusionment. Those who returned to the region in order to start life anew built their lives in an environment that even today is dedicated to the idea of commemoration. Every age adds its own commemoration. What we contribute today is virtual and international, transcending the limits of our own culture. War is reduced to its foundation: loss. The List of Names is a list on which there is room for citizens and soldiers alike, regardless of their nationality or whether they were friends or former enemies, both for Belgians who perished in their own country and non-belgians who died here or were fatally wounded here and died elsewhere. Task: Add your name to the List of Names. How many people share your name? 4

5 YPRES, CITY OF PEACE The war that never ends... On 11 November 1918, British Prime Minister David Lloyed George declared: At eleven o clock this morning came to an end the cruellest and most terrible war that has ever scourged mankind. I hope we may say that thus, this fateful morning, came to an end all wars. A vain hope...if you look at it that way... Question: Which conflict broke out in the year of your birth? And yet... And yet we cannot leave it for what it is. We still believe things can be different. For this reason, the city of Ypres awards the Peace Prize every three years. And everyone who has made an effort to combat feelings of hate and revenge among (former) enemies and to lay the foundations of peaceful cooperation through reconciliation, forgiveness and compassion is eligible for the award. Question: Who, in your opinion, should be considered for the Peace Prize? Mail your answer to [email protected] 5