Upper secondary education
MUSEUM AT THE YSER
What remains of life. What remains of the land.
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I. THE SITE – MONUMENTS
When you enter the site of the museum at the Yser, you are confronted with three
monuments:
 The PAX gate
 The remains of the first Yser Tower
 The current Yser Tower
The PAX gate
The Pax Gate was built in 1950 using the rubble of the dynamited first tower. The iron
wreaths at the entrance remind us of the Flemish soldiers who, during the First World War,
were banned to the forced labour camps of the Orne, Avours etc. because of their
convictions. On the four corners of the Pax Gate statues were placed, made by Karel Aubroeck
from Temse for the first Yser Tower. They represent the fallen front soldiers Renaat De
Rudder, Joe English, Edward and Frans Van Raemdonck, Lode De Boninge and Frans Van der
Linden.
The remains of the first Yser Tower
The remains of the first Yser Tower: a monument that was initially built in commemoration of
the Flemish fallen during the First World War, but also as a symbol of the desire for more
political independence of Flanders, which originated at the Yser. The slogan AVV-VVK (Alles
Voor Vlaanderen, Vlaanderen Voor Kristus / All for Flanders, Flanders for Christ), on the
Tower is a historical relic that is kept in remembrance of the frontline soldiers, whose Flemish
and Christian convictions were often deeply connected. However, the Yser Testament (see
text box below) fought for pluralism from the start.
The first Yser Tower was shaped like a Heldenhuldezerk (Hero’s Tribute Headstone). This was
a gravestone, designed by Joe English, that pro-Flemish soldiers placed on the grave of their
deceased comrades during the First World War.
Important deceased Flemings, the so-called Yser symbols, were reburied in the crypt of the
first tower in the 1930s. The stone of Merkem with the slogan 'Hier ons bloed, wanneer ons
recht' (Here our blood, when our rights?) was also placed in the crypt. After a failed attempt
on 16 June 1945, the Yser Tower was dynamited and completely destroyed in the night of 15
to 16 March 1946. This attack resulted from the anti-Flemish sentiments of many due to,
among others, the collaboration of part of the Flemish Movement with the Nazis during the
Second World War.
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The ‘Via Dolorosa’ or the ‘Road of Suffering’ connects the remains of the first tower with the
current monument. It follows the first months of the war in Belgium, from the crossing of the
German border near Gemmenich until the coming to a halt of the front in the Westhoek.
The Via Dolorosa highlights the areas of heavy fighting in these three months, or areas where
many civilians perished. The war was raging in the whole country, not just in the Westhoek.
The current Yser Tower
The current Yser Tower was built between 1952 and 1965 and is 84 metres (+/- 275 ft) high. It
houses the Museum at the Yser: a 22-floor museum about the First World War, Flemish
emancipation and peace. The current Yser Tower was built because of a common sense of
ancestry, and was financed with funds collected from voluntary contributions from numerous
individual Flemings and associations.
Assignment:
Critically assess how these gravestones and the frontline soldiers buried here fit in
with the formation of the image and nation in Flanders
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II. THE NEW MUSEUM
The new museum
The 22 floors of the Yser Tower were furnished as a museum about War, Peace and Flemish
Emancipation. With the reopening on 1 March 2014 as the ‘Museum at the Yser’, the
museum focuses on the Belgian-German confrontation during the First World War and the
Flemish emancipation. The museum concept concentrates on peace. As a guiding principle we
use the motto: ‘What remains of life. What remains of the land’:
What remains of life?
‘How do soldiers try to reconstruct a normal life at the front?’, ‘What do people take with
them when they suddenly have to flee?’, ‘In which way did the front soldiers cope with the
war once they were home again?’ … The peace thought is also implicitly presented through
this.
What remains of the land?
Of course this refers to the scars the war left behind in the surrounding landscape, and it
makes the links with the surrounding area on the banks of the Yser. However, ‘What remains
of the land’ also refers to Belgian patriotism at the start of the war as well as Flemish
nationalism and the Flemish Movement during and after WWI. We depart from the specific
history of the Yser Tower as a monument and we let visitors reflect on national identity
throughout the exhibition.
The new concept of the site of the Museum at the Yser meets the shifts in historic interest.
Originally, it mainly concerned military, political and diplomatic history. Later on, this evolved
into socioeconomic subjects and even later on to the history of the common man, mentality
and culture. Each generation emphasises something different. The spirit of the age influences
the focus ( source: Historia 5/p. 148).
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White Poppy
The message is one of PEACE, FREEDOM and TOLERANCE, symbolised by the ‘White Poppy’.
The white poppy associates all forms of remembrance with peace and brings across the
message of a wish and desire to no longer try to solve international conflicts with weapons
but solely through consultation.
Nonetheless, the ‘Red Poppy’ is the generally accepted symbol of the First World War, based
on the poem by John Mc Crae ‘In Flanders Fields’, written as a result of the death of his
friend-soldier at the front. He wrote the poem early in May 1915 in his aid station at Essex
farm, 2 km north of the centre of Ypres. The final version was published on 8 December 1915.
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III. CRITICAL THINKING ABOUT SOURCES
The word ‘propaganda’ originates from the Latin propagare, which means expanding or
spreading. Originally, propaganda meant spreading a message. Propaganda is a certain form
of communication where public opinion is influenced to win over followers for certain beliefs
or stands. Propaganda is often characterised by systematically giving one-sided information,
which may or may not be (partly) true, where certain facts are selectively emphasised and
others are consciously withheld. The initiator is usually non-commercial and largely comes
from social, religious or political systems. In this sense there is an overlap with social
marketing and the marketing of non-profit organisations.
In her book ‘Principes élémentaires de propagande de guerre, utilisables en cas de guerre
froide, chaude ou tiède’ Anne Morelli mentions, among others, the ten commandments of
war propaganda.
http://www.intal.be/nl/catalog/products/elementaire-principes-van-oorlogspropaganda
1. We do not want war.
2. The enemy alone is responsible for the war, as he asked for it.
3. We do not wage war against a people, but against the leader of the opposite party, who is
regarded as a monster.
4. We defend a noble cause, no material interests. Don’t wars always concern geostrategic
reasons?
5. The enemy commits cruelties; our mishaps are involuntary.
6. The enemy uses forbidden weapons.
7. We suffer small losses, those of the enemy are enormous.
8. Artists and intellectuals back our cause.
9. Our cause is sacred.
10. All who doubt our propaganda, are traitors.
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In Flanders fields (Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae, 1872-1918)
Focus on the poem’s last stanza. Take account of the time and the circumstances in which the
poem was written. This appeal does not meet the current message of the Museum at the
Yser. The choice of the ‘White Poppy’ as a symbol for the Museum at the Yser is at right
angles to this appeal.
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Dulce Et Decorum Est Pro Patria Mori
Bent double, like old beggars under sacks,
Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge,
Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs
And towards our distant rest began to trudge.
Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots
But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind;
Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots
Of disappointed shells that dropped behind.
Gas! Gas! Quick, boys!-- An ecstasy of fumbling,
Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time;
But someone still was yelling out and stumbling
And floundering like a man in fire or lime.-Dim, through the misty panes and thick green light
As under a green sea, I saw him drowning.
In all my dreams, before my helpless sight,
He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.
If in some smothering dreams you too could pace
Behind the wagon that we flung him in,
And watch the white eyes writhing in his face,
His hanging face, like a devil's sick of sin;
If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood
Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs,
Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud
Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,-My friend, you would not tell with such high zest
To children ardent for some desperate glory,
The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est
Pro patria mori.
Wilfred Owen (1893 – 1918)
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Below is an article from Flemish newspaper De Standaard of 20 July 2014 about the
statement of Ayelet Shaked, on the occasion of the conflict between Israeli and members of
Hamas, where hundreds of Palestinians lost their lives.
AYELET SHAKED, THE ISRAELI MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT
"LET US KILL ALL PALESTINIAN MOTHERS"
(DE STANDAARD 20 JULY 2014)
The Israeli member of parliament Ayelet Shaked has called all
Palestinians ‘terrorists’ and emphasized that all Palestinian mothers
should be killed during an attack of the Gaza strip.
“We should kill Palestinian mothers, so they do not cause new small snakes," said Shaked
disdainfully in the Israeli parliament, the Knesset.
"They have to die and their houses must be demolished. They are all our enemies and
their blood will be spilled by our hands. This also applies to the mothers of killed
terrorists."
The declarations are considered as a definite invitation for a genocide of the Palestinians.
The Turkish prime minister Erdogan reacted with the question: ‘What is the difference
between this mentality and that of Hitler? '
Assignment:
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
Critically examine the statement above of Ayelet Shaked, the excerpt of the poem
‘In Flanders Fields’ and the Museum at the Yser’s view, linked to the poem ‘Dulce
et decorum est pro patria mori’ by Wilfred Owen. Write down your crictical view.

Assess to which extent the propaganda principles above can be found in the
museum’s sources of information. Illustrate with specific examples.

Assess for a current conflict how the propaganda principles above are specifically
applied (11 September 2001, war in Iraq, Afghanistan, conflict between Israel and
Palestine, North and South Korea, Syria, The Ukraine, Mali, Kenya, etc.)
Write a summarised report or have a class discussion about this.
IV. INFLUENCE OF WAR IN VARIOUS AREAS
Each war leads to an accelerated evolution in various areas: the political, socioeconomic,
scientific, art and culture, etc.
1. Political
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Democratisation
National and international organisations
Globalisation
Frist internationalisation attempt: the League of Nations:
The League of Nations was founded on 25 January 1919 (first general meeting on 10 January
1920) on the basis of the Traty of Versailles and was situated in Geneva, with the intention of
‘ending all wars’ via a supranational organisation. At its largest (1934-1935), the League of
Nations had 58 member countries. The League of Nations was dissolved on 20 April 1946, one
day after its last meeting. The United Nations, which was founded in 1945, can be considered
the successor to the League of Nations.
The United Nations (abbreviation: UN) is an international organisation, founded in 1945 by
51 countries. It is an intergovernmental organisation that cooperates in the area of
international law, worldwide safety, the preservation of human rights, the development of
the world economy and the investigation into social and cultural developments. As of 14 July
2011, the organisation has 193 members.
Almost every internationally recognised, independent country is a member of the
organisation. From the head office in New York and other main offices in Geneva, Vienna and
Nairobi, the member states and the specialised organisations of the United Nations make
decisions about essential world affairs and global events at regular meetings. Since the late
1990s, the organisation has increasingly been focusing on internal developments and on how
the United Nations can grow in the demand for a new method of worldwide cooperation.
Six administrative bodies guide the activities of the organisation: the General Assembly, the
Economic and Social Council, the International Court of Justice, the Secretariat, the (currently
inactive) Trusteeship Council and the most imperative and best known body of the United
Nations, the Security Council. In addition, several specialised organisations are part of the
United Nations’ internal system, including UNESCO, the World Bank and the World Health
Organisation (WHO). The United Nations also has specialised programmes, such as UNICEF
and the UN Development Programme (UNDP).
Just like the League of Nations, the UN does not have a standing army of its own: it is
dependent on ad hoc troop contributions from its member states for the supply of so-called
Blue Helmets.
Assignment:
Discuss the relevance of the UN in modern-day conflicts.
2. Socioeconomic

Economic  War economy:
Apart from there being an evolution in observation equipment, offensive weapons and
means of defence, chemical weapons such as chlorine gas and poisonous gas were used for
the first time during the First World War.
Factories started producing unremittingly and injured soldiers (with prostheses) who were no
longer ‘useful’ at the front were also employed here.
On floor 13/14 of the museum you can find more information and illustrations about this.
You can experience the smell of chlorine and mustard gas.

Civil economy:
The accelerated evolution in production methods, materials, innovative products and gained
markets boosted the normal economy.
Steel wire manufacturer Bekaert is a good example of this.
Assignment:
To impact military conflicts, international organisations try to use their influence. Apart
from diplomatic interventions, political but also economic sanctions may be issued.
Below are three recent examples.
Discuss the consequences of such measures on a socioeconomic level.
Fri 15 Aug 2014, 5:12 p.m. De Telegraaf
EU countries agree about weapons delivery to Kurds
BRUSSELS The EU countries may, if they wish, start delivering weapons to the Kurds in
Northern Iraq in their battle against the radical Muslim movement IS. This was
agreed by the ministers of Foreign Affairs of the European Union during an
urgent meeting in Brussels on Friday.
France and Great Britain, among others, had indicated that they wanted to offer the
Kurds military support.
Putin fights back with Russian sanctions
DS Wed 6 Aug 2014 - 8:17 p.m. Update: Wed 6 Aug 2014 - 20:56 p.m. Rik Arnoudt
Russian president Vladimir Putin fights back against the western countries who have
taken economic sanctions against Russia in relation to the crisis in the Ukraine. For
one year Moscow is banning the import of raw materials and agricultural products
from the countries who have taken sanctions against Russia.
http://www.tijd.be/r/t/1/id/9525879.
EU speeds up sanctions against Russia
The EU is speeding up sanctions against Russia. It concerns an extension of the
travel ban and credit freeze. Meanwhile Russia is strengthening its military
capacity.
Last Tuesday the European Union decided to carry out the sanctions, which
were announced last week, sooner than planned. Those sanctions are geared
towards individuals or companies that are given responsibility in Russia’s
policy. According to the EU, Russia is doing too little to run down tension in the
east of the Ukraine.
The decision was unanimous during the meeting of European Ministers of
Foreign Affairs in Brussels. Instead of in July, new names will be added to the
‘blacklist’ this week already.
The ministers also asked the European Commission to prepare economic
sanctions against Russia. The Commission has to assess the impact of a trade
embargo on four sectors: defence, goods that can be used for civil as well as
military purposes, high tech including energy equipment, and financial
services.
According to diplomats, there will be more clarity on these extra measures on
Thursday, when the ambassadors of the EU meet to add names to the
blacklist.

Social:
The Loppem revolution refers to the establishment of the Belgian Delacroix I government on
21 November 1918, after talks in the West-Flemish town of Loppem between King Albert I
and prominent politicians who had stayed in Belgium during the war. The new government
was formed by Catholics, socialists and liberals and very few politicians were involved who
had formed the government in exile during the war, among other reasons because they
supposedly were no longer on the same wavelength as the population.
Among others, the following laws were enforced:
 Introduction of single voting system for men from the age of 21
 Unions were rewarded for their support of the war with recognition and
guaranteeing trade union equality
In Belgium, the war also exposed language abuse. French-speaking officers (behind the front)
gave orders to Flemish soldiers at the front. This was an impetus of the linguistic conflict.
Women had to fill open positions in factories and workplaces. This gave them a form of
freedom they had never had before. They realised that they could do a lot of men’s work
themselves and became more confident. Women did not give up their position after the war,
giving feminism a major impulse.
Assignment:
Indicate in various social areas that today’s social situation originated in the past.
3. Art and culture
On a cultural-economic level a war also leads to the creation of films, books, songs, etc. Visual
artists find inspiration for designing, among others, war monuments and paintings that can
be admired in various museums. Below is a list of valuable films based on books related to
WWI.
 All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) Screen version of the book by Eric Maria
Remaque about his experiences on the Western Front
 Paths of Glory (1957) Masterpiece by Stanley Kubrick about a useless attack, a
senseless court-martial and the madness governing the top of the French army
 La Grande Guerra (1959) Italian film with a tragicomic view of the Italian front
 Lawrence of Arabia (1962) The adventurous British officer T.E. Lawrence and his
fierce attempts to get the Arabic warriors on the side of the Allies in the battle against
the Turks
 The Blue Max (1966) A bold German fighter pilot on the hunt of his first 20 kills and
the corresponding medal and respect of his noble comrades.
 Johnny Got His Gun (1971) Impressive film from the ‘point of view’ of a heavily
mutilated soldier who lost his arms, legs and sight.
 Gallipoli (1981) A young Mel Gibson in the role of an Australian soldier who
eventually ends up in the bloody trenches of Gallipoli during the British campaign
against the Turks.
 The Lost Battalion (2001) Extremely true to life film about an isolated American
battalion of New York tough guys who, led by a shy solicitor, fight a grim battle against
a German superior strength in the French forests in 1918.
 Un long dimanche de fiancailles (2004) Delightful French film in which young
Mathilde wants to find out about the fate of her fiancé who went missing on the
western front
 Joyeux Noël (2005) About the unique Christmas of 1914 when Germans, French and
Brits briefly forgot about the battle and left the trenches for a temporary, fraternal
encounter.

All the King’s men True story: young men who were in the service of the king of
England (chefs, gardeners, etc.) were summoned to report as volunteers. They were
trained together in a battalion and sent to Gallipoli to fight against the Turks, with
disastrous consequences.
4. Science

General:
Fritz Haber
Fritz Haber (Breslau, 9 December 1868 – Basel, 29 January
1934) was a German chemist. His name is mainly linked to
the Haber-Bosch process, which synthesises ammonia from
nitrogen and hydrogen gasses. This process was the basis of
the production of artificial fertilizer and had great influence
on the productivity of farming land across the world. He was
awarded the Nobel Prize for this in 1918.
Haber is a controversial figure, due to his role in the
development of chlorine and mustard gas used in the First
World War. He himself presumed that he was a suspect of
crimes against humanity on the basis of agreements during
The Hague Convention; he was, however, not charged nor
sentenced.
Haber also invented the insecticide Zyklon-B, a poisonous gas which was used in
extermination camps between 1942 and 1944. However, he had nothing to do with the use of
Zyklon-B on people as he passed away in 1934.
Terrorism, a broad notion
De Standaard 18 Aug 2014 by Walter Zinzen
Those who are known as terrorists today can win the Nobel Peace Prize tomorrow. Just look at Mandela
and Arafat, says Walter Zinzen. Will we ever view the leaders of Hamas this way?
Many certainties about the conflict in Gaza are imputed, also in the media. Israel has the right to defend itself, is
one of them. Hamas is a terrorist organisation that must be disarmed and destroyed, is another. At least, this is
what is believed in Tel Aviv, Washington and Brussels. But a lot less is said about the question whether an
occupied people has the right to offer resistance and which means can be used.
Personally, I’m a convinced follower of peaceful resistance as Gandhi taught us. But reality can be more stubborn
than we would like. Nelson Mandela, who was sentenced for life as a terrorist in 1963, experienced this first hand.
The idea that he was a terrorist was not doubted by any person in charge in Johannesburg, Washington or
Brussels. He himself straightforwardly admitted this. Yet his resistance against apartheid began non-violently. The
state at the time responded with terror, but it wasn’t called that. After all, the regime had the right to defend itself.
This is why Mandela opted for an ‘armed battle’. Exactly 30 years after his sentence, he was awarded the Nobel
Peace Prize. ‘Terrorism’, it seems, is a broad notion.
Arafat
What is also striking is that the list of Nobel Prize winners includes other ‘terrorists’, especially in the Middle East.
The former prime minister of Israel, Menachem Begin, for example. In 1946 he was at the head of the Zionist
militia Irgun. In the eyes of the Brits, who were still occupying Palestine at the time, this was a terrorist
organisation. Begin gave the order to bomb the King David hotel in Jerusalem.
91 people died, among them 17 Jews. 32 years later he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize because he had
concluded a historic peace agreement with Egypt.
Let’s not forget Yasser Arafat, the leader of the PLO, the Palestine Liberation Organisation. In the eyes of Tel
Aviv, Washington and Brussels an unadulterated terrorist, because of the many plane highjacks. And especially
because he was partly responsible for the murder of Israeli athletes in 1972 at the Olympics in Munich and
because he ordered attacks on civilian targets in Israel. Still, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994
because he had concluded the Oslo Accords with Israel.
The question arises as to whether a leader of Hamas will ever receive the noble peace prize? This is far from
certain, as it takes two to tango. Mandela met Frederik Willem de Klerk, Begin Anwar Sadat, and Arafat Yitzhak
Rabin. They all received the Nobel Prize and all had blood on their hands.
A Mandela with Hamas or a new Rabin in Israel are, however, nowhere to be found. But wasn’t it Israel that
supported Hamas when it was founded in the 1970s in order to weaken Arafat?
Occupiers
In any case, nuance is called for. Hamas can be talked to, in spite of its anti-Semitic rhetoric, its terrorist activities
and multiple violation of human rights as well as of international law, claims Willem Staes in MO*. He quotes
Khaled Meshaal, a Hamas leader living in exile in Doha: ‘We are not fighting against the Jews because they are Jews.
We are not fighting against other races. We are fighting against the occupiers. I’m ready to live with the Jews, the
Christians, the Arabs and the non-Arabs. I will, however, not live together with occupiers.’
Didn’t our own resistance movements say exactly the same during both World Wars?
Assignment:
What is your position on awarding the Nobel Prize to these people?

Medical-scientific
Below is a contribution of a doctor about the medical situation at the front.
What was the impact of the First World War in the field of medical knowledge? What were
the medical-scientific implications? And the ethical ones?
War is always a breeding ground for new ideas as well as a huge experimental laboratory
where new inventions and technologies can be tested in extreme circumstances without
having to take account of moral objections, without testing on laboratory animals, with an
immense amount of people as lab rats.
The huge numbers, millions of injured people, gave the army command unforeseen
problems, there was no operational plan. From the start and until the rest of the war, there
were major shortages in all areas of medical care: there were too few doctors, stretcherbearers and nurses, so eventually even vets were involved to perform surgery. There was too
little bandaging equipment, surgical instruments, blood and medicine.
Due to a lack of experience there was no knowledge available on how to help victims of
poisonous gas. It also took some time until it was realised that spotted fever was caused by
lice and that delousing was therefore better than having to treat the disease.
THE MOST CRUCIAL ASPECT OF MEDICAL CARE DURING THE FIRST WORLD WAR WAS THAT
“THE WAR” AND NOT “THE INJURED OR SICK SOLDIER” CAME FIRST! THE MOST IMPORTANT
TASK OF THE MEDICAL STAFF DID NOT CONSIST OF HELPING THE INJURED, BUT OF GETTING
THEM READY FOR BATTLE AGAIN AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
Due to the abundance of injured people, priorities had to be set: those who were mortally
injured, were left dying without care. Usually in the aid station behind the lines, transport to
the field hospital required the use of stretcher-bearers, which interrupted the traffic of
soldiers and munition on the small connecting roads, so this was a waste of time. Lightly
injured soldiers were treated and quickly returned to the fighting post. The impression had to
be avoided that a slight injury could be the cause of a few weeks’ revalidation behind the
lines.
A major problem for medical staff was triaging soldiers with mental disorders. Shellshock was
not regarded as a serious mental abnormality until quite late. At first, they were thought to
be cowards who pretended to be ill to escape the trenches. They were easily considered
ready to take up arms again and sent to the front. Some were tried as examples. These trials
were ordered by their own comrades. Eventually, in the British army alone, 80,000 soldiers
were treated for Shellshock.
The second major problem was the surgical treatment of an endless variation and
combination of multiple injuries: not a single doctor had ever been confronted by this.
The result was that many operations were pure improvisations. Experimental surgery was
carried out frequently, mostly among the heavily injured who had been given up on. Medical
deontology was sacrificed to the circumstances of war. People had limbs amputated without
an anaesthetic.
As wounds were almost always dirty because of mud or items of clothing, infection was the
order of the day. Disinfecting wounds in the primitive aid station in extremely precarious
circumstances was usually impossible so injuries that at first sight seemed innocent, led to
the spread of infections and gas gangrene, making amputation inevitable, if a life was to be
saved. Antibiotics didn’t exist yet, and one in four injured soldiers died because of infection.
Another unprecedented phenomenon with which doctors were confronted, was the use of
poisonous gas. First, chlorine gas was used, later phosgene and finally mustard gas. The
consequences were horrendous: asphyxiation, blindness and chemical burns. Initially, a
cotton cloth drenched in urine had to protect patients from the worst suffering. Later, better
gas masks were designed, but the gas stayed in clothing so doctors in aid stations were also
affected by it.
In the beginning of the war, the transport of injured soldiers from the front was assured by
two stretcher-bearers with the patient on a stretcher. Later, motorised ambulances were
used, but they never had right of way over the transport of troops or munition, so many
heavily injured soldiers died during transport.
A daily problem of gigantic proportions that is barely mentioned and of which there are no
statistics was the continuous plague of “banal” diseases. They were provoked by the
extremely poor living conditions in the trenches: drudging through mud mixed with urine and
stools, latrines were rarely or never provided, wearing wet clothing while it was impossible to
wash for days. Food was often inadequate and substandard, soldiers had to wait for
provisions for days.
Colds and bronchitis with all related complications were never treated. Even if there was a
treatment, they were certainly no reasons to leave the fighting post. Diarrhoea was a true
nightmare: due to the poor provision of clean water, soldiers were sometimes obliged to
drink water from rain puddles. This water was always contaminated, with disastrous
consequences. There was also no treatment for this and this was certainly no reason for
going to the aid station, as those were already drowning in work.
Typhoid, scabies, typhoid fever and eczema were extremely prevalent, but were objective
and recognisable; anxiety and panic attacks, severe depression were daily occurrences, but
without treatment the victim had to make the best of it. At the end of the war there was the
atrocious Spanish flu epidemic: thousands of exhausted and malnourished soldiers became
victims after all.
Assignment: The text makes you think about a number of ethical questions.
 How do you feel about medical experiments on injured soldiers,
terminal patients, the disabled, etc.?
 A heavily injured soldier is dying but is suffering unbearable pain. Is it
acceptable that a doctor gives him an injection to alleviate his
suffering
(= euthanasia)?
 How do you feel about using child soldiers in military conflicts, e.g. in
Africa?
 How do you feel about ‘human shields’ in war zones?
‘The past lies in the present, in the now that is to
come’
is a well-known statement of Dutch historian, linguist, poet and solicitor
Willem Bilderdijk.
1914-1918
2014-2018
We cherish the memory of those who gave their life
for our freedom and democracy.