from the eastern front archaeology

Transcription

FROM THE EASTERN FRONT
ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE GREAT WAR
IN ALSACE AND LORRAINE
ARCHEOLOGICAL MUSEUM STRASBOURG
OCTOBER 25th 2013 / DECEMBER 31st 2014
Press contact
Service communication des musées
Julie Barth
julie.barth@ strasbourg.eu
Tel.: +33/(0)3 88 52 50 15
Fax: +33/(0)3 88 52 50 42
www.musees.strasbourg.eu
PRESSKIT « FROM THE EASTERN FRONT. ARCHAEOLOGY OF THE GREAT WAR IN ALSACE AND LORRAINE »
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OCTOBER 25 2013 –DECEMBER 31 2014, ARCHEOLOGICAL MUSEUM STRASBOURG
1.
THE PROJECT
PAGE 2
2.
AN INNOVATIVE PROJECT WITH MULTIPLE RESEARCH PARTNERSHIPS
PAGE 3
3.
A NOVEL FIELD OF RESEARCH: GREAT WAR ARCHAEOLOGY
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4.
HYBRID METHODOLOGICAL STRATEGIES
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5.
ARCHAEOLOGY IN THE FIRST WORLD WAR
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6.
A SOLDIER’S DAILY LIFE: WHAT ARCHAEOLOGY CAN TELL US
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6. 1 Consumption of beverages
6. 2 Hygiene and health
6. 3 Killing time
6. 4 Funerary practices
6. 5 Religion and beliefs
7.
A FRAGILE HERITAGE UNDER THREAT
PAGE 9
8.
RELATED EVENTS
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8. 1 Museum Educational Service visits
8. 2 First World War sites in Alsace and Lorraine
8. 3 Centenary Mission educational videos
9.
RELATED EXHIBITIONS IN STRASBOURG
PAGE 11
9. 1 Strasbourg City and Urban Community Archives
9. 2 Malraux Media Library
10 VISITOR INFORMATION
PAGE 13
11. LIST OF AVAILABLE VISUALS
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1. The project
Through their geographical position, Alsace and Lorraine together make up a frontier zone, which gives
them a special place in First World War commemorations. Having been under German administration - as
the Reichsland Elsass-Lothringen - before their return to France in 1918, the two provinces were at stake
in the conflict. They thus represent a direct link with this tragic time in history, and the memory of the
battles is still a strong feature of their regional identity.
Battles fought in the Alsace-Lorraine area have left significant traces in the landscape, particularly in the
south of Alsace, in the Vosges mountain range and the Meuse department. The subsoil has preserved
traces of work of various kinds, particularly trenches and underground shelters. Recent earthworks
frequently bring to light vestiges from the First World War. Moreover, many sites and monuments have for
years been developing memorial tourism events, attracting countless visitors every year. These include
Saint-Mihiel, Vauquois and Verdun as well as Mutzig, Strasbourg’s ring of forts, Vosges mountain passes
including the Hartmannswillerkopf, Linge, Tête des Faux passes, etc.
The archaeological approach to contemporary conflicts, and particularly to that of the First World War,
has become a highly innovative branch of research, opening up numerous prospects for historical studies
and renewing our understanding of the combatants’ day-to-day existence on the front lines. Significant
results have been obtained in Alsace and Lorraine over the last decade, particularly in preventive digs on
fortified sites such as the recently explored sites of Geispolsheim « Schwobenfeld » in the Bas-Rhin or
Carspach « Kilianstollen » in the Haut-Rhin department.
This exhibition aims to make an initial assessment of this research and to present a wide range of the
objects discovered, both in Alsace and Lorraine, together with structures and layouts found by today’s
archaeologists, on or behind the front lines. Using a widely multidisciplinary approach, it tackles
numerous historical and archaeological issues, illustrated by more than fifty sites so far excavated in
Alsace and Lorraine. There is also a section devoted to the archaeological discoveries already being made
by late 1914, some of them remarkable, when the many fortification works being built turned over vast
quantities of earth in the two regions.
Stress is also laid on the preservation of this threatened military heritage and the solutions envisaged to
protect memorial sites that are rapidly disappearing under developmental pressure. Another considerable
threat is pillaging, contributory factors being the remoteness of the sites and the greed of unscrupulous
collectors, greatly stimulated by rapidly developing activity on the Internet.
This event is part of the First World War Centenary Commemorations and has been organized in
collaboration with the French Rhineland Interdepartmental Archaeology Centre and the Lorraine and
Alsace Regional Archaeology Service.
STRASBOURG CITY MUSEUMS
Joëlle Pijaudier-Cabot
Head Heritage Curator,
Directress, Strasbourg City Museums
ARCHAEOLOGICAL MUSEUM
Exhibition Curator:
Bernadette Schnitzler, Head Curator, Strasbourg Archaeological Museum.
In collaboration with Michaël Landolt, French Interdepartmental Rhineland Archaeology Centre and
Stéphanie Jacquemot and Jean-Pierre Legendre, Ministry of Culture, Lorraine and Alsace Regional
Archaeology Service.
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2 An innovative project involving multiple research
partnerships
The exhibition has been organized by the Strasbourg Archaeological Museum in partnership with the
French Rhineland Interdepartmental Archaeology Centre and and the Lorraine and Alsace Regional
Archaeology Service and will be on view at the Strasbourg Archaeological Museum from mid-October
2013 to the end of December 2014. Organization of the exhibition and research coordination are in the
hands of a multidisciplinary team coordinated by Michaël Landolt (PAIR, Sélestat), Stéphanie Jacquemot
and Jean-Pierre Legendre (SRA Lorraine, Metz), exhibition co-curators with the conservator of the
Strasbourg Archaeological Museum, assisted by the specialist in military history General Jean-Claude
Laparra.
Upwards of fifty specialists - enthusiasts and professionals alike – have also supported the project with
scholarly contributions to the catalogue. Most of them are members of associations aimed at preserving,
studying and promoting the different sites and many were already contributors to an extensive
symposium entitled « Vestiges of Wars in Lorraine. The World War Heritage » and published in Lorraine in
2011 under the direction of Stéphanie Jacquemot and Jean-Pierre Legendre (co-curators of the
Strasbourg exhibition).
Most of the items on display come from digs carried out over the last few years, mainly by the Rhineland
Interdepartmental Archaeology Centre (site director Michaël Landolt), as well as by the National Institute
for Preventive Archaeological Research and the Antéa-Archéologie company. Some exhibits have been
unearthed as recently as 2013. Conditioning and restoration of part of the moveable property from the
Carspach site has mainly been carried out by women restorers from the Rhineland Interdepartmental
Archaeology Centre.
Several complementary loans have been made by institutions such as the Verdun Memorial and by
historians and enthusiasts who have long been working on this period of history in the east of France.
Scholarly exchanges have also taken place with the Militärhistorische Museum der Bundeswehr. In an
exhibition planned for 2014 « 1914 Ein Tag der Rosen im August », in collaboration with the Rhineland
Interdepartmental Archaeology Centre, this museum will be hosting a substantial section of the current
exhibition, devoted to the Carspach site.
Partnerships and syndicated communications ventures are conducted under the aegis of the City of
Strasbourg Department of Cultural Affairs in cooperation with other Strasbourg cultural organizations
staging exhibitions and events for this centenary.
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3. A new research field: the archaeology of the Great War
The archaeology of the recent past has become one of the most innovative branches of preventive
archaeology. First appearing with the large scale redevelopment of the motorway and rail network in
Picardy and Champagne-Ardennes in the north of France at the end of the 1980s, it has since opened up
an extensive new field of research. The north and east of France, crisscrossed by the countless front lines
of the different nations involved in the conflict (French, Germans, British, Canadians among others) paid a
heavy tribute to the fighting. Archaeological interventions on Great War sites, made dangerous by the
presence of live munitions, require the presence of mine clearance teams and until recently,
archaeological digs preferred to concentrate on older sites.
It was the pioneering work of Yves Desfossés and Alain Jacques during construction of the northbound
high-speed rail line, the A29 motorway between Amiens and Saint-Quentin and the “ZAC Actiparc” near
Arras that brought credibility to detailed archaeological study of the traces of a recent past. The publicity
given to the discovery of the grave of Alain-Fournier, the famous author of Le Grand Meaulnes, who
disappeared in September 1914 near Saint-Rémy-la-Calonne, greatly contributed, beyond the purely
memorial aspect, to public awareness of the historical and heritage value of these forgotten vestiges. The
immediate reactions of archaeologists to this work were mixed, but some serious thinking resulted, with
discussions on the relation of their speciality to the “living memory” syndrome, ethical issues and the
emotional charge of Great War vestiges. This new approach to the history of war and the academic and
cultural contributions to be gained from a wide range of thematic perspectives have been the subject of
seminars and round tables organized in the Great War Museum in Péronne, as well as in Suippes, Arras
and Caen.
Alsace, Lorraine, and the Vosges have yielded numerous vestiges from the Great War, many of which had
already been explored by enthusiasts beginning in the 1980s. For the last fifteen years, these sites have
been included in an ongoing programme of preventive archaeology. In Alsace, digs at Geispolsheim
« Schwobenfeld » (Bas-Rhin), and Carspach « Kilianstollen » (Haut-Rhin), as well as at Sainte-Marie-auxMines and Schweighouse-Thann, have led to the emergence of new multidisciplinary issues. Traditional
archaeological methods have been tested on First World War sites and new data brought to light on the
organization of the trenches and the daily lives of combatants on or behind the front lines. To date, more
than 60 sites have been prospected or excavated under the aegis of the French Ministry for Culture and
the Lorraine and Alsace Regional Archaeology Service.
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4. Hybrid methodological strategies
The wealth and variety of documentary sources on the First World War give one the impression of
knowing practically everything about how battles were fought. French and German archives, maps, files
and war diaries, the films and photographs made by official army services or by combatants themselves
provide abundant and detailed documentation. As well as these historical documents, war novels by
recognized writers who fought in the trenches, like Barbusse, Genevoix, Dorgelès, Remarque and Jünger
or other lesser-known writers, as well as war diaries or letters written between soldiers and their families
are themselves remarkable documents providing us with more human or more personal visions of the
war.
Archaeology aims to complement these numerous documentary sources with new and original
approaches. Collecting field data can often provide completely new information, opening up new
approaches to the study of the combatants' day-to-day existences. The methodical excavation of rubbish
dumps yields precious insight into the provision of supplies to the front lines — trade marks, for example,
tell us about the origin of the products consumed — thus giving us insight into the consumption habits and
cultural behaviour of the different nationalities concerned. Some of the rubbish dumps found in billeting
areas behind the lines or in prisoner of war camps have yielded numerous remains of objects made by the
soldiers themselves. These allow us to study the varied techniques used in the "craft workshops" of the
trenches.
The research being carried out on a multidisciplinary basis has led to the introduction of relatively recent
disciplines such as taphonomy, uniformology, parasitology and landscape archaeology and has made it
possible to test and adapt standard techniques in archaeology to the scientific study of First World War
sites. The variety of the materials unearthed — they include leather, paper, fabric, metal, etc. — is a
challenge to restorers faced with the task of cleaning and conditioning them for long-term conservation.
In the field of funerary archaeology, the use of meticulous excavation techniques is an essential element
in the identification of soldiers whose graves have been found by chance. Specialists in funerary
anthropology can make use of such findings to throw light on the exact circumstances of a death or on
previously unrecorded funerary practices.
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5. Archaeology in the First World War
From late 1914, the digging of thousands of miles of trenches and the building of fortifications and
artillery platforms led to unprecedented upheavals of the subsoil in the zones affected by the combats.
Millions of square yards of earth were moved by the earthworks, both in country areas and around cities.
The presence of historians and archaeologists enlisted as non-commissioned officers in the armies at war
meant that a number of observations could be made and the most important finds recorded. On the other
hand, numerous sites along the front lines, both in Alsace and Lorraine, were probably destroyed by the
enormous earthworks.
In Alsace, thanks to his neutral status as a Swiss national and his cordial relations with the authorities,
Robert Forrer, the curator of the Prehistoric and Gallo-Roman Museum in Strasbourg, obtained a pass
allowing him to monitor trench digging and recover archaeological finds. In Lorraine, several important
finds were made. Johann Baptist Keune, the curator of the museum in Metz supervised the rescue of a
Roman altar dedicated to Hercules Saxetanus discovered during fortification work at Norroy-les-Pont-àMousson. A "Frankish" necropolis was partially excavated by German troops at Varvinay in the Meuse and
several stone sarcophagi were extracted. The publicity given to these rescue operations by the German
authorities was in some cases propaganda aimed at legitimizing the occupation of an area containing
Germanic necropolises.
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6. What archaeology can tell us about soldiers' daily lives
6. 1 Consumption of beverages
Apart from quantities of "civilian" crockery made of glazed earthenware and china, often found in rubbish
tips close to the trenches, finds also reveal the consumption of a wide range of beverages. Drinking water
from natural sources was forbidden, due to the risk of epidemics caused by widespread water pollution.
Wine and beer were conditioned in stone jugs and glass bottles. All the combatants carried flasks of
spirits. Schnapps and rum were highly appreciated and spirits were generously distributed to soldiers
before the launching of assaults. Regional specialities made with alcohol and plants have also been found
in the German lines: Nuremberg blueberry wine, brandy flavoured with juniper berries, cumin brandy and
Goldwasser (brandy containing specks of gold) produced in Dantzig. Large quantities of sparkling mineral
water were drunk, as well as sodas and lemonades conditioned in strange "Codd bottles", ingeniously
stoppered with marbles. « Chabeso » produced in quantity after 1914, was a kind of lemonade made with
lactic acid and aromatic fruit. Graduated bottles of concentrated vinegar (Essigessenz) appeared on the
Front from 1917; containing 80% of acetic vinegar it could be used to obtain vinegar for seasoning by
diluting it with water, but it could also be used in treating lice!
6. 2 Hygiene and Health
In the trenches, which turned into cesspits when it rained, mud was the soldiers' main enemy, together
with the cold. It was omnipresent and countless chapters in war novels were devoted to it. During the long
periods at the Front, the lack of privacy, the impossibility of washing or of changing one's underwear, all
combined to make conditions harder to bear for the soldiers. Serious threats to hygiene, and thus to
health, came from the proliferation of parasites, lice in particular, and invasions of rats. It was only
behind the lines, during rest periods, that soldiers were able to wash themselves or clean and repair their
underwear and clothing.
The digging and building of latrines was an activity closely supervised by the military authorities. A
parasitological study carried out in a latrine in the German lines at Geispolsheim identified several
intestinal parasites of the Ascaris, Trichuris and Taenia types. The presence of these worms, which are
responsible for abdominal pains and serious intestinal disorders, gives some idea of the state of health of
soldiers billeted on the site. This was usually the result of poor hygiene, hardly surprising considering the
scarcity and poor quality of their food.
6. 3 Killing Time
Long periods of waiting alternated with downpours of shells and sallies towards enemy trenches in shortlived military engagements. Overcoming fear and boredom by occupying the periods of inactivity in the
trenches or behind the lines thus became a vital necessity. Ways of momentarily escaping the harsh
reality of the situation included constructing all sorts of objects, playing games with cards, dice or
dominoes or reading. Writing was an activity that allowed the soldier to stay in contact with his family and
the letters he received provided essential moral support.
As French war writers including Barbusse, Dorgelès, Cendrars or Genevoix have testified, tobacco, as a
way of escaping from the horror and the monotony of war, was as essential for troop morale as alcohol.
The army provided combatants with free tobacco but, as supplies became scarce, quality deteriorated.
Substitutes appeared, the tobacco being adulterated with leaves from beech, ash or walnut trees or even
with rhubarb. Pipes, having the advantage of staying lit indefinitely and of keeping the soldiers' hands
warm in winter, rapidly gained favour over cigarettes and were adopted by most combatants after a few
months in the trenches.
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6. 4 Funerary Practices
The need to deal with burials amid difficult sanitary conditions led to specific funerary practices that have
progressively come to light through detailed studies of soldiers' graves discovered by chance. Bodies
blown to pieces by explosions and left lying between trenches or hastily shovelled into shell craters and
covered over with a few inches of earth bear witness to the extreme violence of the fighting. When it was
impossible to transport bodies behind the lines, these emergency burials took place in the fighting zone
itself. Soldiers belonging to the same unit, killed in attacks or massive shelling, were reunited in multiple
graves like those of the writer Alain-Fournier and his companions, excavated at Saint-Rémi-la-Calonne
(Meuse) in 1991 or in huge communal graves.
Behind the front lines, burials were more dignified and, when military positions become sufficiently stable,
provisional graveyards were made to house the dead from particular units. Fragile wooden crosses were
hurriedly placed on the graves and at times replaced by gravestones carved by soldiers or commissioned
for their dead comrades. At the end of the war, the French national cemeteries department began the
work of bringing war graves together in huge national necropolises. Yet there were still countless graves
that had totally disappeared or whose very memory the war years and the intense shelling campaigns had
utterly blotted out.
6. 5 Religion and Beliefs
The omnipresence of death was a source of permanent anguish, finding expression in religious fervour
and leading many soldiers to take refuge in religion. Divine protection was invoked by the combatants
through the use of devotional medals, rosaries, figurines of saints or of the Virgin Mary worn or sewn into
clothing. Numerous good luck charms have also been found, in the shape of pierced coins or other good
luck symbols. Rustic chapels were built in troop billeting areas and masses celebrated around open-air
oratories were greatly appreciated by the soldiers.
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7. A fragile heritage under threat
The fact that First World War sites represent a fragile historical heritage, often threatened with
disappearance in the medium term, cannot be over-emphasized. Every year, forestry regeneration
programmes, agricultural activity and regional development are responsible for the disappearance of
large tracts of this heritage.
More insidious and still more destructive is the activity of clandestine diggers equipped with metal
detectors. Under the specious pretence of indulging in a recreational amateur sport, unscrupulous
collectors of military relics are engaging in out-and-out pillaging of military sites and graves. In doing so,
they are irremediably damaging these sites and depriving them of all hope of identification, with the sole
purpose of obtaining these objects. The havoc wrought by metal detectors does irreparable damage to our
shared historical heritage; numerous memorial sites, including soldiers' graves, are vandalized for the
purposes of a lucrative but illegal trade in weapons and objects.
French law punishes such activities by stipulating that the use of metal detection equipment in the search
for pre-historical, historical, artistic or archaeological sites and objects is forbidden without having
obtained prior permission from the authorities (patrimonial heritage regulations, article L 541-1).
Permission for prospecting or excavating can only be granted by regional archaeology services, which are
part of the Ministry of Culture. Pillaging, destroying or deteriorating an archaeological site can lead to a
sentence of seven years' imprisonment and a fine of 100,000 € (articles 311-4-2 and 322-3-1 of the Code
pénal, Law n° 2008-696, 15 July 2008 – art. 34). When several persons are authors or accomplices in
committing these acts, the sentence may be increased to ten years' imprisonment and a 150,000 € fine
(articles 311-4 et 322-3 of the Code pénal).
Fortunately, however, there is growing collective awareness of the historical value of First World War
vestiges, which are now defined by law as being part of the nation's patrimonial heritage. The work of
drawing up inventories of the sites and the surviving vestiges has been carried out for several decades by
volunteer enthusiasts and by regional archaeology services in collaboration with Unesco and the French
national forestry board. This work has led to increased awareness of the historical and patrimonial
significance of these traces of the early 20th century's turbulent history. Educational and tourist facilities
are now bringing these discoveries to an ever-widening public.
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8. Related events
8. 1 A variety of
of visits prposed by the Strasbourg Museums Educational Service
Once again, the Strasbourg Museums Educational Service has thought up a whole variety of different
ways of discovering the exhibition:
- guided visits on the 1st and 3rd Saturday of each month
- "spotlight" guided visits showcasing a theme or object
- special visits for families
- special activities for schools
The Strasbourg Museums Auditorium will be programming a series of films on the subject of the First
World War
All details can be found on the website:
www.musees.strasbourg.eu
8. 2 Sites to be discovered in Alsace and Lorraine
As soon as the war ended, it was clear that there was a strong desire to preserve major elements linked
with the battles. Combatants themselves undertook direct memorial transmission to their families by
taking them to visit battlefields and military cemeteries; « pilgrimages » to the different sites were made
by the families of dead soldiers. Numerous guides were published – the first Michelin guide goes back to
1917 –on the major sites of Verdun and the Somme, as well as on the battlefields of the Vosges, which
were selected and classified as Historical Monuments by the authorities as early as 1921. Over the last
fifteen years, this « memorial tourism » has acquired a cultural and patrimonial function, thanks to the
joint actions of associations and public communities.
In Alsace, where a number of memorial events are approaching, a special effort has been made to
highlight the sites of the Hartmannswillerkopf and the Linge mountain passes in the Haut–Rhin
department. The « Musée Mémorial du Linge » has had a large number of visitors in recent years, drawn by
the impressive vestiges of the murderous battles of 1915. In 2007, a historical theme trail linking the
Hartmannswillerkopf and the Linge passes, based on the original circuit dating from 1990, was created
by the local communities of the Munster valley. Guided tours and booklets are available.
Following restoration of the fort at Mutzig, a « fortress trail» has been created, giving cyclists the chance to
discover Strasbourg's ring of forts, thanks to a network of cycle tracks on both sides of the Rhine River.
Four forts (Rapp, Frères and Kléber and Ducrot) are now open to the public, thanks to voluntary work by
members of several associations.
In Lorraine, too, many sites and monuments are open to allow the public to discover the numerous traces
left by the war: the vast battlefields of Verdun, the Douaumont fortress, the battlefields of the Meuse
(Vauquois, les Éparges …), the vanished villages, the Sacred Way, as well as many cemeteries, such as the
American cemetery of Saint Mihiel and the great national cemeteries of Riche and Frescati. The Verdun
Memorial has begun a vast programme of refurbishing the presentation of its rich collections.
8.3 Educational videos produced by the « Mission du Centenaire »
The « Mission du centenaire de la Première Guerre Mondiale » (www.centenaire.org ) created in 2012 to
coordinate the different private and public celebrations of the WW1 centenary, has edited a series of
short video films which will help you discover many of the sites and themes linked to the Great War. By
kind permission of the Mission du Centenaire, some of these videos will be on show during the exhibition.
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9. Other Great War exhibitions being held in Strasbourg
9. 1 Strasbourg City and Urban Community Archives: « 1914: Strasbourg in Time of War. A German city
behind the lines. ».
Exhibition curator: Laurence Perry, directress, Archives de la Ville et de la Communauté Urbaine de
Strasbourg.
Address and dates :
Archives de Strasbourg, 32 avenue du Rhin – 67076 Strasbourg Tel. : 00 33/(0)3 88 43 67 00.
[email protected] www.archives.strasbourg.eu
September 2014 to February 2015 (estimated dates).
Admission free.
The exhibition, organized by the Strasbourg City Archives, deals with the daily life of Strasbourg's
inhabitants during the Great War. Although a fortified city with a symbolic and military role, Strasbourg
had no direct experience of the fighting. From 1914 to 1918, its inhabitants were obliged to adapt their
daily lives to the requirements of the war effort and the effects of call-up. The issues they faced included
the provision of fresh supplies, the care of the wounded, the role of women and the importance of the
army. News reports and propaganda were daily events and letters arrived from the front with news, good
or bad. This hand-to-mouth existence is retraced by written documents, private or official, and by posters
and photographs.
A catalogue of the exhibition is being published and an educational kit is available for teachers (all levels).
Guided visits by appointment.
9. 2 At the Malraux Media Library: “The Bayonet and the Pencil. Illustrations in print during the First World
War."
Exhibition curator: Olivier Deloignon, doctor in History of art, associate researcher, Ea 3400 Arche,
University of Strasbourg.
Partnership:
Haute École des Arts du Rhin (École Supérieure des Arts décoratifs de Strasbourg).
Address and dates:
Médiathèque André Malraux, 1, Presqu’île André Malraux, 67076 Strasbourg.
October to December 2015.
On the eve of the outbreak of the First World War, illustrated publications were flourishing. For new
readers from all social classes the imagery of previous centuries was obsolete and its codes
impenetrable. As a result, new types of narrative imagery began to develop, appearing in instalments or
as illustrated albums. At the same time, information journalism came into being, and journalists, the
"historians of the instant" in the words of Camus, joined forces with illustrators in applying humour or
caricature to the burning issues of the moment. Lastly, the development of techniques for reproducing
images meant that illustrations could easily be inserted into a literary heritage of tales, patrimonial novels
and drama that was being eagerly rediscovered.
Children’s books, novels or the illustrated press have been given much less attention than printed
illustrations of the battle front, amply studied by First World War historians. Yet the reproductions
appearing in these publications reveal a dramatic situation. That the homeland should present a united
front to the enemy was a sacred principle admitting of no exceptions and the printed image was an
obedient servant of this political ideology. French society of the time, in sharp decline, was powerless to
resist. Images were often subservient to warmongering nationalism and inculcated both young and old
with a denial of the foreign culture that would be difficult to eradicate once peace had returned. At the
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same time, other "image-makers" castigated the imbecility of the officer class, depicted wretches being
massacred under shellfire and denounced the barbarity of a suicidal Europe. The "pictorial papers" of the
time either dissected and vilified the implacable mechanism of military imperialism and mental tyranny
or transcended it, capturing the imaginations of generations of readers before the ink had dried on the
paper. The illustrator's pencil thus became a powerful weapon with which to combat illustratoradversaries. The exhibition invites us to discover this fascinating world.
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10. Visitor information
Address:
Musée Archéologique de la Ville Strasbourg
(temporary exhibitions room and Gallo-Roman section)
Palais Rohan, 2, place du Château, Strasbourg
Tél. : 03 88 52 50 00
Opening times:
10 am – 6 pm
Closed on Tuesday
Closed 1 January, Holy Friday, 1 May, 1 and 11 November and 1 December
Groups:
Booking essential: Service Éducatif des Musées de la Ville de Strasbourg
Tel. +33 /(0)3 88 52 50 50 (Monday to Friday, 8.30 am – 12.30 pm)
For school visits, please consult the educational activities brochure:
(www.musees-strasbourg.eu/visites,ateliers/actions éducatives)
For all enquiries: Monday to Friday, 2 pm – 5 pm, +33 /(0)3 88 52 50 04
Fax : +33 /(0)3 88 52 50 41.
Admission price:
Standard price: 6,5 €
Reduced price: 3,5 €
Admission free:
- visitors under 18 years of age
- carte Culture card holders
- Atout voir card holders
- Museums Pass Upper Rhine Museums card holders
- Édu’Pass card holders
- disabled visitors
- students of history of art and archaeology
- persons seeking employment
- social welfare beneficiaries
- badge-holding CUS employees
- for all, 1st Sunday in the month
One day pass: 12€, reduced price: 6€
3 day pass: 18€, reduced price: 12€ (admission to all Strasbourg city museums and temporary
exhibitions)
Museums Pass Musées – 1 year: individual price 79€; family price 144€ (admission to more than 250
museums in Alsace, Switzerland and Germany).
Catalogue :
The exhibition is accompanied by a lavishly illustrated catalogue of approx. 250 pages,
on sale at the museum cash desk.
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À L’EST DU NOUVEAU ! L’ARCHÉOLOGIE DE LA
GRANDE GUERRE EN ALSACE ET EN LORRAINE
PALAIS ROHAN/MUSÉE ARCHÉOLOGIQUE
25 octobre 2013 - 31 décembre 2014
LISTE DES VISUELS TÉLÉCHARGEABLES SUR LE SITE
WWW.MUSEES.STRASBOURG.EU
1. Chaillon (Meuse) : fosse avec sépulture de cheval,
probablement tué lors d’un bombardement ;
le crâne a été sectionné et placé entre les membres
pour occuper une place plus réduite
(© Photo S. Braguier/ Inrap)
2. Vauquois (Meuse) : une galerie d’écoute allemande
creusée au cours de la « guerre des mines » en Argonne
(© Photo G. Jacquinet)
3. Carspach (Haut-Rhin) : vue d’une partie de la galerie
en bois de la tranchée ;on note la présence d’un poêle en fonte et d’une
pince coupante pour les barbelés
(© Photo M. Landolt/ Pair)
4. Carspach (Haut-Rhin) : vue générale du « Kilianstollen »
avec les structures en bois bien conservées
(© Photo M. Landolt, Pair)
5. Geispolsheim (Bas-Rhin) : petit abri bétonné de tranchée
de la position fortifiée allemande
6. Saillant de Saint-Mihiel (Meuse) : stèle en forme d’obus érigée en
1915 sur la tombe d’un officier bavarois
(© Photo Ch. Lajournade)
Demande à adresser à :
Service communication
des Musées de la Ville de Strasbourg
Julie Barth
2, place du Château, Strasbourg
[email protected]
Tél. + 33 (0)3 88 52 50 15
Fax + 33 (0)3 88 52 50 42
7. Carspach (Haut-Rhin) : verrerie alimentaire, hygiénique et médicale
provenant du dépotoir fouillé à, proximité du « Kilianstollen »
(© Photo Céline Leprovost, pair)
8. Geispolsheim (Bas-Rhin) : bouteilles de bières et d’eaux minérales
provenant de la position fortifiée allemande
(© Photo Isabelle Dechanez-Clerc, Pair)
9. Norroy, près de Metz (Moselle) : découverte d’un autel romain dédié
à Hercule lors du creusement de tranchées militaires
(Doc. Musée Archéologique, Strasbourg)
10. Schweighouse-Thann (Haut-Rhin) : plaque de casque à pointe
wurtembergeois
(© Photo Isabelle Dechanez-Clerc, Pair)
11. Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines (Haut-Rhin) : dépotoir en cours de fouille
dans un cantonnement allemand
(© Photo Alexandre Bolly, Pair)
12. Geispolsheim (Bas-Rhin) : position fortifiée allemande
en cours de fouille

from the eastern front archaeology

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