In Flanders Fields

We were in Belgium for a very short time, but we got to see a lot. We had a demonstration at a chocolate shop (the best chocolate shop!) and the only remaining true belgian lace shop. These were really interesting, but my favorite place was the In Flanders Fields Museum.

This museum is dedicated to the memory of what happened during the Great War in Flanders Fields. There were a lot of interesting displays and even kiosks that would tell you about a persons life throughout the war. You could scan your ticket and get a specific person's story. I followed Bill Clarke from the United States. He left the U. S. in July 1918 and experienced the deaths of many friends in no-man's land before safely returning home in March 1919.

In the museum, we even got to experience no-man's-land. There was a dark room where we heard people's cries for help and enemy fire, and saw pictures of the battlefield. It was all put together to give you the feeling of being in the darkness with everything happening all around you. It was really scary to think that people had to live through that. 

Poster to remember the people in Flanders Fields

The symbol of Flander's Fields is a poppy flower because they usually grow freely in the fields but the battle tore them up so much that nothing could grow. Then, as people were buried, they grew between the crosses.

Actual picture (on a postcard) of the battlefield

U.S. Enlistment Poster
Showing Gernmany as a monster

Walking through the museum helped me understand that everyone in the war suffered. All of the military forces on all sides were taking losses in lives and all sides were responsible. There were no monsters like the governments wanted their people to believe. We were all people, and the only ones to fear were the ones in control.