EUROPE

by Dominiek Dendooven, Assistant Curator

The In Flanders Fields Museum offers an introduction to the history of World War I in and around the town of Ypres (officially spelled Ieper), Belgium. Between 1914 and 1918 nearly half a million people from all corners of the world died on the battlefields surrounding the town. The first massive gas attack in world history took place at Ypres on April 22, 1915, with an estimated 800-2000 casualties. The name “Ypres” has become synonymous with many dreadful events, such as the introduction of chemical warfare or battles of attrition such as the Third Battle of Ypres, a.k.a. “Passchendaele,” in 1917.

In Flanders Fields Museum opened in 1998 in the reconstructed medieval Cloth Hall of Ypres, the building itself a symbol of destruction through war and regeneration afterwards. In recent years it has been visited by the Belgian and British royal couples, the prime ministers of Australia and New Zealand as well as the Mayor of Hiroshima. It receives over 215,000 visitors a year, of which more than half are younger than 25.

The museum tells the story of this war from the standpoint of those involved: soldiers, officers, nurses, refugees and local inhabitants, irrespective of which side they were on. Their voices are heard through quotations and personal objects, but also by displaying biographies: every visitor receives a swipe card enabling him or her to identify with someone who was at Ypres during the war throughout the museum visit.

Soundscapes, film projections and models are interspersed with the objects, creating an attractive and stimulating museum environment. Displays focus on the mechanism of military alliances in 1914, the spontaneous Christmas truces of 1914, the impact of new technologies on warfare, daily life in and behind the frontline, the evolution and dilemmas of medical services, the prisoners of war, the presence of soldiers and labourers from more than 50 different countries and the enduring legacies of World War I. As the site of the first massive gas attack, the museum also displays the evolution of the gas mask with documents from the time and poetry related to the dreadful consequences of chemical warfare.

Though the museum is appreciated by all age groups, its elaborate educational programmes focus on ages 14-25, offering a wide range of workshops, educational packages and narrated visits to the cemeteries and monuments in and outside the town. The whole museum makes use of four languages: English, French, German and Dutch. Many objects can be examined through the aid of touch screen computers, providing context through photos, films, documents and sound. The museum is often considered an introduction to the “other museum outside,” the 160 war cemeteries and 200 monuments and other war sites surrounding the town.

Rather than displaying the mere facts and figures of the battles near Ypres, the museum wants to show the nature of war. In this respect it transcends the First World War and reflects on this first industrialized war as the mother of most 20th century conflicts. In this respect this modern war museum reveals to its visitors the realities of war and, consequently, conveys a message of peace. Hence it is considered by many a “peace museum.”

Address: Grote Markt 34 B-8900 Ypres (Ieper), BELGIUM
Phone: +32-57-239-220
Homepage: www.inflandersfields.be
Days closed: December 25, January 1, Mondays (November 16~March 30), Three weeks following the first Sunday of January
Admissions: Adults 8.00 €, Age 7-25: 1.00 €, Age under 7: Free; Groups: 5.50 € p.p., Schools: 1.00 € p.p.

(Originally published on June 8, 2009)