letters
As letter writing was the most effective way to communicate with loved ones and friends on the front lines, World War I created a world of letter writers. Some letters were written on the backs of pre-printed postcards (such as those shown below), but most were sent on plain paper. Many families saved their letters in personal archives; nowadays, some families have put scans or transcriptions of the letters online. These letters have become an invaluable archive for historians of the Great War. While historians consider such letters to be precious sources that provide unprecedented insight into everything from what conditions were like at the front, to how soldiers and their loved ones felt about the war, scholars must use such sources cautiously, since many letters were either officially or unofficially censored.
Some soldiers discovered that they had hidden artistic talents. Salvatore Cillis was born in Italy in 1892 and immigrated to New York with his family in 1901. He found work as a sign painter at the Levy Co. on Wooster Street in lower Manhattan. During the war he wrote to his former employer and co-workers from basic training at Camp Upton in Long Island and from France.
On a postcard dated October 1, 1917, Cillis describes how the army took men of all shapes, sizes, ethnicities, and national origins, and molded them into soldiers–or, as he called them, “The Bonehead Squad at Attention.” Cillis wrote, “They’re Greeks and freaks, Irish and Scotch, Italians and Jews, the fellow next to me is an Armenian. They’re of all race, color, religion and opinion. They all don’t know what they’re going to fight for, and many don’t care either.” |
* Letters from a Lost Generation (1998).
* Picture postcards from the Great War 1914-1918.
* Postcards from the trenches.
* Picture postcards from the Great War 1914-1918.
* Postcards from the trenches.
Memorials & Monuments
In the decades after the end of World War I, hundreds of thousands of monuments were erected all over Europe and beyond in honor of the fallen victims. In France alone, about many thousands of monuments were created and dedicated to the war dead. Most small towns and villages contain an obelisk, cross or placard with the names of the World War I dead inscribed on it. These small monuments and memorials, as well as the grander monuments in examples such as those listed below, helped to create a sense of collective memory. The trauma of losing a family member or friend was re-interpreted as a loss suffered by the entire nation. Today, thousands of tourists still visit these monuments, as well as battle sites and war cemeteries, in a practice known as dark tourism.
Memorial to Canadian Soldiers (St. Julien, Belgium)
This memorial commemorates the Canadian First Division's participation in the Second Battle of Ypres in Belgium in which they were subjected to the first poison gas attacks along the Western Front. Frederick Chapman Clemesha's sculpture, the Brooding Soldier, was selected to serve as the central feature of the monument. The memorial at Saint Julien was unveiled on 8 July 1923 by Prince Arthur, the Duke of Connaught and the tribute was made by French Marshal Ferdinand Foch, former Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers on the Western Front.
This memorial commemorates the Canadian First Division's participation in the Second Battle of Ypres in Belgium in which they were subjected to the first poison gas attacks along the Western Front. Frederick Chapman Clemesha's sculpture, the Brooding Soldier, was selected to serve as the central feature of the monument. The memorial at Saint Julien was unveiled on 8 July 1923 by Prince Arthur, the Duke of Connaught and the tribute was made by French Marshal Ferdinand Foch, former Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers on the Western Front.
Het Treurende Ouderpaar (The Grieving Parents; Vladslo, Belgium)
The Grieving Parents by Käthe Kollwitz, a noted German sculptress, is located at the Vladslo German war cemetery in the north east of Vladslo, near Diksmuide, Belgium. Established during World War I, the cemetery holds 3,233 war graves. Kollwitz made the statues in the 1930s as a tribute to her youngest son, Peter, who was killed in October 1914 and is buried nearby. The eyes on the father-figure gaze on the ninth stone before him, on which his son's name is written.
The Grieving Parents by Käthe Kollwitz, a noted German sculptress, is located at the Vladslo German war cemetery in the north east of Vladslo, near Diksmuide, Belgium. Established during World War I, the cemetery holds 3,233 war graves. Kollwitz made the statues in the 1930s as a tribute to her youngest son, Peter, who was killed in October 1914 and is buried nearby. The eyes on the father-figure gaze on the ninth stone before him, on which his son's name is written.
The Cenotaph (London, England)
The Cenotaph in Whitehall, central London, is the national War Memorial for the United Kingdom which originated as a memorial to the British losses in the 1914-1918 war. Originally made from wood and plaster it was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens as a temporary cenotaph for a national Peace Day Celebration and the Peace Parade held in London on July 19, 1919. The origin of the word cenotaph is taken from the Greek words kenos meaning “empty” and taphos meaning “tomb.”
The Cenotaph in Whitehall, central London, is the national War Memorial for the United Kingdom which originated as a memorial to the British losses in the 1914-1918 war. Originally made from wood and plaster it was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens as a temporary cenotaph for a national Peace Day Celebration and the Peace Parade held in London on July 19, 1919. The origin of the word cenotaph is taken from the Greek words kenos meaning “empty” and taphos meaning “tomb.”
The Response, 1914 (Newcastle Upon Tyne, England)
Sir William Goscombe John designed this memorial that depicts soldiers marching off to war watched by an angel while women and children bid them farewell. The group at the front shows soldiers and would-be recruits led by two drummer boys. Intermingled are men and boys carrying tools or rifles in uniform or working clothes. Some of the figures are saying goodbye to their families who are also accompanying the group and others wave. Above, flags are flying and a winged angel figure flies at the front, above the group, sounding a trumpet. On the rear side of the wall is the figure of St George flanked by the figure of a Northumberland Fusilier in the uniform of a First World War soldier and a figure of a Northumberland Fusilier in the uniform of 1674, the year in which the Regiment was enrolled.
Sir William Goscombe John designed this memorial that depicts soldiers marching off to war watched by an angel while women and children bid them farewell. The group at the front shows soldiers and would-be recruits led by two drummer boys. Intermingled are men and boys carrying tools or rifles in uniform or working clothes. Some of the figures are saying goodbye to their families who are also accompanying the group and others wave. Above, flags are flying and a winged angel figure flies at the front, above the group, sounding a trumpet. On the rear side of the wall is the figure of St George flanked by the figure of a Northumberland Fusilier in the uniform of a First World War soldier and a figure of a Northumberland Fusilier in the uniform of 1674, the year in which the Regiment was enrolled.
La Tombe du Soldat Inconnu (Paris, France)
During the First World War, the British and French armies jointly decided to bury soldiers themselves. In Britain, under the Imperial War Graves Commission, Reverend David Railton had seen a grave marked by a rough cross while serving in the British Army as a chaplain on the Western Front, which bore the pencil-written legend "An Unknown British Soldier." He suggested (together with the French in their own country) the creation at a national level of a symbolic funeral and burial of an "Unknown Warrior," proposing that the grave in Britain should include a national monument in the form of what is usually, but not in this particular case, a headstone.
In Britain, the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior was created at Westminster Abbey, while in France La tombe du soldat inconnu was placed in the Arc de Triomphe. Although the French had originally decided to bury the unknown soldier's remains in the Pantheon on 12 November 1919 , a public letter-writing campaign led to the decision to bury him beneath the Arc de Triomphe. The coffin was put in the chapel on the first floor of the Arc on 10 November 1920, and put in its final resting place on 28 January 1921. The slab on top carries the inscription "ICI REPOSE UN SOLDAT FRANÇAIS MORT POUR LA PATRIE 1914–1918" ("Here lies a French soldier who died for the fatherland 1914–1918"). A ceremony is held at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier every 11 November on the anniversary of the armistice signed between France and Germany in 1918.
During the First World War, the British and French armies jointly decided to bury soldiers themselves. In Britain, under the Imperial War Graves Commission, Reverend David Railton had seen a grave marked by a rough cross while serving in the British Army as a chaplain on the Western Front, which bore the pencil-written legend "An Unknown British Soldier." He suggested (together with the French in their own country) the creation at a national level of a symbolic funeral and burial of an "Unknown Warrior," proposing that the grave in Britain should include a national monument in the form of what is usually, but not in this particular case, a headstone.
In Britain, the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior was created at Westminster Abbey, while in France La tombe du soldat inconnu was placed in the Arc de Triomphe. Although the French had originally decided to bury the unknown soldier's remains in the Pantheon on 12 November 1919 , a public letter-writing campaign led to the decision to bury him beneath the Arc de Triomphe. The coffin was put in the chapel on the first floor of the Arc on 10 November 1920, and put in its final resting place on 28 January 1921. The slab on top carries the inscription "ICI REPOSE UN SOLDAT FRANÇAIS MORT POUR LA PATRIE 1914–1918" ("Here lies a French soldier who died for the fatherland 1914–1918"). A ceremony is held at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier every 11 November on the anniversary of the armistice signed between France and Germany in 1918.
Delville Wood South African National Memorial (Somme, France)
On July 15, 1916 the 1st South African Infantry Brigade, comprising 121 officers and 3032 men, received orders to take Delville Wood (Longueval, Somme department, France) “at all costs.” For five nights and six days, the South Africans fought against various units of the 4th German Army Corps. Outnumbered, and attacked on three sides they were almost decimated but managed to hold on and fight back, sometimes in hand to hand combat, until most of the woods had been captured. When they were relieved on July 20, only 142 men came out of the woods unscathed and only 780 of the original Brigade survived. Ravaged by the fighting in 1916, the woods were replanted in the 1920’s and restructured to house the South African National Memorial. It was decided that the woods would forever stay the burial ground of the soldiers who lay there. The memorial was designed by Sir Herbert Baker, one of the principal architects of the Imperial War Graves Commission, and was inaugurated on October 10, 1926. A wide avenue, bordered by a double row of Oak trees, leads up to the memorial’s Great Arch, which faces south towards the rows of white headstones. The monument bears inscriptions in English and Afrikaans, and a bronze statue stands on the top. This statue, by Alfred Turner, represents Castor and Pollux leading a war horse and clasping hands in a sign of friendship. It symbolizes the union of all people of South Africa in their determination to defend their common ideals.
On July 15, 1916 the 1st South African Infantry Brigade, comprising 121 officers and 3032 men, received orders to take Delville Wood (Longueval, Somme department, France) “at all costs.” For five nights and six days, the South Africans fought against various units of the 4th German Army Corps. Outnumbered, and attacked on three sides they were almost decimated but managed to hold on and fight back, sometimes in hand to hand combat, until most of the woods had been captured. When they were relieved on July 20, only 142 men came out of the woods unscathed and only 780 of the original Brigade survived. Ravaged by the fighting in 1916, the woods were replanted in the 1920’s and restructured to house the South African National Memorial. It was decided that the woods would forever stay the burial ground of the soldiers who lay there. The memorial was designed by Sir Herbert Baker, one of the principal architects of the Imperial War Graves Commission, and was inaugurated on October 10, 1926. A wide avenue, bordered by a double row of Oak trees, leads up to the memorial’s Great Arch, which faces south towards the rows of white headstones. The monument bears inscriptions in English and Afrikaans, and a bronze statue stands on the top. This statue, by Alfred Turner, represents Castor and Pollux leading a war horse and clasping hands in a sign of friendship. It symbolizes the union of all people of South Africa in their determination to defend their common ideals.
Canadian National Vimy Memorial (Vimy, France)
The Canadian National Vimy Memorial is a memorial to all Canadians who served their country in battle during the the Great War of 1914-1918. 60,000 Canadians were killed. Over 11,000 of those killed died in France but they have no known grave. The Canadian National Vimy Memorial bears the inscribed names of 11,168 missing Canadians, killed in action in France but whose remains have not been found or identified. The monument is the centrepiece of a 100-hectare preserved battlefield park that encompasses a portion of the ground over which the Canadian Corps made their assault during the Battle of Vimy Ridge, a military engagement fought as part of the Battle of Arras. The memorial took monument designer Walter Seymour Allward eleven years to build. King Edward VIII unveiled the memorial on July 26, 1936 in the presence of French President Albert Lebrun, 50,000 or more Canadian and French veterans, and their families.
The two pylons stand 120 feet (30 metres) high from the base of the memorial. They represent Canada and France; one pylon has a carving of the maple leaf for Canada, the other plyon has the fleur-de-lis for France. Both countries shared the sorrow and sacrifice of war. There are 20 sculpted human figures on the monument representing the chorus (a group of eight figures high up on the top of the two pylons represent Justice, Peace, Hope, Charity, Honour, Faith, Truth and Knowledge), the spirit of sacrifice, the defenders, the mourning parents and "Mother Canada." A stone sarcophagus is situated at the foot of the front wall of the memorial. A Brodie steel helmet, as worn by the Canadian soldiers, a sword and laurel branches lie on the sarcophagus.
The Canadian National Vimy Memorial is a memorial to all Canadians who served their country in battle during the the Great War of 1914-1918. 60,000 Canadians were killed. Over 11,000 of those killed died in France but they have no known grave. The Canadian National Vimy Memorial bears the inscribed names of 11,168 missing Canadians, killed in action in France but whose remains have not been found or identified. The monument is the centrepiece of a 100-hectare preserved battlefield park that encompasses a portion of the ground over which the Canadian Corps made their assault during the Battle of Vimy Ridge, a military engagement fought as part of the Battle of Arras. The memorial took monument designer Walter Seymour Allward eleven years to build. King Edward VIII unveiled the memorial on July 26, 1936 in the presence of French President Albert Lebrun, 50,000 or more Canadian and French veterans, and their families.
The two pylons stand 120 feet (30 metres) high from the base of the memorial. They represent Canada and France; one pylon has a carving of the maple leaf for Canada, the other plyon has the fleur-de-lis for France. Both countries shared the sorrow and sacrifice of war. There are 20 sculpted human figures on the monument representing the chorus (a group of eight figures high up on the top of the two pylons represent Justice, Peace, Hope, Charity, Honour, Faith, Truth and Knowledge), the spirit of sacrifice, the defenders, the mourning parents and "Mother Canada." A stone sarcophagus is situated at the foot of the front wall of the memorial. A Brodie steel helmet, as worn by the Canadian soldiers, a sword and laurel branches lie on the sarcophagus.
Thiepval Memorial (Picardy, France)
The Thiepval Memorial to the Missing of the Somme is a major war memorial to 72,195 missing British and South African men who died in the Battles of Somme between 1915 and 1918 with no known grave. Designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, the memorial was built between 1928 and 1932 and is the largest British battle memorial in the world. It was inaugurated by the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VIII) in the presence of the President of France, Albert Lebrun, on 1 August 1932.
The Thiepval Memorial to the Missing of the Somme is a major war memorial to 72,195 missing British and South African men who died in the Battles of Somme between 1915 and 1918 with no known grave. Designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, the memorial was built between 1928 and 1932 and is the largest British battle memorial in the world. It was inaugurated by the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VIII) in the presence of the President of France, Albert Lebrun, on 1 August 1932.
The Verdun Memorial (Verdun, France)
The Verdun Memorial commemorates the Battle of Verdun, fought in 1916. It is situated on the battlefield, close to the destroyed village of Fleury-devant-Douaumont. It was built during the 1960s and has been open to the public since September 17, 1967. It remembers both French and German combatants as well as the civilian populations lost during the Battle of Verdun. Furthermore it is a military museum which displays French and German armaments (including rifles, machine guns and field artillery), military vehicles, uniforms and equipment of both French and German troops during the battle. Over time it has become more of an educational museum than a commemorative monument in an effort to keep younger generations aware of their communal heritage.
The Verdun Memorial commemorates the Battle of Verdun, fought in 1916. It is situated on the battlefield, close to the destroyed village of Fleury-devant-Douaumont. It was built during the 1960s and has been open to the public since September 17, 1967. It remembers both French and German combatants as well as the civilian populations lost during the Battle of Verdun. Furthermore it is a military museum which displays French and German armaments (including rifles, machine guns and field artillery), military vehicles, uniforms and equipment of both French and German troops during the battle. Over time it has become more of an educational museum than a commemorative monument in an effort to keep younger generations aware of their communal heritage.
Tannenberg Memorial (Olsztynek, Poland)
The Tannenberg Memorial commemorated fallen German soldiers of the second Battle of Tannenberg in 1914 near Hohenstein (now Olsztynek, Poland), which was named after the medieval battle of the same name. Following the battle, the victorious German commander, Paul von Hindenburg, became a national hero. The structure was built by the architects Johannes and Walter Krüger of Berlin and completed in 1927. The octagonal layout with eight towers, each 67 feet high, was influenced by the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II's Castel del Monte, and by Stonehenge. The memorial embraced the Anglo/French concept of the Unknown Soldier. In doing so, the architects anticipated the concept of Totenburgen (Fortresses of the Dead) housing mass graves of soldiers. This ideology was mooted in Germany in the 1920s and 1930s. The architects imagined the memorial to be a new volkish "community of the dead" and incorporated the burial of 20 unknown German soldiers from the Eastern Front into the project's conceptualization. Due to its connections to Nazism, in the spring of 1949 the Polish government ordered the dismantling of the remains of the monument. Removal of the ruins continued until the 1980s, by which time virtually all traces of the memorial had disappeared.
The Tannenberg Memorial commemorated fallen German soldiers of the second Battle of Tannenberg in 1914 near Hohenstein (now Olsztynek, Poland), which was named after the medieval battle of the same name. Following the battle, the victorious German commander, Paul von Hindenburg, became a national hero. The structure was built by the architects Johannes and Walter Krüger of Berlin and completed in 1927. The octagonal layout with eight towers, each 67 feet high, was influenced by the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II's Castel del Monte, and by Stonehenge. The memorial embraced the Anglo/French concept of the Unknown Soldier. In doing so, the architects anticipated the concept of Totenburgen (Fortresses of the Dead) housing mass graves of soldiers. This ideology was mooted in Germany in the 1920s and 1930s. The architects imagined the memorial to be a new volkish "community of the dead" and incorporated the burial of 20 unknown German soldiers from the Eastern Front into the project's conceptualization. Due to its connections to Nazism, in the spring of 1949 the Polish government ordered the dismantling of the remains of the monument. Removal of the ruins continued until the 1980s, by which time virtually all traces of the memorial had disappeared.
Turkish battlefield monument and cemetery (Gallipoli, Turkey)
For the people of modern Turkey the Battle of Çanakkale, or, as they call the Turkish struggle to retain control of the Gallipoli peninsula and the Straits of the Dardanelles, the Çanakkale Boğazi, in 1915, was one of the defining moments in their history. There are several memorials in this area, among them the battlefield monument and cemetery. Each Turkish soldier's headstone in the World War I Gallipoli cemetery has the symbol of a crescent moon which symbolizes life, and the symbol of a star which symbolizes death. Together they symbolize that life will continue. The headstone of each Turkish soldier has the name of the town he was born in, his first name, his father's first name, the year of his birth and his age at death inscribed upon it.
For the people of modern Turkey the Battle of Çanakkale, or, as they call the Turkish struggle to retain control of the Gallipoli peninsula and the Straits of the Dardanelles, the Çanakkale Boğazi, in 1915, was one of the defining moments in their history. There are several memorials in this area, among them the battlefield monument and cemetery. Each Turkish soldier's headstone in the World War I Gallipoli cemetery has the symbol of a crescent moon which symbolizes life, and the symbol of a star which symbolizes death. Together they symbolize that life will continue. The headstone of each Turkish soldier has the name of the town he was born in, his first name, his father's first name, the year of his birth and his age at death inscribed upon it.
Oral histories
The Veteran's History Project is an archive of oral history interviews of American veterans from multiple wars. To see the list of interviews with WWI veterans that are available online, please click here.
Museums
* Historial de la Grande Guerre in Somme (France)
* Imperial War Museums in London (England)
* In Flanders Field Museum in Ypres (Belgium)
* National World War I Museum at Liberty Memorial in Kansas City (Missouri, US)
* Royal Museum of the Armed Forces and Military History in Brussels (Belgium), currently hosting an exhibit on World War I
* The Russian Museum in Saint-Petersburg (Russia), currently hosting an exhibit on World War I
* Imperial War Museums in London (England)
* In Flanders Field Museum in Ypres (Belgium)
* National World War I Museum at Liberty Memorial in Kansas City (Missouri, US)
* Royal Museum of the Armed Forces and Military History in Brussels (Belgium), currently hosting an exhibit on World War I
* The Russian Museum in Saint-Petersburg (Russia), currently hosting an exhibit on World War I
sites
Dark tourism or the practice of visiting sites that have witnessed some kind of cataclysmic catastrophe is also part of the commemorative practices that became popular in the wake of World War I. Indeed, visiting the sites where World War I took place is a major touristic attraction these days, with websites offering tours to various sites.
Here is Matthew Davis' account of his voyage to Ramicourt in France where he went to find the spot where his great-grandfather won the Victoria Cross.
Further research
* More examples of letters from soldiers can be found here (click on "View Digital Collection" to see materials) and here.
* The diaries of war poet Siegfried Sassoon published by the Cambridge Library Digital are located at this site.
* Interactive photo galleries on the western front courtesy of The Guardian.
* The Ways of the Great War, virtual exhibition. The First World War is widely remembered as a war of position and trench warfare. At the same time this conflict also involved a lot of movement. Soldiers traveled to and from the front lines, and as a result civilians were also displaced. Soldiers from all over the British Empire arrived in Europe to fight, while Chinese workers left Asia for Europe. Finally, after the war, there was even more movement as families or veterans traveled to the former battlefields, cemeteries and memorials to mourn their lost loved ones. This exhibition reflects on all these intersecting movements and displacements.
* Australian War Memorial, online site that commemorates Australia's participation in WWI.
* Canadian participation on World War I remembered on the Veterans Affair Canada's website.
* The Western Front Association, established in 1980 by military historian John Giles which seeks to educate the public on WWI and the Western Front in particular.
* The Somme Centenary 2014-2018, website on the well-known battle.
* List of cemeteries and memorials devoted to the commemoration of the Gallipoli campaign at Anzac (Turkey).
*The site of the National World War I museum in Kansas City, Missouri, is located here: https://theworldwar.org/.
* The diaries of war poet Siegfried Sassoon published by the Cambridge Library Digital are located at this site.
* Interactive photo galleries on the western front courtesy of The Guardian.
* The Ways of the Great War, virtual exhibition. The First World War is widely remembered as a war of position and trench warfare. At the same time this conflict also involved a lot of movement. Soldiers traveled to and from the front lines, and as a result civilians were also displaced. Soldiers from all over the British Empire arrived in Europe to fight, while Chinese workers left Asia for Europe. Finally, after the war, there was even more movement as families or veterans traveled to the former battlefields, cemeteries and memorials to mourn their lost loved ones. This exhibition reflects on all these intersecting movements and displacements.
* Australian War Memorial, online site that commemorates Australia's participation in WWI.
* Canadian participation on World War I remembered on the Veterans Affair Canada's website.
* The Western Front Association, established in 1980 by military historian John Giles which seeks to educate the public on WWI and the Western Front in particular.
* The Somme Centenary 2014-2018, website on the well-known battle.
* List of cemeteries and memorials devoted to the commemoration of the Gallipoli campaign at Anzac (Turkey).
*The site of the National World War I museum in Kansas City, Missouri, is located here: https://theworldwar.org/.