Erected between 1922 and 1924, “in order to immortalize as quickly as possible the memory of the Poilus who died for France”, they are signed Aristide Maillol, Raymond Sudre, Gustave Violet… From the hands of artists but also of architects or simple entrepreneurs . Decorated with a soldier, a Marianne, a widow with her children or the Chantecler rooster, the war memorials remain memorial sentinels of the Great War.
They wake up every November 11 to honor known fallen soldiers. Like the Unknown buried under the vault of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. War memorials, an idea launched on November 20, 1916 in the middle of the Battle of Verdun, have remained the stone or marble symbols of the Great War for a hundred years. The bloodiest for France. And for the Pyrénées-Orientales.“From the first day, the 53rd Infantry Regiment of Perpignan deplored 1,000 losses in less than an hour in the Battle of Lorraine”asserts the military historian Renaud Martinez, Catalan by heart and residence. In the Catalan citadel, the R3e was then replaced by the 24th Colonial Infantry Regiment, whose active soldiers fell in Charleroi, in Belgium. “Terrible”shudders Renaud Martinez, member of the chair of general tactics of the Armed Forces, reserve officer in Carcassonne since his military service, lecturer, several award-winning writer and author of around fifty works. His specialty? The Catalan Hairy.
Nicolas Parent – Nicolas Parent
Signed Aristide Maillol, Raymond Sudre, Gustave Violet…
Tens of thousands of deaths, according to Antoine Guerrero, current head of the Perpignan Memory Center. His explanation? “The P.-O. paid a very heavy human price in this war because they had a lot of peasants who made very good infantrymen. The poor had a limited life expectancy, they went up to the fire, the bayonet with rifle.” The memorial buildings bear witness to this. From the oldest dating from 1870 to the most modern, some are still built today in memory of all the victims who fell for France – including those of the OPEX -, we find the majority of the names of a father, a son, a cousin, an uncle, nephews from the same family. All succumbed to the 14-18 front. At that time, certain villages will be completely depopulated. The massacre is confirmed by the national registers of military personnel. Between Brittany and Corsica, the P.-O. took the disastrous rank of 2nd most bereaved department in France by the First World War. “In 1914, when the authorities began to compile a census of deceased soldiers, they realized that more than a third of the dead, or 540,000 out of 1 million 400,000, had perished in the first 4 months of the conflict”recalls Renaud Martinez. These weeks where the 53rd RI from Perpignan, the 143rd from Carcassonne and the 80th from Narbonne had been engaged. Decimated.
THE INDEPENDENT – MICHEL CLEMENTZ
When the war finally ended in 1918, “many municipalities wish to immortalize their dead”he continues. The majority of monuments that we know today flourished during this period. Issue ? Only natives of the village can have their name on the memorial. The same goes for plaques placed in churches, consulates and other walls. Without forgetting the legal notion of disappearance in force at the time. “It was necessary to wait two years for the death of a missing soldier to be declared established.”
“Passing by, remember: memory is ours, immortality is theirs”
“The war memorial is not pre-established. Each city has always had the right, and this is still true, to build one or not and to decorate it according to its beliefs and its budget.” The most fortunate will treat themselves to an artist, Aristide Maillol who creates them free of charge, Raymond Sudre or Gustave Violet… The choice is that the buildings are decorated with a soldier, Marianne, Marie or the Chantecler rooster, the emblem of victory and of the Gauls. Some penniless communities use cemeteries, town halls or churches. Each stele thus has its history, its meaning which, “beyond beliefs, reflects the political sensitivity of the place.” Examples, cites Renaud Martinez, “An infantryman with a weapon on his feet embodies neutrality. The Republic carrying a soldier in his arms is roughly the left-wing municipalities of the time. Conversely, a Poilu mounting an attack with a comrade injured rather reflects right-wing politics.” Others are adorned with statues of Louis, the patron saint of Armies, of the Archangel Michael “slaying the Teuton in the image of the dragon”. The list is endless. “The Pyrénées-Orientales wanted to express the horror of war without any other connotation”interprets the historian. In front of the Palais des Congrès, weeping mourners evoke unbearable suffering. More sober, the monolithic steles framed by 4 shells. Richer, allegories of life before representing field tillers, traders, weavers… Don't look for any in Catalonia or Aude, there aren't any. The main thing is that they all carry the same and unique message: “Passing by, remember: memory is ours, immortality is theirs.”
