Ypres Battlefield Threatened
Wednesday April 2, 2008
The town of Ypres in Belgium played an important role in World War I. Ypres was not only the scene of three major battles during World War I, it was the location of the first use of poison gas on the Western Front as well as the location of the first use of mustard gas. This battlefield, covered with trenches and artifacts, is now being threatened with encroaching industrial development. The head of the In Flanders Fields Museum is working to establish set boundaries of the battlefield to prevent destruction of this historical site. He argues not only for the preservation of history, but also mentions how important it is for the town's economy to have the thousands of tourists the battlefield brings each year.
Comments
Sad but probably inevitable that the battlefield is threatened by urbanisation. We can hardly expect the people living there to make their entire city and its surroundings a museum for the rest of the world.
On the other hand, at least the most historic settings (Ploegsteert wood, Polygon Wood, the Kemmelberg, Passchendaele) we should try to preserve.
Husband is educator at the National WW1 Museum in KCMO USA. It is very sad that the history of WW1 is not more in the forthought of people. If you read or know your history to some degree we are still fighting it. Hopefully the In Flanders Field museum will persevere.