Funerary and memory sites of the First World War by Stanislaw Warwas
Visited September 2023
I know it means nothing and will change nothing, but I am against this kind of inscriptions! UNESCO is opening the door to any national or international conflict. Even if the monuments to the dead are of the highest artistic value, I cannot forget that they were constructed and built to commemorate also those who were killing, not only defending themselves – for me it is a shame that we make passed or recent wars something to appreciate – and UNESCO list should be made of sites that merit to be unique in a positive way… You can ask me: why you visit these cemeteries and monuments? I visit lots of places, these one amongst them. But not to make them something special, rather to remember that conflicts make conflicts and wars make wars. There are others who do not share my point of view and my point of feelings… For some of them to put something on a pedestal means fighting, fighting without any reflection… I do not even want to imagine that in some years (probably I will not be here anymore) UNESCO World Heritage List (Liste du Patrimoine Mondial de l’UNESCO) would be dotted with war graves and war symbols… Thousands of crosses (like on the picture) do not make me be proud of…