Monument aux morts, Place de la République, Strasbourg
Monument aux morts, Place de la République, Strasbourg is a war memorial on the Place de la République in Strasbourg, the capital of the Grand Est region and the Bas-Rhin department. It was erected in 1936 to commemorate the children of the city who died in the First World War of 1914 to 1918. The memorial was inaugurated on 18 October 1936 by French President Albert Lebrun. Its inscription reads only “À nos morts,” meaning “To our dead.” In other parts of France, the phrase “Morts pour la France” was used instead. The memorial reflects the difficult history of Alsatians, who fought in several wars on both the German and French sides.
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Identification | |
| Title | Monument aux morts, Place de la République, Strasbourg |
| Original German name | Kriegerdenkmal Straßburg |
| Type | War memorial |
Historical context | |
| Historical setting | Alsace-Lorraine belonged to the German Empire when Place de la République was created in the 1880s as Kaiserplatz, and Alsatians fought and died on both the German and French sides in several wars |
| Conflict commemorated | World War I (1914–1918) |
| Purpose | In memory of the city's sons who died in World War I |
Creator | |
| Artist | Léon-Ernest Drivier (1878–1951) |
Discovery and provenance | |
| Fundraising committee | A committee was created in 1936 to raise funds for the memorial |
| Fundraising appeal publication date | 9 June 1936 |
| City council approval date | 15 April 1936 |
| Funding | Private donations; a nominal list of donors was later published |
| First memorial on site | A temporary obelisk erected in 1919 to honor the dead poilus |
| Initiator of the memorial | Henri Lévy |
Physical characteristics | |
| Material | Stone |
| Type of composition | Secular Pietà |
Appearance | |
| Depicted figures | A mother symbolizing Strasbourg holding two dying adult sons on her lap |
| Depicted sons | One German and one French |
| Clothing | The figures are unclothed and not shown in uniforms |
| Pose | The sons are shown fighting, then shaking hands and dying holding each other by the hand |
| Gaze direction | One son looks toward Germany and the other toward France |
Iconography and meaning | |
| Inscription note | The monument has only this inscription and does not mention any specific country; in other parts of France, the inscription would have read "Gefallen für Frankreich" |
| Inscription translation | To our dead |
| Inscription | À nos morts |
| Symbolic meaning | The mother represents Strasbourg; one son fell for Germany and the other for France |
Location and ownership | |
| Location | Center of Place de la République, Strasbourg, Bas-Rhin, Grand Est, France |
| Place | Place de la République |
| City | Strasbourg |
| Department | Bas-Rhin |
| Region | Grand Est |
| Country | France |
| Site context | The monument stands in the institutional center of Strasbourg, northeast of the old town |
| Square history | The square was created in the 1880s as Kaiserplatz and later used by the French administration |
| Urban style | Monumental Berlin |
History and restoration | |
| Charles Frey | Former minister and mayor of Strasbourg |
| Protest | On 15 February 1953, the monument was draped in black during a protest against the verdict concerning the perpetrators of the Oradour massacre, in which soldiers from Alsace were also involved |
| Henry Lévy speech | Delivered last and marked by pacifism |
| Henry Lévy | First deputy mayor of Strasbourg (1919–1922), general councillor, vice-president of the Jewish Consistory of Bas-Rhin, and industrialist |
| Year erected | 1936 |
| Speakers at inauguration | Albert Lebrun, François de Tessan, Charles Frey, and Henry Lévy |
| Inauguration attendees | Albert Lebrun, Henri Sellier, and François de Tessan |
| Inaugurated by | French President Albert Lebrun |
| Inauguration date | 18 October 1936 |
Significance | |
| Commemoration | Fallen soldiers from Strasbourg in World War I |
| Inscription language | French |