Verdun 1916: Danes, Poles, Senegalese

The Verdun Memorial honors fighters from around the world who took part in the 1916 battle. The exhibition “Worlds in Battle: Verdun 1916,” unveiled 110 years after the conflict, offers an “innovative perspective” that goes beyond the traditional view of a “paroxysmal” Franco-German duel, according to Nicolas Barret, the memorial’s director.

The exhibition aims to “take a broader view” and adopt a “global perspective” of this battle that “has been appropriated by a very national, if not nationalistic, history,” the director explained. It presents artifacts and watercolors by artist Timo Bechert illustrating individual destinies.

The remains of Danish soldier Erik Petersen Skött, found near the memorial four years ago, are considered a “rather rare” discovery. “There were a lot of Danes, Poles,” Nicolas Barret specified. These soldiers fought “mostly in the German army, but also in the French army. There may have been fratricidal fighting.”

Thousands of Belgian civilians or Russian prisoners also took part in the battle. The exhibition particularly highlights the Senegalese riflemen: around 200,000 fought during the Great War, including 4,000 at Verdun.