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The ossuary

1 - The town of Verdun lies in northeastern France and has just over 18,000 residents. The landscape is gently hilly, with large forests, meadows and fertile fields where grain is grown. It is a peaceful, tranquil landscape.2 - But in the forests, you can see hollows in the ground that were not formed naturally. They are remnants of the Battle of Verdun, which raged here between February and December 1916. It was part of the terrible First World War, which began in August 1914. In this war, soldiers from Germany and Austria fought against troops from France, England and Russia, later joined by the United States.3 - The Battle of Verdun was fought mainly between German and French soldiers. They faced one another in trenches and dugouts, trying to capture each other’s positions. More than 4,000 artillery pieces were deployed, capable of firing over 10,000 shells in an hour. The noise was deafening, villages were completely destroyed, the battlefield was covered in craters, and only tree stumps remained.4 - The wounded and the dead could not be recovered. Soldiers often had to put on gas masks because poison gas was also used, and many were buried alive. Sometimes they went for days without food, drinking water that had collected in shell holes. It is estimated that around 700,000 soldiers on both sides were killed. Almost all the survivors were wounded in body and spirit, and spoke for a long time of the “hell of Verdun”.5 - The First World War was the penultimate of six wars between Germany and France from 1763 to 1945. During the 1870–71 war, German princes proclaimed the “German Empire” in January 1871, alongside Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, in the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles. The Prussian king was crowned Emperor of the new empire as William I.6 - In the decades that followed, German schools held an annual “Sedan Day” to commemorate a victorious battle in this war. When the First World War broke out, many people across Europe were gripped by war fever. The First World War ended in 1918. Germany had to surrender.7 - The last emperor, Wilhelm II, then abdicated and went into exile in the Netherlands. Germany had to pay large sums to the victorious powers, known as “reparations”. This was one of the reasons the dictator Adolf Hitler came to power in Germany. But he led the country into another world war, which ended in total defeat in 1945.8 - After the Second World War, some statesmen from France and Germany tried to overcome the hostility between the two countries once and for all. French President Charles de Gaulle and German Chancellor Adenauer signed a friendship treaty. They agreed that young people from both countries should visit each other regularly.9 - In addition, an alliance of six countries was formed in Rome in 1956: France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. It has since become the European Union (EU), which currently has 27 member states. The Union aims to resolve conflicts between countries peacefully, promote prosperity and keep borders open. Europe has been at peace since 1945, and even shares a common currency.

10 - Near Verdun, the ossuary still commemorates the terrible days of 1915. The remains of around 120,000 unidentified soldiers from France and Germany are buried here. There is also a large cemetery for French soldiers whose names are known.