Belgian Museums of the Great War Belgian Museums of the Great War: Politics, Memory, and Commerce examines the handling of the centennial of World War I by several museums along the Western Front in Flanders, Belgium. In the twenty-first century, the museum has become a strategic space for negotiating ownership of and access to knowledge produced in local settings. The specific focus on museums and commemorative events in Flanders allows for an in-depth evaluation of how each museum works with the remembrance and tourist industry in the region while carving a unique niche. Belgian Museums of the Great War writes the history of these institutions, analyzes the changes made in advance of the anni- versary years, and considers the site-specificity of each institution and its architectural frame. Since museums not only transmit information but also shape knowledge, as Eileen Hooper-Greenhill has noted, the diverse narratives and community programs sponsored by each museum have served to challenge prior historiographies of the war. Through newly revamped interactive envir- onments, self-guided learning, and an emphasis on the landscape, the museums in Flanders have a significant role to play in the ever-changing dialogue on the meaning of the history and remembrance of the Great War. Karen Shelby is an Associate Professor of Art History at Baruch College, City University of New York. Her research focuses on the cultural politics of exhi- bition narratives, memorials, and cemetery design through examination of the visual culture of the Great War. Routledge Research in Museum Studies Selected titles 1 Museum Gallery Interpretation and 8 Animals and Hunters in the Late Material Culture Middle Ages Edited by Juliette Fritsch Evidence from the BnF MS fr. 616 of the Livre de chasse by Gaston Fébus 2 Representing Enslavement and By Hannele Klemettilä Abolition in Museums Edited by Laurajane Smith, Geoff 9 Museums, Heritage and Indigenous Cubitt, Kalliopi Fouseki, and Ross Voice Decolonising Engagement Wilson By Bryony Onciul 3 Exhibiting Madness in Museums 10 Introducing Peace Museums Remembering Psychiatry through By Joyce Apsel Collections and Display Edited by Catherine Coleborne and 11 Representing the Nation Heritage, Dolly MacKinnon Museums, National Narratives, and Identity in the Arab Gulf States 4 Designing for the Museum Visitor Edited by Pamela Erskine-Loftus, Experience Mariam Ibrahim Al-Mulla and By Tiina Roppola Victoria Hightower 5 Museum Communication and 12 Museums and Photography Social Media Displaying Death The Connected Museum Edited by Elena Stylianou and Edited by Kirsten Drotner and Theopisti Stylianou-Lambert Kim Christian Schrøder 13 Global Art and the Practice of the 6 Doing Museology Differently University-Museum By Duncan Grewcock Edited by Jane Chin Davidson and Sandra Esslinger 7 Climate Change and Museum Futures Edited by Fiona R. Cameron and Brett Neilson For more information on this series, please visit: www.routledge.com/Routledge- Research-in-Museum-Studies/book-series/RRIMS Belgian Museums of the Great War Politics, Memory, and Commerce Karen Shelby First published 2018 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2018 Karen Shelby The right of Karen Shelby to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Shelby, Karen D., author. Title: Belgium museums of the Great War : politics, memory, and commerce / Karen Shelby. Description: New York, NY : Routledge, 2017. | Series: Routledge research in museum studies | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2017009320 (print) | LCCN 2017013851 (ebook) | ISBN 9781315673899 (eBook) | ISBN 9781138941052 (hardback : alk. paper) Subjects: LCSH: World War, 1914-1918--Museums--Belgium. Classification: LCC D680.B4 (ebook) | LCC D680.B4 S53 2017 (print) | DDC 940.3074/493--dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017009320 ISBN: 978-1-138-94105-2 (hbk) ISBN: 978-1-315-67389-9 (ebk) Typeset in Sabon by Integra Software Service Pvt. Ltd. Contents List of figures vi Acknowledgements vii 1 Introduction: poppies 1 2 What remains of the country: the war in Belgium 18 3 Planning the centennial 26 4 Site-specificity and the architecture of remembrance 61 5 Historical or memorial site: the museum as ruin 104 6 Immersion: trench and reenactment strategies 126 7 Expression and document: art in the war museum 158 8 The exhibition narrative: an object-centered practice 194 9 Conclusion: tourism and remembrance 227 Bibliography 255 Index 268 Figures 4.1 Westfront Nieuwpoort Visitor Centre, Nieuwpoort 65 4.2 Westfront Nieuwpoort Visitor Centre, Nieuwpoort. Alfred Bastien, Panorama of the IJzer, 1914 (Het IJzerpanorama, 1914), 1921–24. 67 4.3 Entrance to VrijVaderland: Leven achter het Front, Veurne 69 4.4 View of the trenches and Flemish landscape from the viewing platform of the Dodengang, Diksmuide 78 4.5 Memorial Museum Passchendaele, 1917, Zonnebeke 90 4.6 Plugstreet 14–18 Experience, Ploegsteert 94 5.1 Entrance to the permanent exhibition at the In Flanders Fields Museum, Ieper 111 5.2 View of the ruins of the first IJzertoren, Diksmuide. 118 6.1 Personal video narrative at the In Flanders Fields Museum, Ieper 129 6.2 Trenches at Sanctuary Wood Museum (Hill 62), Zillebeke 133 6.3 Trenches at the Dodengang, Diksmuide 133 6.4 Trenches at Hooge Crater, Zillebeke 134 6.5 De Patrouilleurs at the Dodengang, Diksmuide 145 6.6 De Patrouilleurs at the Memorial Museum Passchendaele, 1917 146 7.1 John Hassall, The Berlin Tapestry, 1915 164 7.2 John Hassall, The Berlin Tapestry, 1915 165 7.3 John Hassall, The Berlin Tapestry, 1915 165 7.4 Interior of the Plugstreet 14–18 Experience, Ploegsteert 177 7.5 Detail 178 7.6 Johan Vandewalle with a photograph of brothers Jim and John ‘Jack’ Hunter 190 8.1 Chapel at Talbot House, Poperinge 202 8.2 Royal Museum of the Armed Forces and Military History, Brussels 205 8.3 Sanctuary Wood Museum (Hill 62), Zillebeke 212 8.4 Memorial Museum Passchendaele, 1917, Zonnebeke 218 8.5 Museum aan de IJzer, Diksmuide 219 8.6 Hooge Crater Museum, Zillebeke 220 9.1 Memorial Museum Passchendaele, 1917 242 9.2 In Flanders Fields Museum, Ieper 243 9.3 Café Taverne de Dreve, Zonnebeke 248 9.4 Hooge Crater Café, Zillebeke 248 Acknowledgements I would like to thank the following, without whom this book would not have been possible. Interviews with personnel at the museums, members of the Flemish govern- ment and organizations associated with the centennial preparations were invaluable. Everyone was so kind to take the time to speak to me, sometimes on numerous occasions. Thank you to Paul Breyne, Commissioner-General for the Commemoration of the First World War; Pierre Ruyffelaere, General Coordi- nator of The Great War Centenary (2014–18); Lea Winkeler, Project Manager The Great War Centenary for Visit Flanders; Geert De Proost, General Repre- sentative of the Government of Flanders to the U.S., and Nicolas Polet, Director of Governmental and Academic Affairs, both of Flanders House in New York City; and Stephen Lodewyck, the Program Coordinator for the Centennial of the Great War in the Westhoek for Westtoer. Pierre Ruyffelaere was instru- mental in helping me wrap my head around the intricacies of the centennial funding and provided helpful feedback on Chapter 3. It was lovely to make the acquaintance of David Moortgat and Marc Van Riet and be introduced to the passion they feel for the De Patrouilleurs, a Belgian living history society. I was able to speak with them during a living history event at the Dodengang and through a follow-up interview at Fort Liezele. Those at the many museums include Niek Benoot and Ilse Watteyne, owners of the Hooge Crater Museum; Steven Vandenbussche, Director, and Kristof Blieck, Education Director at the Memorial Museum Passchendaele, 1917; Jan Van der Fraenen, Research Assistant from the Dodengang and the Royal Museum of the Armed Forces and of Military History; Raf Craenhals, Manager of Talbot House; Michael Lemenu, Coordinator of Vrij Vaderland; Matthieu Wulstecke, Coordinator of the Plugstreet Experience; as well as Anny Beauprez, Céline Dumont, and Amélie Demoen; Gerdi Staelens and Rudy Willaert from the Lange Max Museum; Patrick Vanleene, project manager of Westfront Nieuwpoort Visitor Centre, Walter Lelievre, Nieuwpoort town archivist, and Isabelle Mahieu; Dominiek Dendooven, scientific research assistant, Annick Vandenbilcke, scientific assistant and product development and programming, Jan Dewilde, Curator, and Piet Chielens, Coordinator of the In Flanders Fields Museum; Cindy Bruycker of Sanctuary Wood; Steven Maes, Education Coordinator and Peter Verplanke, viii Acknowledgements Conservateur of the Museum aan de IJzer; and Johan Vandewalle of the Café Taverne de Dreve. Students in the museum seminar at the University of Ghent provided feedback and added insight to the interpretations of the Museum aan de IJzer. Thank you to Jan-Baptise Boon, Phylis Dierick, Marjolein Dietliens, Linde Leppens, Olivier Van D’huynslager, and Nina Vanslambrouck. The initial ideas of the book were presented by invited lecture to members of the Research Group ‘Experiences and Memories of the Great War in Belgium’ (Memex WWI), Belspo (Federal Public Planning Service Science Policy Office).