Memory tourism in eastern France

Abstract eng:
North-eastern France is littered with war memorial sites. Dating from the FrancoPrussian War these memorials are the legacy of first-hand involvement in three major conflicts since 1870. Their original construction offered the opportunity for the manipulation and transformation of the memory of the conflicts they commemorated. Yet, the meaning of these memorials has changed over time as they have been reinterpreted and re-appropriated, often resulting in their deliberate defacement or destruction. These memorial sites now form part of a major tourist industry in the region. This presentation of the tangible memorial as a heritage object necessarily has implications for its intangible remembrance value. This paper demonstrates the ways in which the selective presentation and interpretation of these memorial sites limits their understanding to a singular narrative; perpetuating the role of the memorial as an object of remembrance rather than emphasizing the multiple meanings they now carry as objects of heritage.

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