Local Time: Afternoon, September 16, 2014
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"Vimy Ridge Canadian National Histric Site"：カナダ人のための追悼碑
Now, there are several World War I-related cemeteries in the Somme, but I chose one that is both large and related to the New World.
First we visited the Cemetery for Canadians.
HistoricPlaces.ca – Vimy Ridge National Historic Site of Canada http://www.historicplaces.ca/en/pages/vimyridge.aspx
It is located in the very vast land of Northern France.
There were more tourists than I had expected, and I was very impressed to see several tourist buses parked in the parking lot.
A plaque near the parking lot.
A very huge memorial. The power is overwhelming.
Wikipediaを見ると、すでにこの追悼碑は1944年頃には作られていたようです。
The names inscribed on the pedestal of the memorial are the names of Canadians who were sacrificed here, whose bodies were never recognized, and who were never able to return to their homelands, but who died in their eternal sleep here.
In the area of this historic site, there are trenches like this? in this historic area.
It was off-limits.
あとでこちらで調べたのですが、どうやらこの塹壕跡は再現されたものなのだそうです。
As for the Vimy Ridge fight, I found a site that explains it very carefully.
This Vimy was an important German stronghold, which was taken over by the Allied forces, mainly Canadian. The battle raised Canada’s international standing.
Wikipediaの西部戦線 (第一次世界大戦)も大変参考になります。
If I had found these sites when I was there, I might have been able to do more meaningful sightseeing. But I have a feeling that I will probably visit this place again.
By the way, it did not take an entrance fee.
"Somme American Cemetery and Memorial"：アメリカ人のための墓地
The next facility we visited was this one, located about an hour away from Vimy. It is a cemetery for the US Army.
Somme American Cemetery | American Battle Monuments Commission http://www.abmc.gov/cemeteries-memorials/europe/somme-american-cemetery
The building looks like a house standing in a quiet plain. I parked my car in front of it. There were no tourists except me.
It’s a strange sight to see the Stars and Stripes and English notation on the French soil, on the European continent.
According to the pamphlet we received at the site (in English), the guide plate, and the internet, American troops were instrumental in breaking through the German « Hindenburg Line » in WWI. (It is known as the Meuse-Argonne offensive.) The Germans suffered a major blow on the Western Front, which finally led to the Armistice on 11 November.
I also went to the bookkeeping. It’s only a few groups a day, but there are still occasional visitors, although not every day.
Well, after I finished the bookkeeping, I went to the cemetery. I was told that all visitors are welcome.
The scene was so quiet that it seemed a lie that such a fierce battle had taken place 100 years ago.
Maybe I can sleep peacefully here.
The simple English phrases are instead convincing and weighty.
The name of the deceased is inscribed on the grave marker. However, not all grave markers are inscribed with the name of the deceased.
On a sunny afternoon, I felt again the beauty of peace. It is because of the sacrifices made by our ancestors that we are able to live in peace and quiet today, and we must never forget this.
A New Look at World War I, an Unfamiliar World War for the Japanese
第一次世界大戦がどういうものだったのか、どういう背景だったのか、語り出したら、調べ始めたらきりがありませんが、僕なりにいろいろな文献を調べて感じたのは、100年前の世界は、現代の我々が思っている以上に原始的な時代だったということです。
原始的とはなにか、それは「相手を倒さなければ自分が倒されてしまう。だから戦争して勝ち抜く以外にない」という思いが当たり前だったということ。
The First World War was originally a war between Austria and Serbia, triggered by the assassination of the Austrian Crown Prince in Sarajevo. Why did Germany somehow become the center of the war, and why was the war fought in northern France, and why did not only the armies of European countries such as the British and French armies, but also the armies of the new continent such as Canada and the United States have to fight here?
It is, after all, to defeat the other side, to gain world hegemony, and to take advantage of colonial rule. If you don’t do that, you can’t conduct colonial and economic domination with your advantage over your opponent. That is why I had to fight a battle that I could not lose, occupy my opponent’s territory, and bring it to a favorable negotiation by force of arms.
It is against this background that I thought it was very primitive, not just prehistoric.
And that the « peace » of the current era was a concept that was finally established through two such past failures.
Japanese people tend to understand the history that led to today’s peace only from World War II, which we were involved in. However, in order to understand the current peace more deeply, I thought it was very important to know the World War I, which was the preliminary stage of the war, and the world view at that time.
難しいけれど、もっと日本人も第一次世界大戦についてしっかりと勉強してもよいかもしれません。
