Ijzertoren, Diksmuide Belgium - December 2018
Full photo gallery online here.
Ijzertoren
Decorated with the abbreviations AVV-VVK (Allen Voor Vlaanderen, Vlaanderen voor Kristus; All for Flanders-Flanders for Christ), Ijzertoren (Yser Tower) sits alongside the Yser River in Diksmuide Belgium. It was built in 1930 in commemoration of the Flemish soldiers killed during the Great War.
The number of Flemish soldiers serving in the trenches during the war ranged between 65-80% while their commanders spoke primarily French. The Flemish Movement and the demand for more Flemish rights began during the war and grew during the period between the World Wars. In 1931 Flemish was declared the sole language of the Flanders regions of Belgium.
Following the end of World War 2 those citizens of Flanders that collaborated with the Nazis were accused and tried for treason. On the night of March 15 1946 the Ijzertoren was dynamited to rubble. Those who destroyed the tower were never caught.
In 1949 the PAX Gate was built using the remains of the tower.
In 1951 work began on reconstructing the tower and was completed in 1965.
Each year since a gathering of Flemish citizens takes place at the tower. Called the Ijzerbedevaart, this pilgrimage remembers the Flemish soldiers killed in the Great War. It also celebrates the desire for Flemish independence from Belgium. This pilgrimage began in the 1920′s and meets at the tower site each year since it was originally built. The pilgrimage was organized by German occupying forces during the Second World War and still attracts neo-nazis each year for the Ijzerbedevaart. The committee now organizing the Ijzerbedevaart, looking to separate themselves from the racists and white supremacists, have tried to stress the original aims of their organization following the end of the Great War, No More War and Autonomy and Truce of God. These messages are clearly in view on the side of the tower today.
The more right wing Ijzerwake organization has since split off from the Ijzerbedevaart and conducts their own commemoration for the victims of the World Wars along with a rally Flemish Independence. This rally takes place in a separate location from the Ijzerbedevaart.
November 26, 2019
