Let's never forget

11/11/1918 11h 

in a train wagon in the woods of Compiègne, the negotiators of the Allied Forces and the German Army signed the armistice ending WW I.
Let's never forget and learn in a world where we all seem to become more and more intolerant and seem to be less inclined to give solidarity when we all feel the ongoing crisis.


In Ypres they'll never forget , where volunteers still play every single day at 8 PM the Last Post.



We usually remember today the battlefields of Flanders Fields (eg on this blog here), the millions of deaths there and the many graveyards scarring the landscapes for ever as a remembrance.  What I often forget, is that most of Belgium has spent 4 years as an occupied country. Leuven really suffered in WWI when the German troops thought they had to take revenge for a (wrongly assumed?) attack on them and set the inner city on fire , destroying 1100 homes and sending many hundreds of hostages to work in Germany.

Most houses in the historic city centre have this plaque...indicating they've been burnt down in 1914

Side remark: 
I noticed a cultural difference today:  in Belgium we celebrate Remembrance day with focus at the end of WW I  and to lesser extend WW II. We remember the atrocities of the wars.  My FB feed is full of North-American friends that remember & honor family & friends & acquaintances that have served in a war.