Le Souvenir français
Encyclopedia
Le Souvenir français is a French association for maintaining war memorials and war memory, comparable to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission
.
It was created in 1887 in the departments of Alsace
and Lorraine
. Young women in traditional dress had been furtively placing cockade
s on soldiers' tombs. An Alsatian professor, Xavier Niessen, against Prussian orders in these departments, was keen to show his membership of the French fatherland and thought that remembering those who had died for France allowed the feeling of national unity to be maintained. Thus, on 7 March 1888 he summoned the French to join his new association, which then had a highly active period.
It is one of France's oldest associations d’utilité publique (being recognised as such on 1 February 1906) and has three aims:
Many of its supporters were mobilised in the First World War, with the remaining ones looking after war graves and accompanying the families of the war dead on visits to them. The association was then in charge of 88,000 burials from the Franco-Prussian War
and could only handle 1,700,000 burials of dead from the First World War. Thus the law of 31 July 1920 created the "service national des sépultures", took charge of military cemeteries and organised nationals necropolises. After the Second World War general Lacapelle, president of Le Souvenir Français, demanded the identification of 100,000 French soldiers who had died the battle of France
and the maintenance of their tombs.
It has a general delegation by department, around 1,450 local committees in France and 52 foreign delegations. It now has 130,000 active members.
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves, and places of commemoration, of Commonwealth of Nations military service members who died in the two World Wars...
.
It was created in 1887 in the departments of Alsace
Alsace
Alsace is the fifth-smallest of the 27 regions of France in land area , and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the seventh-most densely populated region in France and third most densely populated region in metropolitan France, with ca. 220 inhabitants per km²...
and Lorraine
Lorraine (région)
Lorraine is one of the 27 régions of France. The administrative region has two cities of equal importance, Metz and Nancy. Metz is considered to be the official capital since that is where the regional parliament is situated...
. Young women in traditional dress had been furtively placing cockade
Cockade
A cockade is a knot of ribbons, or other circular- or oval-shaped symbol of distinctive colors which is usually worn on a hat.-Eighteenth century:...
s on soldiers' tombs. An Alsatian professor, Xavier Niessen, against Prussian orders in these departments, was keen to show his membership of the French fatherland and thought that remembering those who had died for France allowed the feeling of national unity to be maintained. Thus, on 7 March 1888 he summoned the French to join his new association, which then had a highly active period.
It is one of France's oldest associations d’utilité publique (being recognised as such on 1 February 1906) and has three aims:
- to conserve the memory of those who have died for France
- to maintain memorials to France's war dead
- to hand down the memory of them to future generations
Many of its supporters were mobilised in the First World War, with the remaining ones looking after war graves and accompanying the families of the war dead on visits to them. The association was then in charge of 88,000 burials from the Franco-Prussian War
Franco-Prussian War
The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the 1870 War was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia. Prussia was aided by the North German Confederation, of which it was a member, and the South German states of Baden, Württemberg and...
and could only handle 1,700,000 burials of dead from the First World War. Thus the law of 31 July 1920 created the "service national des sépultures", took charge of military cemeteries and organised nationals necropolises. After the Second World War general Lacapelle, president of Le Souvenir Français, demanded the identification of 100,000 French soldiers who had died the battle of France
Battle of France
In the Second World War, the Battle of France was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries, beginning on 10 May 1940, which ended the Phoney War. The battle consisted of two main operations. In the first, Fall Gelb , German armoured units pushed through the Ardennes, to cut off and...
and the maintenance of their tombs.
It has a general delegation by department, around 1,450 local committees in France and 52 foreign delegations. It now has 130,000 active members.