“Visit the Crypt of the Monument À la Victoire: Guest Books and Files of 300,000 Decorated Soldiers with the Verdun Medal Available”

In 2022, 6,719 people climbed the 73 steps of the Victory monument to visit the crypt. The city’s flagship building, its wrought iron gate is the work of Victor Prouvé, director of the Nancy School of Fine Arts, and its three mosaic cells represent the palms of glory and peace.

Once the door is pushed open, there are volunteers from the association Those of Verdun, who ensure a permanence there, from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., from 1^is April to November 10. This is the case of Brigitte Thery, 79 years old. Before her, her husband also presented visitors with the guest book and some 300,000 files of soldiers who received the Verdun medal. Classified in alphabetical order, the latter give the surname, first name and number of decorated French and American soldiers.

find a soldier

With this information, families can collect information about their ancestor from the town hall. “Many come to do research on people in their family who have fought,” explains the volunteer. This is the case of a young German, who came here in the footsteps of his great-grandfather. “He fought at Douaumont,” he explains.

If his file is not present because he served in the German army, the representative of the association indicates to the young man the battlefield where his ancestor fought. “Since 2012, we have also started to engrave the names of Germans in Douaumont. So far there are seven.

In rare cases, a date of birth or place of death is indicated on the card. Brigitte Thery, who is also a guide on the battlefield for the tourist office, was thus able to find the grave of the great-uncle of one of the visitors she met. More than that, she took the bus of visitors to meditate on the burial in question. “He died at twenty, barely arriving on the battlefield, and there were thirty people around his grave. I was very moved,” she says.