EDITOR’S LETTER
The Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile is one of Paris’ most famous monuments, commissioned in 1806 after the victory at Austerlitz by Emperor Napoleon at the peak of his fortunes. After his abdication and the Bourbon Restoration, work on the massive Arch came to a halt until King Louis-Phillippe, inspired by Napoleon’s vision, decided to finish the monument. Napoleon never had the chance to see his Triumphal Arch, but on 15 December 1840, brought back to France from Saint Helena, his remains passed under it on their way to the Emperor's final resting place at the Invalides. Even though there were many modifications from the original plans, reflecting political changes and power struggles, the Arch still stands and retains the essence of the original concept, which was a powerful, unified ensemble. A symbol for victory and freedom.
Today the Arc de Triomphe stands in the center of the Place d’Étoile, one of the busiest squares in the French capital where millions try to find their way in frightening traffic situations. But busy as it is, underneath the still imposing construction one can find a place of silence and respect. The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is one of those modifications added to the huge monument. Interred on 11 November 1920, exactly 2 years after the Allies of World War I and Germany signed the armistice that ended the Great War, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, marked by the first eternal flame lit in Western and Eastern Europe since the Vestal Virgins' fire was extinguished in the fourth century, became a place where those who lost someone can find comfort.
The Unknown Soldier buried under the Arc de Triomphe is indeed an unknown soldier, chosen from 8 anonymous coffins – each holding the body of a young soldier who died in one of the 8 main places of battle in France - respectfully displayed in the citadel of Verdun. It was the duty and honor of 21 years old August Thin, he himself a relatively unknown soldier, to chose one of the coffins to be placed under the Arch. Ever since Tombs of Unknown Soldiers have been erected or dedicated in various countries, all for the same purpose. But this first one, this one boy chosen by another boy to be the one buried under that Arche where once Emperor Napoleon’s remains passed through on its way to its final resting place, this was the one to commemorate the end of “The War to End All Wars”. Alas, that was not to be, as we all sadly know.
Now, almost one hundred years after this most terrible war came to an end, the 11th of November, Armistice Day, is still a day of commemoration in France. Not only to stand still by the end of the Great War and its many victims, and not even to remember the even more casualties from World War II, but to give honor and respect to all those who laid down their lives – soldiers as well as citizens – in every battle ever fought, and still being fought, every protest every held and every march ever walked, to which we own the freedom we so often take for granted. The freedom to speak our mind. The freedom to choose. The freedom to live our lives the way we believe fits us best. The freedom to be who we are. And to think of the families of those unknown soldiers, those people wo never saw their sons and daughters, husbands and wives, return home and never knew where their remains were left.
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