Marianne - Vloethemveld Zedelgem

Just after WWII, from 1944 to 1946, approximately 100,000 prisoners of war stayed in the Vloethemveld. The camp was not a labor camp but a transit camp where the prisoners come and go. To pass the time, they made works of art from demolition material.

Three works of art have been preserved: Saint George and the Dragon, Marianne and the POW camp plaque . They have been brought together under one canopy at the Kamphuis reception building, so that they can be viewed well and are protected against frost, rain and other weather conditions.

Marianne is a statue of a half-kneeling woman with two children , with her right hand on her forehead, peering into the distance , waiting for the return of her POW husband . The daughter is leaning against her mother and has a flower in her hand. The boy rests his head on mother's lap. She put her arm around him. Originally the text on the brick plinth was: " Wann coming du ? Marianne".

Willem Vandenameele