War memorial and peace tree Machelen-aan-de-Leie

The war memorial for the fallen and civilian victims of Machelen-aan-de-Leie during the First and Second World Wars and the rising bog oak as a peace tree was erected around 1920-1925 according to a design by Antoon Van Parys. The tree was planted in 1919 after the end of the First World War.

Zulte and Machelen, strategically located on the Leie, were badly hit during both wars.

The region around Machelen suffered particularly heavily during the Liberation Offensive between October 19 and 31, 1918. The battle for the village was particularly fierce. Ultimately, French units of the 6th Army and American tanks managed to break through the German resistance. The death toll in both camps and among the civilian population was very high. It is suspected that at the end of the war about 100 civilians died , including 60 people who died in the cellars of the local brewery from nitrogen gas . 24 others died during their flight, and about 20 others would eventually die from the effects of the Spanish Flu. More than 600 French soldiers died in Machelen alone in the First World War.

Unlike other artists, sculptor Van Parys did not extol the heroism of the fallen. He showed the devastation, suffering and sadness in a serene and almost mystical way. The artist does not create war monuments, but peace monuments . An important feature of his work is the connection between the sculpture and the architecture, he also used a special font.

The white stone statue of the "handcuffed rebel" stands in front of a monumental freedom tree. This consists of a handcuffed man who is only half sculpted. The lower part of his abdomen is still in a stone section. The connection between statue and pedestal, which is already characteristic of Van Parys, takes on an additional dimension here. In terms of style, it is completely in line with the memorial monument in Deinze.

Willem Vandenameele