Sculpture ‘They did not choose their burial place’

This imposing sculpture (almost 4 metres high) has become emblematic of the Chemin des Dames. It was created by the sculptor Haïm Kern (1930-2024) on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the 1918 Armistice, to give a face ‘to these anonymous men who abandoned their future here ’*.

It was first inaugurated on the Plateau de Californie in Craonne by Prime Minister Lionel Jospin in November 1998, before being vandalised a year later and again in 2006.
It was restored but finally stolen in August 2014.

The one you see today was recast and moved to the terrace of the Caverne du Dragon...

* dixit Haïm Kern in 14/18 Aujourd'hui/ Heute, ed. Noesis, Publication de l'histoire de Peronne, May 1999