After the war, a vast commemorative movement took hold of Belgium’s towns, as was the case everywhere in Europe. Monuments would ‘make something’ of this war, would help the Nation rediscover an identity and a future, so that people had not died for nothing. Memorial steles and monuments were raised, plaques affixed to walls, and obelisks erected. They depicted the soldier, death, or the dead, showing the various facets of the war as its contemporaries saw them. In practice, these monuments and memorials were placed on former battlefields or in the middle of community life: places of battle or death, near churches, in public squares, in cemeteries, etc.

Ceremonies are also being held in the presence of representatives of the Belgian, French, German and Australian authorities all over the world. Events, conferences and memorial tours have been organised. A real memorial task is taking place to deepen the historical knowledge of the general public relating to the various aspects of the conflict. There is another aspect to this of some considerable significance: it is a means of providing economic stimulus to activities related to memorial tourism.