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Black & White Photography inspired by History
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Waldlager

German World War I relics in France

Bouxières-sous-Froidmont
Bouxières-sous-Froidmont
Vilcey-sur-Trey

Fontaine des Carmes, Saint-Mihiel
Camp Marguerre, Forêt de Spincourt
Kronprinz Abri, Bois de la Gruerie

Waldfriedhof Rabenbühl, La Tête des Faux
Angomont
Le Petit Donon

About the project

While working on my photo project Verdun 1916, my interest in the First World War grew. I wanted to see more of the remains of the Western Front in France. I visited the battlefields of Argonne and Saint-Mihiel. I found many remains of German camps with bunkers, monuments, tombstones and fountains. Striking was that these relics were often richly decorated. The beautiful ornaments and symbols contrasted with the horrors of the trench warfare. I photographed the relics without having any real purpose with these photos. For the time being it was a kind of "bycatch" of my Verdun project.

This changed when I visited the battlefields on the mountain peaks of the Vosges in 2016. I found several German relics here and I decided that this was a project in itself. From now on these photos were no longer "bycatch" and I started to search for new relics. I named the project Waldlager ("forest camp"), since the remains are often found in the woods.

See also:

  • Video impression of Le Petit Donon on Vimeo
  • Video impression of Camp Marguerre on Vimeo
  • My trip to Alsace-Lorraine in 2018 on Polarsteps
  • My trip to Alsace & Argonne in 2016 on Polarsteps
  • My trip to Saint-Mihiel in 2015 on Polarsteps

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Images on Historic Landscapes ©André Ruiter 2006 - 2021
Images on Stereoscopy Blog ©André Ruiter 2019 - 2021, unless otherwise stated
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