The Reconciliation Cross in Steenstrate commemorates the victims of the first gas attack during the First World War. This attack took place on 22 April 1915, when the Germans used chlorine gas against the Allied troops. The original monument, erected in 1929, was blown up by the Germans during the Second World War. In 1961, the current Reconciliation Cross was erected, designed by architect Paul Tournon. The cross symbolises the reconciliation between the French, Belgian and German nations after the horrors of the war. The monument is located along the Diksmuidseweg (N369), near the Grenadiersstraat and the Steenstratebrug.

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MaestroG

July 30, 2021

Cycling

The previous memorial (1929) was blown up by Germans in 1941. Instead of reproach and documentation, the new memorial focuses on the reconciliation process of the former enemies: a huge cross.
This is an important place to remember that in war all barriers of morality and civilization inevitably fall and therefore war never brings a solution.

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🇧🇪 Herwig Aertbeliën

April 25, 2023

Road cycling

The 'Cross of Reconciliation' replaces the former French memorial to the victims of the first gas attack and the fallen of the 418th infantry regiment, designed by Maxime Real del Sarte (architect Robert Bourin). This memorial depicts a soldier standing in front of a cross, being hit by the gas, grabbing his throat with both hands, while two other soldiers have already been fatally wounded. This memorial was unveiled on April 28, 1929 in the presence of King Albert.

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Location: Ypres, Ieper, West Flanders, Flanders, Belgium

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Reconciliation Cross Zuidschote

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