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Destruction, Reconstruction, And Remembrance: Exploring 'Memory' And 'Environment' Through Pennsylvania World War I Memorials In France, Amy Collins

Honors Theses

After examining the substantial efforts at land reclamation and environmental mitigation accompanying the State of Pennsylvania’s construction of memorials after World War I in France, I discovered a strong relationship between post-war memorialization and environmental mitigation in the areas in which the environmental consequences of WWI continue to affect humans and wildlife. My research illuminates how cultural impulses to build memorials that acknowledged the vast losses, acts of valor, and victories heavily influenced mitigation of France’s ecologically damaged Western Front. Many of France’s former battlefields, particularly in the devastated area known as the Red Zone, weren’t accessible to visitors before …