The association today
Le mémorial du LINGE The museum is entirely managed by a local association comprised of approximately 70 volunteer members who handle visitor reception, museum and battlefield maintenance, guided tours, and collection management. The battlefield site, having been preserved, is a listed historical monument and belongs to the State; the museum building belongs to the municipality of Orbey, which has entrusted its management to the association.
The committee is currently composed of the following members:
- President: Dominique Muller
- Vice-President: José Bretz
- Treasurer: Rose-Blanche Dupont
- Assistant Treasurer: Thierry Garand
- Secretary: Blandine Jacquey
- Assistant Secretary: Régine Henry
- Assessors: Antoine Balthazard, Andrea Irtanucci, Michel Compoint, Bertrand Munier, Thierry Schmitt, Thierry Bader, Daniel Savoyen, Christine Marck
- Honorary President: Guy Jacquey
Although the museum is closed from November to Easter due to winter conditions and the closure of the access road, the association's activities continue throughout the year.
Specialized teams are formed for day-to-day management in the following areas:
- Visitors' Museum Welcome
- Guides
- Exterior and interior maintenance work
- Museography
- Bookstore and shop management
- Communication
The association is always looking for volunteers willing to get involved in the operation and sustainability of the Mémorial du LINGE.
The beginnings of the Memorial's history
It is the heart of summer 1967. Mr. Armand Durlewanger, on a walk in the collet du Linge, there he meets a veteran of the 1915 war. accompanied by his grandsons. With tears in his eyes, he lamented that this sacred site, where so many of his comrades fell during the terrible battles of 1915, had been transformed into a garbage dump and left to decay. Linge which had been classified as a "historical monument" in 1921 was "more abandoned than the most crumbling feudal ruins of the Vosges".
The following year marked the fiftieth anniversary of 1918Mr. Armand Durlewanger resolved to return to Linge its true face as a witness to a historical drama and to make it a memorial to a shared suffering of the men of two peoples once at war, then "reconciled over the graves". It was in the spring of 1968 that the first team made up of clearers and diggers launched the operation to renovate the battlefield known as "Operation Remembrance".
This team is largely composed of young people from the Auberge de Jeunesse Europe youth hostel in Colmar. During the clearing work carried out by this team of volunteers, focusing primarily on clearing and repairing the first and second German lines, several skeletons of French soldiers were unearthed. These locations are now marked with white crosses.
Creation of an initial committee
As the initial work was nearing completion by autumn, on October 3, 1968, the first committee was formed to decide on the future construction of a memorial, which would house a Museum of Remembrance of the 1914-1918 Vosges War. A national fundraising campaign was launched to finance the memorial, scheduled for completion in 1970. This committee, which drafted the statutes of the new association, included:
- Mr. Jean d'ARMAU DE POUYDRAGUIN, son of the General – Paris
- Mr. WETZEL, Chief of Staff at the Prefecture of Haut-Rhin – Colmar
- Mr. KUBLER, Mayor of Sélestat
- Mr. Hemmerle, director of the Dernières Nouvelles d'Alsace – Colmar
- Dr. GRUNENWALD, President of the Reserve Officers of Colmar
- Mr. VOGELEISEN, retired from National Education – Munster
- Mr. WISSON, SNCF agent – Wihr au Val
- Mr. SCHUSTER, Mayor of Orbey
- Mr. RAFFNER, President of the Souvenir Français – Orbey
- Mr. DURLEWANGER, historian – Colmar
- Mr. FLECKINGER, painting company owner – Colmar
- Mr. GRAFF, retired – Munster
- Mr. HERZ, Architect of the Buildings of France – Colmar
- Mr. DUPUY, retired non-commissioned officer – Colmar
- Mr. HELSTROFFER, Director of the Youth Hostel – Colmar
- Mr. SCHARFF, photographer – Colmar
- Mr. Oberlin, Interdepartmental Director of the ONAC – Strasbourg
Birth of the association
The following year, on April 15, 1969, the Constituent General Assembly... the new “Association of Mémorial du Linge » on the baptismal font. Its goals are to to bring together goodwill, efforts and resources appropriate to to secure the battlefield du Linge and the protection of its natural site.
Restoration of the battlefield
During this year, the committee plans to clear the ridge and the French lines below the German lines. Apart from specific competitions, it should be noted that a small group of volunteers is taking part in the various activities necessary for restoring the battlefield, namely: Mr. and Mrs. BOSSHARTH, Messrs. WEISS, DUPUY, WISSON, FLECKINGER, and GEORGE.
That year, the 9th Engineer Regiment from Neuf-Brisach provided assistance :
- A section is clearing brush and partially deforesting the ridge to make it accessible to visitors.
- Another team is undertaking the difficult task of installing a large 20-meter mast.
Since May 24th, the tricolor has been flying at this high place at an altitude of 1000 meters . The 30th Chasseurs Group from Lunéville and the 152nd Infantry Regiment from Colmar are also participating in the restoration of the site.
The Haut-Rhin Equipment Department is developing the esplanade in June by laying asphalt and putting in place signposts for "historical sites and monuments" » at the main intersections serving the Linge.
In August, the Historic Monuments Service began work to consolidate the first German line. This season of work saw the exhumation of twenty more French soldiers (three of whom have been identified), in addition to the ten riflemen (one of whom has been identified) exhumed in 1968. At the same time, five German soldiers were exhumed.
Work begins
The Secretaries of State for Cultural Affairs and Veterans Affairs agreed to sponsor the committee in its work of remembrance. The presentation of the model (by Mr. Chomel) chosen for the construction of the Memorial took place at the Colmar Chamber of Commerce. In 1975, thanks to the intervention of Prefect Burgalat, the building permit for the construction of the Memorial Museum was finally granted by the State Secretariat for Culture. A section of 50 men from the 30th Chasseurs Group of Lunéville undertook the first earthworks for the construction of the Memorial in August. In September, the remains of a young chasseur from the class of 1915 (121st BCP), unearthed in July, were buried in the Wettstein cemetery.
First public visits to the battlefield
In 1977, under the leadership of Mr. Marcel Maire, veterans from Orbey—Messrs. Demangeat, Kohler, Perrin, Pierré, Werlé, and Marchand—held regular meetings every Thursday and Friday at the entrance to the battlefield to raise funds for the construction of the Memorial. In June 1980, just months before the memorial was to be completed, the hut adjoining the battlefield burned down, destroying numerous artifacts found on the battlefield and part of the library (books and postcards). Only ashes remained of the hut. The most significant loss was undoubtedly the "Golden Book." Furthermore, the flag on the mainmast was missing. A police investigation was launched.
The Memorial Museum
The Memorial was inaugurated on August 9, 1981.This second Sunday in August traditionally sees commemorative ceremonies at the Wettstein and Baerenstall cemeteries. It includes the central part of the current building with 3 levels of exhibition space and the reception area. From the outset, visitor numbers were high, with over 50,000 visitors per year. for a seven-month opening period. Groups and school groups visited in large numbers while the restoration and securing of the battlefield continued. The volunteers and committee quickly realized that the museum was becoming too small to comfortably accommodate such a large influx of visitors. An extension was decided upon, including a screening room on the ground floor, a new exhibition space, and restrooms in the basement. A documentary in three languages was made available to provide historical context for the battle. du LINGEThis extension was opened to the public in 1995.
With the centenary of the Great War approaching, a new extension is decided upon.This was facilitated by the implementation of specific public funding for this event. The left wing of the existing building, comprising two exhibition levels including a reconstructed German trench, was inaugurated in 2015, the centenary year of the battle. du LINGE Since then, the site's popularity has remained strong, with the museum welcoming around 40,000 visitors per year, in addition to the free visit of the battlefield during the museum's closure periods. A new extension is planned for 2024 to improve the reception and bookstore area.
