Will WWI sites in Westhoek become UNESCO World Heritage sites? We’ll know tomorrow
The committee that decides on this is currently meeting in Saudi Arabia. It was not possible five years ago, but with the new candidacy it may be possible. The new dossier focuses more on war education and was submitted together with France.
Bedford House Cemetery along the Rijselseweg in Zillebeke is one of almost thirty military cemeteries and war memorials in the Westhoek that have a chance of being protected as World Heritage. Five years ago the UNESCO committee did not give the green light, but tomorrow it might. Dominiek Dendooven, historian and employee In Flanders Fields Museum: “Their main concern was: war heritage, couldn’t that also be used for nationalistic reasons and pit people groups against each other? The file has been adjusted. We now argue much more strongly: these are places of meeting, places to educate people towards peace and reconciliation.”
Not just cemeteries
The list not only includes military cemeteries, but also monuments such as the Peace Tower in Messines, the Menin Gate in Ypres or the crypt of the old Yser Tower in Diksmuide. There are no additional obligations or money attached to recognition as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is mainly about a symbolic title and prestige. “It is actually a quality mark to say: this is real heritage that is of world importance. That is a boost in terms of tourism. We could use that after COVID, Brexit and the financial crisis. But it is also a boost for the way in which we are dealing with war heritage here in the Westhoek and Northern France,” concludes Dominiek Dendooven.