With the horn sounded and the drumbeats rolling, the First World War broke out in the summer of 1914. Many young people from Africa, the Pacific, Oceania, the Caribbean, North America and Asia, including 140.000 Chinese workers, packed up and went to the battlefields of Europe. One of the main frontlines of the war was the Western part of Belgium bordering France and the North Sea. In this inhospitable, cold and rainy place, thousands of soldiers fought both armed opponents and unfamiliar diseases, while struggling in the mud.
The first shot of the Great War was fired in the summer of 1914. Many young men from Africa, the Pacific, Oceania, the Caribbean, North America and Asia, including 140 000 Chinese workers, packed up and left their families to go fight on the battlefields of Europe. Some of the largest and bloodiest battles of the war were fought in the Western corner of Belgium bordering France and the North Sea. In this inhospitable cold and rainy place, thousands of soldiers had to face armed opponents, artillery strikes and deadly poison gases on one side and unfamiliar diseases on the other, all while struggling in a sea of mud that seemed to have no beginning or end.
These young people of different nationalities and ethnicities fought and even died “far away from home”. ,Some of them went to Europe with passion and ambition while some others had no choice,. All in all, they were no different from those born in peacetime: they were curious and also had similar hobbies and interests.
Young people from very different nationalities and ethnicities fought together and died together, “far away from home”. Some of them came to Europe with passion and ambition, others just didn’t have a choice. All in all, those born at war were no different from those born during peacetime: they all had their families, friends, hobbies and ideas.(dreams?)On the occasion of the centennial commemoration of the First World War , let us look back together and learn more about the rarely-told stories of these foreign soldiers.
On this occasion to commemorate the centennial anniversary of the First World War, let us go back in time together and learn about the rarely-told stories of these foreign soldiers.
A photographic exhibition on foreign soldiers in Europe in World War I (1914 — 1918)
Time： 11th – 30th November
Venue: Guangzhou Library, Multiculture Library (8th Floor, North)
Hosts：Guangzhou Library, Consulate General of Belgium in Guangzhou
