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Origin and history

The monument to the dead of Arcachon, made by sculptor Alexandre Maspoli in 1924, is distinguished by his marked pacifist message. Located in Verdun Square (former Deganne roundabout), it is dominated by an allegory of Victory, supported by faceless soldiers wrapped in their shrouds, symbolizing anonymity and ultimate sacrifice. Around the base, weeping women embody the pain of families who have lost a father, husband or child, while an old resident and ostreicultress recall the traditional activities of the Arcachon Basin. Pacifist inscriptions, such as "PAX - LABOR" ("Peace - Work") and "FOR LAW" - FOR PEACE", emphasise the aspiration for a conflict-free future, a rarity for the memorials of the time, often centered on military glory.

The history of the monument began in November 1919, when architect Roger-Henri Expert, originally from Arcachon, proposed a first symbolic project: a sword resting on two columns of white stone, to bear the names of the children of the city who died for the homeland. This project, considered too sober or perhaps too abstract, will not be retained. In 1922, a contest was organised, won by Alexandre Maspoli, Lyon sculptor and world weightlifting champion, whose proposal combining expressive force and humanist message seduced the jury. The monument was finally inaugurated on November 11, 1924, in the presence of local figures such as Mayor Ramon Bon, MP Pierre Dignac, and former Mayor James Veyrier Montagnères, marking the culmination of a five-year commemorative process.

Ranked among historical monuments by order of 3 February 2015, the monument to the dead of Arcachon is also distinguished by its urban and landscape integration. It is protected "in full, with its garden and grid", stressing the importance of its environment in the overall perception of the work. The location on Place Verdun, the symbolic heart of the city, reinforces its role as a place of collective recollection and memory. The materials and composition reflect a desire to transcend the mere commemoration to evoke a universal reflection on the human costs of war, while anchoring the work in the local context, through figures representing the trades of the basin.

The choice of a pacifist approach, rare for the time, was part of a minority but growing trend after 1918, where some communes or artists refused to glorify the war. In Arcachon, this artistic bias may be explained by the particularly heavy impact of the conflict on a small coastal community, where every loss felt deeply. The soldiers "faceless" and "embraced in their shroud" evoke a collective and anonymous death, contrasting with the more traditional heroic monuments. This memorial thus becomes a poignant testimony of post-war contradictions: between intimate mourning and national reconstruction, between the celebration of the victors and the implicit condemnation of violence.

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