Logo Musée du Patrimoine

All French heritage classified by regions, departments and cities

  2. Patrimoine
  3. Bourgogne-Franche-Comté
  4. Territoire de Belfort
  5. 90500 Beaucourt

  6. Monument to the dead

Monument to the dead à Beaucourt en Territoire de Belfort

Monument to the dead

    48 Rue Pierre Beucler
    90500 Beaucourt
Ownership of the municipality
Museums of France
All statues, arches and monuments classified in France
Photo de Monument to the dead
Crédit photo : Roman Barthe - Sous licence Creative Commons

Timeline

XIXe siècle
Époque contemporaine
1900
2000
1915
Invention of Adrian helmet
24 avril 1919
Construction decision
20 avril 1922
Official Inauguration
19 décembre 2022
Classification of the monument
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui

Heritage classified

The monument to the dead in its entirety, located at 53 rue Pierre Beucler, parcel 214, shown in the cadastre section AE, as delimited in red on the plan annexed to the decree: inscription by order of 19 December 2022

Key figures

Alfred Péchin - First Deputy Mayor Chaired the 1919 Municipal Council.
Louis Kuhn - Engineer at Japy Inventor of the Adrian M 1915 helmet.
Armand Bloch - Sculptor of the monument Author of 11 monuments in Franche-Comté.
Pierre Sellier - Famous local soldier Sounded the 1918 ceasefire.
Marie Bouglé - Field donor Offered the location of the monument.

Origin and history

The Beaucourt Memorial to the Dead, located on Pierre Beucler Street, was designed to honour the 170 soldiers of the commune who disappeared during the First World War. His iconography highlights the industrial role of the city, notably through the representation of the helmet Adrian M 1915, invented by Louis Kuhn, an employee of the Japy establishments. These local factories produced more than 1.6 million of these helmets from 1915, replacing the cervelières to protect soldiers from the projectiles. The monument combines patriotic symbols (Marianne, crown of laurels) and industrial (wheel, thermal motor), reflecting Beaucourt's working identity.

The decision to build the monument was taken on 24 April 1919 by the City Council, led by Alfred Péchin. A budget of 37,530 francs was raised through public subscriptions and donations from Japy and Desfourneaux companies. The land, offered by Marie Bouglé in a working-class city, was chosen for its central location on the main axis of the city. The inauguration took place on April 20, 1922, in the presence of Pierre Sellier, a Beaucourt child famous for ringing the ceasefire of November 7, 1918. The sculptor Armand Bloch, originally from Montbéliard and specialized in funeral monuments, made the work for 26,472 francs.

The monument, which has been classified entirely since December 2022, also illustrates the local recognition of the workers and engineers who contributed to the war effort. Symbolic elements, such as the Adrian helmet with light and the agricultural and industrial tools at Marianne's feet, highlight the link between soldiers' sacrifice, factory work, and collective memory. Armand Bloch, the prolific author of memorials in Franche-Comté, has a style combining realism and allegory, typical of his post-war production.

The exact address of the monument, 53 rue Pierre Beucler, and its integration into a working-class city recall the social anchor of Beaucourt, marked by its industrial history and its commitment during the Great War. Pierre Sellier's presence at the inauguration adds a strong symbolic dimension, linking local history to a major national event. The monument remains today an artistic and historical testimony of this pivotal period for France and its region Burgundy-Franche-Comté.

External links

Page Monumentum