Fallen WWI Soldier's bedroom remains untouched for 96 years.

[Manchu Warrior]

For all we know the soldiers room might be the best looking room in the house. And just to compare this pile is against the wall in my room Than again I believe there is possibly a book case against the wall behind the pile? My youngest son keeps telling me that my room is going to crack and fall off the end of the house.

[Dr_rambow]

If my home could look that nice after 100 years of not changing, then I would attempt what they are doing this to every room in my house!

 

There is a good chance the uniform was damaged 90 years ago when it was balled up in the corner. Note that the cap doesn’t seem to have any of the same issues. The room looks like it is well maintained and cleaned (the one corner notwithstanding).

 

The one thing you can never get back is your original context. Someone ALWAYS modernizes something, be it re-painting, updating furniture, modernizing, etc. It is rare to see anything architectural 100% original like this.

 

The best way to preserve something it not to rip it out of context, but put that context in the best possible atmosphere (maybe fix a drafty window or keep the light out of the room, etc).

[choochoo]

I think you could show respect 'rehousing' it in another way too...but this is unique in that we get a 'real' glimpse into the (very short) life of a young man who died too early...I think it's fascinating.

 

Is it a shrine to 'just' one soldier...yes. But it is also a legacy of how a whole lot of soldiers lived at the time. Two separate, but related, events.

 

And if the soldier came back? No way of knowing how he would react...but I'd guess at first he'd be horrified...and then when he got over that...I think he would be very touched by the sentiment...

 

...and then maybe he'd want his stuff back, lol.

 

Agreed, it could probably be all moved to a museum. But, as it stands it's a one of a kind time capsule.

It's literally a look back in time. I wonder what the whole house looks like. I'm sure if it was here in the states, it'd probably qualify as a historical site.

[Bugme]

If you read the whole article, the current owners are not legally obligated in any way to keep it like this, they did it because of a verbal agreement made in the 30's between people who are no longer alive. If the current owner likes it, then who are we to criticize? Heck, he probably shows it off to his friends and neighbors every chance he gets. Now it has a worldwide audience. How cool is that?

The one thing however that really stands out to me is that the room managed to remain untouched through the Nazi occupation.

[cutiger83]

I guess I am just looking at this from another perspective. It may look like a simple act of sentimentality, but it is an indication the parents couldn't let go.

 

On the surface it seems 'touching' or 'sweet' that their parents 'preserved his memory', but that is not a realistic picture of what such behavior paints. They were living in a self-created hell where they could not move on, because moving on meant that he was really gone forever. They were trying to delude themselves into believing he was still coming home or that he was still alive and could walk in to his room at any moment. There is no telling just how much it affected their lives, but this is enough to get a peek, and while everyone marvels at the curiosity of it, they do not see the tragedy of it; a double tragedy of three destroyed lives, Mother, Father, and Son. Although only one died, the parents might as well have been they were so broken by it.

 

....Kat

[501stGeronimo]

I guess I am just looking at this from another perspective. It may look like a simple act of sentimentality, but it is an indication the parents couldn't let go.

 

....Kat

 

And the problem of not letting go is....? That is how some people grieve. Let's NOT make blanket statements about people we dont know. I deal with people like this on a regular basis, it may seem weird to some, but in reality we all grieve differently.

[cutiger83]

And the problem of not letting go is....?

 

 

Did you read the second paragraph I posted? I explained the problem of not letting go in paragraph two.

 

....Kat

[choochoo]

Kat, while, I think you might be right in your assessment of the parents psychological state, but what they and the subsiquent owners have preserved is, in my opinion, priceless.

[RustyCanteen]

Kat is just saying that to us -100 years removed from the event - it seems normal to have a memorial such as this. But realistically speaking, it's not normal or healthy to block off entire rooms and pretend it will change anything. Yes, some people did this quite often, but that does not mean it was a good thing. It is the extent of this one which is somewhat abnormal, but not unprecedented.

 

While it's a curiosity to us, it was anything but to his parents. A sad reminder of the true cost of war; everyone. Broken families, relationships, friendships; as collectors we tend to only see the few fragments of this heartache in the form of letters or medals. As collectors we can sit and debate why families sell 'priceless' KIA groupings, as though there is something wrong with the family for not wanting to be reminded. No, they are only moving on. Yes, people grieve differently, but Kat has seen more in this preserved room than a collection of photographs, or damaged uniforms. She saw the parents who were never the same once their son was killed.

 

Let us not lose focus that millions of people were affected by WWI, well beyond the number of casualties. Sometimes the casualties can't be counted in deaths, but in instances such as the family of this lost Poliu. RIP.

 

RC

[Bugme]

I think we're turning this into some sort of speculation about grief and "what is" or "what is not" proper grief. My wife spent 8 years supervising the pastoral care department at a medical center. Part of her Chaplaincy job was dealing with grief and bereavement groups. So, I asked her what she thought. Her answer: No one grieves the same as another person. So, what one person calls: not letting go, another person calls: coping.

The intent of this thread is to showcase a very cool well preserved room and I think we need to stop trying to get into the survivors head and just let them rest in peace.

[devildog34]

Nonetheless it's definately an interesting time capsule of pain, heartache and loss, something we of course understand but it becomes a fathomed anamoly as generations pass and those of us who did not know these brave souls personally are left to only imagine, but this in many ways, freezes in time as a harsh and tangible reminder that pain of a parent whose beloved son will never come back to the sanctuary where he spent so much of his life. The items we acquire and honor for the service they represent are the last momentos but here is a grandiose and untouched reminder of how parents cope. My mother's dear neighbor and childhood friend was killed in Vietnam in February 1968. The ambush was so intense that his body was not able to be recovered for well over a week. My mother was called to the house by the parents as the personnel who notified the family were leaving and her memories of seeing the heartbreak will, according to her, never leave her. "I've never seen someone so emotionally devastated like that," said my mother. Right up until his dying day in 2005 this fallen soldier's father would wake up every morning and play old 8mm home videos of his dead child. Hopefully none of us will ever feel that kind of pain or have to experience it again if we have, but this time capsule at least in my humble opinion echoes the pain of losing a child under such circumstances and inevitably unanswered questions. I certainly did not mean to trigger disagreement but thought it was a powerful reminder that we often do not get to see.

Semper Fi

Kevin

[RustyCanteen]

Nonetheless it's definately an interesting time capsule of pain, heartache and loss, something we of course understand but it becomes a fathomed anamoly as generations pass and those of us who did not know these brave souls personally are left to only imagine, but this in many ways, freezes in time as a harsh and tangible reminder that pain of a parent whose beloved son will never come back to the sanctuary where he spent so much of his life. The items we acquire and honor for the service they represent are the last momentos but here is a grandiose and untouched reminder of how parents cope. My mother's dear neighbor and childhood friend was killed in Vietnam in February 1968. The ambush was so intense that his body was not able to be recovered for well over a week. My mother was called to the house by the parents as the personnel who notified the family were leaving and her memories of seeing the heartbreak will, according to her, never leave her. "I've never seen someone so emotionally devastated like that," said my mother. Right up until his dying day in 2005 this fallen soldier's father would wake up every morning and play old 8mm home videos of his dead child. Hopefully none of us will ever feel that kind of pain or have to experience it again if we have, but this time capsule at least in my humble opinion echoes the pain of losing a child under such circumstances and inevitably unanswered questions. I certainly did not mean to trigger disagreement but thought it was a powerful reminder that we often do not get to see.

Semper Fi

Kevin

 

 

Kevin,

 

Thank you for sharing that story with us. It is definitely relevant with the topic. I recall reading a news story of a British woman who was engaged to marry, until the 'Great War' took her beloved from her. She never married and to the day she died had his photo beside her bed. All reminders that at the end of the day, it's more than some scraps or wool or bits of metal that we seek to preserve for future generations. It is the story of those who came before us, which we will ultimately pass on to the next generation, so their sacrifice will never be forgotten, even once the wool is dust and the metal rust.

 

RC

[MAW]

I knew when I posted my first response that I was in the minority.

 

 

 

That is a true statement.

 

The reason this article was written was that this is a unique memorial. It is atypical. It is uncommon.

 

Your viewpoint would make the story a moot point. (Slight pun intended.)

[RustyCanteen]

 

 

 

The reason this article was written was that this is a unique memorial. It is atypical. It is uncommon.

 

Actually, this is not an unprecedented 'memorial'. In order to preserve the privacy of the family whom the story relates, I will not discuss details, but this is not an atypical occurrence at all. It doesn't just happen with those killed in action either, but also to everyday people too. Rooms, possessions, all 'preserved' as 'they' left it; it does happen more than you would realize. Sadly.

 

Since this thread has about reached the end of it's useful life (what can be gleaned from a few photos and one article is about exhausted) I would suggest everyone agree to disagree.

 

Thanks.

RC

[fstop61]

Great concept-execution is a little weird. Might be time to move on, though the fallen soldier can still be memorialized in another more practical way.

[aerialbridge]

This memorial reminds me of a quattrain by a 19th century French poet, Paul Verlaine,

 

I am a cradle
that a hand dangles
in an empty tomb:
Silence, silence!

 

Silence with an exclamation point. A silent scene that speaks to many people. In a country that has witnessed conquest, battle and young men dying going back to even before the place was known as Gallia, this room probably evokes more reverence than curiosity.

 

 

 

[Bugme]

Since this thread has about reached the end of it's useful life (what can be gleaned from a few photos and one article is about exhausted) I would suggest everyone agree to disagree.

Yeah, good luck with that. I made that same suggestion back in post 35.