We spent this day at Ouvrage du Hackenberg, or the Hackenburg Fort, learning about its background and the specific ways in which it was utilized during warring periods. Before we started our tour, we reviewed the history of the region – starting from the Franco-Prussian War in 1870. A series of conflicts stemming from the Kingdom of Prussia’s desire to unify German states and become the dominant force in Europe countering France, this War is credited to be a factor in setting the stage for World War I. From the start, Prussians had an advantage in terms of military strategy, leadership, and technology, and German forces quickly overtook the French in several battles. The Siege of Metz, the most pertinent French defeat in the region we were in, resulted in several hundred thousand deaths and casualties and German capture of the important city. At the conclusion of the war in 1871, the Germans were given the Alasce-Lorraine territory, and French determination to regain their territory was a prominent tension contributing to the first world war.

Next, our guide talked about the background of the fort itself, which played a role in France’s defensive efforts in World War II. In 1940, after several German attempts to advance forward through France’s defensive posts, the Hackenberg was invaded and occupied, a significant blow to French forces, acting as an obstacle to further advancements to take back the Lorraine region. 90^th infantry division of American forces finally broke through in 1944, infiltrating the fort through the Block 8 entrance.

The background information we received was particularly helpful as we traversed the fort, as it gave meaning to what we were meant to be observing. First, we walked to a location in the M1 “Magasin a Munitions,” or ammunition store, an oval shaped gallery on the west wing of the fort that contained bomb launchers, cannons, etc. Afterwards, we were given a brief history of a large door that ran almost the entire height of the fort (20-30 feet tall). The door had a specific locking mechanism that allowed it to be opened and closed in a set amount of time. However, an explosion in another part of the fort generated enough force to slam this steel and concrete door shut, causing the bottom part of the door to be bent outward. I loved how something as inconsequential as a door had an interesting story behind it – as we exited through the door, our guide jokingly asked us to “pay our respects” and listen for the “ringing of the explosion” contained within the door.

Next, we went to the kitchen area. We saw several different machines that fed around 1000 soldiers – their diet consisted of beef, vegetables and around a pint of wine a day. Our guide emphasized how although they were at war, still had decent food and drink/wine every day as per French culture.

Afterwards, we went to the emergency power plant, which was utilized if the power the fort received from external sources, could not provide electricity. The motors are also still able to run, although the association that preserves the fort chooses not to.

During the Cold War, the fort served as an acting hospital, in addition to guarding against possible Soviet advances in the area.

We also saw the way in which they controlled the air quality underground. The different machines they used filtered out dust and dirt particles and kept the entire fort at a constant temperature. Although the machines often malfunctioned due to the accumulation of particles, I think it’s fascinating how advanced the technology was to create such infrastructure in a relatively short period of time. Another example of this is the overhead monorail system, which safely transported equipment, food, etc. to different parts of Hackenberg. We got the opportunity to take this monorail system to travel to the museum area that the preservation association created, where military equipment and decorations, reenactments of living quarters and word areas, and various other interesting scenes and items were put on display.

After a couple hundred steps up a spiral staircase, we reach a height that’s close to ground level – this is where the “action” happens in the fort. Guns, automatic rifles, machine gun turrets, are positioned in a way so that they can aim above ground to potential attacking armies, and are lifted by automation to do so. We saw a live demonstration of a gun turret, a steel dome that would disappear to enemy eye after firing, as it would retreat back underground/ into the fort. Soldiers would communicate with each other through transmission lines – soldiers located at observation points, which allowed them to see above ground, could communicate the angle or position a gun would need to be aimed to the soldiers manning the weapon. We saw the gun turret and the damages done to the fort by the American attack in 1944 from outside. Although this fort was used during the Cold War, this part of the fort was never restored.

It is truly remarkable how far the Franco-German relationship has come since the initial building and use of this fort. At one point a German prize of occupation, it was later used in cooperative efforts against the Soviet Union. Seen from a nationalist viewpoint, it’s remarkable how these countries have changed in order to cooperate. However, I think their progression can be largely credited to the efforts of the EU, and further contribute to the narrative of the European Union as a peace project.

Sunday was a day full of history but it also included some focus on the heavier times in France’s history. 

We began the day in Gravelotte at the Museum of the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 and the Annexation. This provided more background for the Lorraine region and it’s first annexation to German forces (Prussia at the time) before this would occur again in the Second World War. It was interesting going to this museum to see how the region where GTL is based was so affected by war before the world wars even started. France had already been occupied once during this war which I’m sure made it all the more frustrating and defeating when this happened again in WWII. Understanding all the conflict of this area makes it all the more impressive that the European Union as a peace project had any success when it began. 

As the museum walked us through the events of the war, this sign marked the point of annexation

After visiting the museum, we traveled a short distance to the battle site of Dornot-Corny. It’s hard to believe that this was once the site of violent battles and dangerous attempts to cross the Moselle river when the area has now been converted to a vacation spot in France. There were signs along a trail guiding us through the “60 hours of hell” that American soldiers fought through. Many of the signs had quotes that contained first-hand accounts of the battle. It was a reminder of how the US played a role in the efforts to liberate France and how so many lives were lost in the process. It’s easy to forgot that these “smaller” battles that are not given as much attention as other battles like D-Day in Normandy. However, they’re just as important to remember.

“Freedom path” at Dornot-Corny

After visiting the battle site, we made a short stop to see some Roman aqueducts. These were built when the region was part of the Holy Roman Empire. It’s impressive to think about how centuries ago, the technology for running water existed and that humans were able to build these huge structures. Pictures don’t really do justice to these aqueducts, but it did provide a good group photo opportunity!

Roman Aqueducts

Group photo!

Next was a quick trip to Robert Schuman’s house in Scy-Chazelles. We will be coming back in a few weeks so we didn’t stay for long after our tour of the house. Robert Schuman is often referred to as the Father of the European Union for the efforts he made, along with Jean Monnet and others to convince the founding members of the EU to come together after the war to form the European Coal and Steel Community. This was a huge feat given how close the Schuman Declaration was made to the end of the war and how France and Germany hadn’t even started healing from post-war destruction. It was almost crazy at the time to suggest to a country like France that they could come to a peaceful economic agreement with Germany, the country most still saw as the enemy. But, Schuman had a clear vision that peace would only be possible if these two powers came together to be an example of reconciliation, not just for Europe but for the world. He was such an influential piece to the creation of the EU that it’s an honor to visit the place he called home. Visiting the Schuman house gave us such an insight into who he was as a man and what his priorities were. Schuman was a man who never wanted anything extravagant and led a simple life. He valued books and studies over his own personal comfort. This is made clear by the large amount of space in multiple rooms dedicated to storing his thousands of books compared to his tiny bed in a small bedroom. He was also very religious and lived right across the street from the church he attended so that he could go there as often as he liked. It is also clear that Schuman valued life and beauty which can be seen in the gardens behind the house. We got the chance to walk through the gardens and get a taste of what he would see on a daily basis. As we’ve been studying Schuman and the creation of the EU in detail in our lectures, it was nice to see the home of the man that was so influential into creating the Europe we know today. 

Robert Schuman’s house

A flower from the gardens

The last stop of the day was also the heaviest. After visiting a war museum, a battle site, and the home of an EU founder we had a guided visit of Fort de Queuleu. Just a short walk from the GTL campus, Fort de Queuleu was a Nazi Concentration and Interrogation camp in WWII. When those thought to be part off the Frenc Resistance were found, they were bound by hand and feet, blind folded and driven to the fort. Our guide walked us through the process prisoners went to after arriving. They were pushed or tripped down a long flight of stairs and often bitten by dogs at the bottom. When registering, they were given a number to be known by as a way to dehumanize them. The entire time in the camp, they were bound and blind-folded and forced to be silent. When not being interrogated, they were forced to sit in communal rooms or in personal cells quietly. Always bound and bind-folded, always is a state of sensory-deprivation. This was a tactic used to make the prisoners alone with their thoughts and drive them to a point where they would crack under interrogation. We got to see into the lives of those taken prisoner under Nazi rule and the terrible conditions they lived in. Luckily, there was one brighter story at the end of our tour. There were some prisoners who had a little more freedom because they did labor for the fort. Since they needed mobility and sight to do work, they were the only prisoners not bound and blind-folded. With a series of lucky events, a few prisoners were able to escape and discover that they were in Metz. Since they knew the town, they had places to hide and were able to tell locals what was going on at Queuleu. No one in Metz knew it even existed. It was later liberated by American troops and the area around the Fort has since been converted to biking and jogging trails and play grounds. In one sense, it’s strange seeing an area meant for exercise and recreation on the same land that once contained a concentration camp. But, I believe that is also a testament to the goal of the EU and post-war reconciliation. It’s about preserving the memory so that we don’t forget or repeat the same horrible mistakes. It’s also about taking a place that’s known so much violence and loss of humanity and giving it a fresh start.

Fort de Queuleu

Fort de Queuleu

The day started with gorgeous weather, a theme that fortunately lasted for the duration of our three hour walking tour through downtown Metz. Our group, including special guest Dr. Alasdair Young, met slightly earlier than our designated time for a quick ice cream break, a stop that I’m sure no one had complaints about! I opted for the caramel and chocolate chip which I would HIGHLY recommend!

Caramel & chocolate chip ice cream!

We met our tour guide, Vivian, in front of the Cathédrale Saint Étienne de Metz and while we were waiting we were lucky enough to get to witness a wedding party outside of the city hall. Vivian explained that in France, the wedding party goes to the city hall to witness the couple legally get married and then they all move to a church or a religious ceremony place, followed by a reception dinner that often lasts until one or two AM! (She recommends bringing comfortable shoes if your are ever invited to a french wedding).

Our tour guide Vivian

French Wedding

Vivian then took us into the Cathédrale Saint Étienne de Metz, the third tallest cathedral in France, where we were all awestruck by the forty two meter high vaults and the seemingly endless collection of stained glass windows. There are 6,500 meters of stained glass windows in the cathedral, enough to cover the soccer stadium that FC Metz plays in. Some of my favorite pieces were the ones by modern artist Marc Chagall in 1960.

Marc Chagall stained glass window

Metz Cathedral

After the cathedral, we made our way down to Rue Taison, the street to visit the legendary Graoully. Legend has it that Graoully terrorized Metz in the third century, so the people of Metz begged Saint Clement to vanquish the dragon. He accepted under one condition — the people of Metz accept Christianity. Desperate to get rid of Graoully, the people accepted and Saint Clement led the dragon to the river where it was never seen again. The gossip of the town is that Graoully drowned because everyone of course knows that dragons are terrible swimmers!

Graoully!

After visiting Graoully we walked over to the Le Fonds régional d’art contemporain de Lorraine, a project funded by the French Minister of Culture that hosts public exhibits and showings of regional contemporary art. It houses many exhibits by local artists in order to promote and education the public about art and culture in the region. One of the artist manipulated the rust on a pipe and created a amazing map that left us all in amazement.

Le Fonds régional d’art contemporain de Lorraine

World map made by rusting techniques

Afterwards, we made a couple more short visits to to the Sainte-Ségolène Church and the Église Saint-Maximin de Metz. The Sainte-Ségolène was a stunning church in the birthplace of Metz that holds the oldest stained glass window in Lorraine. The architecture of the outside was absolutely breathtaking (pictures don’t do it justice!). Vivian said that her favorite church was the Église Saint-Maximin de Metz, a small Romanesque church that houses stained glass windows designed by the famous Jean Cocteau. Jean Cocteau was truly a jack-of-all-trades — a filmmaker, poet, writer, artist, playwright, and designer. You might know him from his famous 1946 film Beauty and the Beast! He was a societal rule breaker and often strayed from societal norms, but ironically people loved him and he proved to be quite famous. The Église Saint-Maximin was gifted to Jean Cocteau as a place to hold his stained glass window designs. He designed the windows from 1960-1961, but unfortunately never got to see his life’s work as he died from illness in 1963.

Sainte-Ségolène Church

Sainte-Ségolène Church

Église Saint-Maximin de Metz

Jean Cocteau stained glass window

After touring a street of million-dollar French homes, we ended at our last stop which was the train station. Located in the Imperial Quarter, the train station was built during the German Empire’s annexation of Metz in the early 1900s when the Germans attempted to integrate the region into German culture. The architect, Kaiser Wilhelm, wanted to make the citizens feel more German, so he designed the building with heavy German influence. The station was voted most beautiful train station in France in 2017.

Gare de Metz

The walking tour was enlightening, but exhausting! We all took a short drink beverage break before heading off to our delicious three course meal at a restaurant not far down. The day left me estatic for rest of the trip — not only because I get to explore more of the gorgeous city of Metz, but also because I get to do it alongside great company! 

Hello from Metz! We all arrived on Monday after a long journey from all over the world. This year, I am excited to have the honor of serving as the program assistant before heading off to graduate school in the fall. We a diverse group of 20 students, and of course, Dr. Birchfield will be with us for the whole 10 weeks. Dr. Markley will join us for a few weeks to teach the human rights courses and Dr. Young will give us some lectures next week. Head over to the Center for European and Transatlantic Studies website and click the EU Study Abroad tab to find the latest itinerary for our learning adventure. As an overview, we’re in Metz (at Georgia Tech Lorraine) until early June before heading to Brussels. Afterwards, we’ll visit The Hague, Paris and Berlin.

After arriving yesterday, we each settled into our individual rooms before heading over to the GTL welcome party. Here is a picture of the group for this summer taken with the program’s GoPro camera which we will use to log our summer activities.

The Group

After meeting some of the over 250 students participating in the GTL study abroad program, Dr. Birchfield treated us to pizza. We all got to know each other, and I’m really excited to work with such a great group of students.

On Tuesday, we started off by attending the GTL Orientation where we heard about important issues such as the honor code, computer and security procedures. We also participated in a tour of the campus and enjoyed lunch in the CROUS cafeteria. Most students thought that the food was really good!

After lunch, we had an introduction lecture where Dr. Birchfield gave us an overview of the summer program. We then headed into Metz and took our first trip on Metz Public Transportation to Place de la Republique. From there, we walked over to the Place d’Armes and got to see the famous cathedral up close. At the Place d’Armes, we ran into the Mayor of Metz, Dominique Gros and Dr. Birchfield introduced him to us.

The Mayor of Metz, Dominique Gros

The Group with the Mayor of Metz

You’ll notice that it looks like we are on a train. That’s the train touristique!! We started at the Place d’Armes and headed to the Place de la Comédie. Along the way, we saw the cathedral and the marché couvert (covered market). We then headed to the Tour Belle Isle, the Arsenal, and the Tour Camouffle. We also saw the old train station, Place Saint Louis and the Haut de St Croix. During the tour, we learned about Metz’s key role in the region throughout the years. Metz is currently the capital of the Lorraine region and the Moselle department in France. Before this, Metz went through 3 wars in less than 100 years (the Franco-Prussian War, WW1 and WW2). Metz was also an important Roman city, the birthplace of the Carolingian dynasty (Charles Martel and Charlemagne). Metz’s history shaped the region and we will be studying most of this. I’m excited for this summer and look forward to the rest of the blog posts. I’ll be back at the end to write a summary! A bientot!