Both World Wars left deep scars on the European continent. More and more people, however, know this war past only from hearsay. Direct witnesses have become older and rare. This also has consequences for the way in which we deal with the relics of war. The challenges in interpreting and commemorating this past also have become greater. This is also the case for the execution yard in Oostakker-Rieme. The province of East-Flanders therefore asked the Ename Center for Public Archaeology and Heritage Presentation to develop a plan for opening-up this site. This made us think about the proper way to deal with such a delicate heritage.
Nearly 60 Belgian members of the resistance were executed by the German occupier in Oostakker en Rieme during the second World War. Because of the expansion of the harbour of Ghent the execution yard in Rieme disappeared and was relocated and integrated in the site of Oostakker. The execution ground of Oostakker-Rieme has grown into a national place of pilgrimage and a European memorial for the resistance. Every year there is an official ceremony of commemoration. Furthermore, this memorial contains various memorial stones, crosses, works of art, urns and a railway carriage in which prisoners were deported from Belgium to the concentration and extermination camps. At the moment, however, the site is difficult to comprehend for the visitor. Our recommendations should help to solve this problem.
The work on this site was also the reason to start an educational experiment in collaboration with the Arteveldehogeschool in Ghent. On Friday 19 and Monday 16 June 2008 three classes from the primary school Slotendries in Oostakker could test an educational package that was developed by two students (Primary School Bachelors). This educational package introduced the children to the world of the resistance during the Second World War and confronted them with the horror of the execution yard in Oostakker more particularly. The idea is that schools situated near similar sites or monuments take up this format and use it too.
In 2005 the Ename Center for Public Archaeology and Heritage Presentation already focused on the role of heritage in conflict situations or as a result of conflicts during the international Ename Colloquium on Memory and Identity.
