ARTWORK  0F  THE  MAGINOT  LINE   SOLDIERS

      By  Jean Louis Goby                          

    In the mid-’70s, the forts of the Maginot Line were first opened to the public. At the same time, there began a systematic exploration of the ouvrages which revealed the existence of frescoes painted by the garrisons in 1939-1940. More than 10 years of research in the depths of the Line were necessary to inventory this graphic heritage, which some call “military Lascaux” [1].   

How could this artistry be allowed birth in a confinement entirely devoted to war, as forts of the Maginot  line were?

At the start, it should be emphasized that this mode of expression was not specific to the Maginot Line soldiers and that it was not a phenomenon isolated in time and space. Without referring to rock art or to  the frescoes of Pompeii, one can determine that it is present in other fortification systems contemporary with the Maginot Line, specifically in the German fortification work of the First World War, and less developed in the Swiss, Belgian, and German fortification systems ( Siegfried Line, Atlantic Wall) of the Second World War. On the other hand. it is practically never seen in the French fortifications of the First World War. This tells the story. The primary condition for the realization of graphic art work is to have time and freedom. Wherever the troops were stationed long-term in fortified works without relief and without being subjected to battle trauma, men had available between service tours the freedom necessary for organizing leisure activity. 

 Even the “field-gray” man in the Festen of the Moselle position [2] behind the front bas left numerous graphic evidences, whereas the poilu of the Verdun forts was undergoing ail the stresses of combat, and the attrition of men and material  necessitated an unceasing replacement. The example of the bas-reliefs carved in the quarries of  the Chemin des Dames and the Aisne valley confirm this analysis. The combatants in the depths of the quarries, sheltered from the battle raging on the surface, were able to take up the hammer and chisel at each rest period and resume the sculptures begun that evening or the evening before. The graphic motifs are very few in this underground world, the raw surface of the walls lending itself less readily to  such execution.

         In contrast, the facing of the walls of the rooms and galleries of the Maginot Line served as canvas for artist soldiers who occupied the sites during the Phony War. Suddenly separated from their familial and social roots by mobilization, they tried in some way or other to adapt by seeking to recreate, in every way compatible with servive regulations, the conditions of normal life. In placing their talents at the service of the group, they integrated very easily into the garrisons [3], composed of men born into the most diverse social  backgrounds. Their graphic testimonies today have an autobiographical value. More than 60 years after their creation, this graphic heritage constitutes a living record, a cultural and historical documentary source which explains in novel manner the life of the fortress soldier. 

    In examining all this production, one is struck by the diversity of subjects treated and techniques used.

The range extends from crude design to carefully executed work, from the decorative stencilled frieze to the multicoloured  fresco. The works of small size. equivalent to a sheet of paper, are neighbors to compositions of several square meters; the simple work is there beside symbolic or allegorical representations.

     There is no criterion which allows determination beforehand of the geographic provenance of the heritage or of localization of the work to the interior of the fort. It is the random mannerism of the artist painters or the soldiers gifted in the arts in certain ouvrages who engendered the creation and which on the other hand explains its absence in other forts. Inside these ouvrages are found graphic motifs in the most diverse places: stair cages, power plant , combat blocks, galleries, shops, barrack rooms, mess hall, etc. Ibis [?????What’s that?] distribution allows one to suppose that in spite of strict discipline [4] obligatory within the garrisons, the soldier artists still had available a certain latitude to create and express themselves under the supervision of a fairly benevolent censorship.

    Anonymity prevails as a general rule, and rarely is the work dated and signed, which would facilitate the search for the author in each case, If the need for self-expression and personal initiative are the origin of the majority of the creations, there should be mentioned the works which were commissioned to respond to the emerging needs or to control the extent of everyday life. The decoration of the chapel, painted in dead-­end galleries, and the turret panoramas fall into this category.

    One might believe that this heritage is sheltered, at more than 20 meters underground, but in reality it is fated to disappear after a more or less lengthy interval. The toll of time and humidity are not the only reasons for its progressive disappearance. The vicissitudes of history during the Second World War have contributed in part. During the occupation, the Germans used the underground elements of certain ouvrages to house production. Since 1945, the Maginot Line was reactivated in the scope of the Cold War. Many frescoes disappeared behind new facings or through the removal of old locations, to say nothing of the deliberate wish of the new owners to efface the artistry, which annoyed them, and of the vandalism [5] which is unavoidable in the abandoned forts.

    It is impossible to safeguard this heritage because of its scattering among the forts distributed along the frontiers of the north, the northeast, and the southeast. The fort of Hestroff, called “the fort of frescoes,” merits being an object of classification for preservation of its frescoes in situ  because of the wealth of its graphic heritage. The sources of inspiration of the artists permit classifying their work under three general headings.

    Symbolism, Traditions, and Military Life 

  Under this heading are catalogued ail the subjects that evoke the environment of the soldier in his specifically military dimension. The esprit de corps, the pride of being an elite troop, defines itself in painting of numerous insignia and badges. All the inscriptions, citations, and mottoes painted on the walls join rhetorically to recall the garrison to their duties. In other examples, the practical aspect prevails over the esthetic vision. Reproducing on the interior of the firing chamber the panorama outside the turret facilitates conduct of fire. Elsewhere, all the silhouettes of friendly and enemy tanks are drawn on the fining chamber of an infantry casemate to aid in identification. On the same level, the execution of the decoration of a chapel on the walls in a dead end of the galleries authorized celebration of religious services inside the ouvrages. Finally, on this topic, there may be mentioned the portraits or caricatures of garrison members and the representations of military life.  

    Humorous and Satirical Verve   

Endowed with an overflowing imagination, some artists gave us their best work in painting scenes drawn from military or civilian life. Medicine constituted a favorite subject for our artist soldiers. it was in effect more a wish to poke fun at the medical service of the ouvrage without harming the cohesion or morale of the garrison than to point to others in case of dysfunction, liable to fall under the stroke of censure.     

    Dream, Escape, Phantasm    

Living conditions in the ouvrages were comparable to those of submariners. Some of the garrison never saw daylight. The fortress soldier felt a sense of isolation, and his life was synchronized to the monotonous succession of watches of the roster. In a combat block, the duty watch was ready to serve the weapons, the picket watch did maintenance and was available to reinforce the duty watch in case of need, the off watch attempted to sleep n the chambers of the block, and the spare watch was quartered n the rear in the underground barracks, doing fatigue duty. To try to escape the reclusive life, the artist soldiers took refuge in the imaginary and developed an art of make-believe or of optical illusion: The bucolic landscapes, the images of the past, are a standing invitation to escape and to dream. In this world without women, the day dream was continued by means of numerous likenesses of a sweetheart, spouse, fiancée, or friend left at mobilization or seen again during the latest furlough