Hof der dingen - Poppies

“They’ve been talking about peace for years — but will it ever truly come? We can put up a thousand monuments, but if nothing changes...” 

Blacksmith Luc Vandecasteele from Sint-Eloois-Winkel was raised with deep respect for the legacy of war. “My grandfather always spoke of ‘the other war.’ My father was a truck driver, and I still remember how once, around 8 p.m., we arrived at the Menin Gate in Ypres – a war memorial. He said, ‘We’re getting out soon — and you’ll stand next to me. And take off your hat, okay?’” 

That deep-rooted reverence for those who gave their lives for peace led Luc to take a bold initiative in 2016: together with 350 blacksmiths from around the world, he forged poppies – the symbol of World War I. The result: The Poppy Cenotaph, a powerful memorial now placed next to the military cemetery of Langemark-Poelkapelle. 

“It was beautiful to see that you don’t need to speak the same language — with a hammer and the forge, you can still create something meaningful together. And eventually, you understand each other anyway... But above all, let us never forget war. Just look at what’s happening in Ukraine now... Those people are just like us — they have shopping streets like in Roeselare or Ypres. How can we not empathise with them?”