The American Monument

This gigantic 26-metre-high monument stands on the outskirts of Meaux, near the Musée de la Grande Guerre (Great War Museum).
'One can still hear the silent voices of the heroic sons of France. They braved everything, gave everything, over the course of long days full of snares, stalked by Death… They stemmed the tide of imminent disaster and their supreme devotion made the world shudder'.
Marshall Joffre
This gigantic 26-metre-high monument stands on the outskirts of Meaux, near the Musée de la Grande Guerre (Great War Museum).
In the United States, the victory of the Marne thrilled every French sympathiser in the country. After that victory, the idea of creating a commemorative statue took shape, and a model competition was organised. The winner was Frederick Mac Monnies. However, it took 14 years for the project to come to fruition, and it was not until September 1932 that the American Monument was unveiled.
The sculptor depicted the tragedy of 1914 in the form reminiscent of the purest creations of Antiquity. France, the central character, resembles both a Spartan mother, ready to sacrifice her sons for the salvation of her country, and a sorrowful, distraught mother. She stands up, heroically, her heart bleeding. Her face is a long cry of anguish, a heart-rending appeal, launched over the panic of armies, the cry of alarm of a nation that must gather all its strength. That is why the monument was given the title of "La Liberté éplorée" ("Weeping Liberty").