The opening of the Exhibition on Chemical Weapons in WWI on 17 March 2015
A chemical artillery shell and a gas mask for a horse are among the highlights of an exhibition, “Chemical Weapons in World War I”, which opened today at OPCW Headquarters in The Hague.
The exhibition features artifacts, paintings, photographs and infographics sourced by Belgium, Germany, Latvia, Poland and the Russian Federation. It is a part of ongoing commemorative activities related to the centenary of the first large-scale use of chemical weapons.
Opening the exhibition, the Director-General said, “It is in commemoration of the tragic use of chemical weapons during World War I that we host this exhibition here today – to remind us of the beginnings of what our collective disarmament efforts under the Chemical Weapons Convention have now all but ended.”
In the course of World War I, chemical weapons resulted in over 1 million casualties, and nearly 100,000 deaths. While the first large-scale use of chemical weapons occurred near Ieper in Belgium in April 1915, “Chemical Weapons in World War I” focuses on the Eastern Front of the war.
The exhibition will run from 17 March – 16 April 2015 at the OPCW Headquarters, where registered visiting groups will have the opportunity to view it.