ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses the IJzertoren Memorial Museum in Diksmuide as an expression of a specifically Flemish, rather than Belgian, nationalism. The building of the IJzertoren Memorial Museum offers insights into this complex cultural and political context where a people feel their identities and autonomy are denied by other national narratives. The IJzer Pilgrimage Committee deliberately rewrote the master narrative of the First World War while unfolding a secondary narrative concerned with the history of Flanders in which the Flemish Movement appears out of a rational and morally based humanism. In order to move beyond the negative connotations of the Second World War years which produced the most extreme manifestations of Flemish nationalism, the current curatorial staff has aligned the morally based aims of the Flemish Movement with the challenges faced by Ireland and Tibet. By placing The Golden Painting in a location of prominence, the museum appears to speak with Luyten's highly charged political symbols and ideals.
