Since the 1930s, visitors of the Consdorf cemetery have been warned with a rather strange message upon entering. The words “Aujourd’hui nous, demain vous”, which translates to “Us today, you tomorrow”, are spelled out in iron letters above the graveyard’s entrance.
The quote is said to have been commissioned by Frantz Theis, who lost five of his six children, all aged 14 to 23, to the Spanish flu between 1918 and 1920. He had already lost two children previously.
Theis came up with the quote not only in memory of his own children, but also to commemorate the lives of 38 other Consdorf residents that succumbed to the Spanish flu. It is not known exactly where Theis’ children died, nor where they are buried exactly, although the affluent family had a vault near the church in Consdorf, which was later damaged during the Second World War.
Jean-Pierre Theis, the sole survivor of Frantz Theis’ children, later went on to have two daughters, who both say that their father never talked about his tragic family history.
