These amazing drawings by Parisian schoolchildren show an innocent vision of the US during WWI

When America entered the war, at least one class in Montmarte was thrilled

American troops arrive in France, July 12, 1917. (National WWI Museum and Memorial)

A hundred years ago, France was literally in the trenches of World War I. While the Western Front encompassed much of the country’s northeastern border, Paris was suffering from German bombardment, food shortages, and outbreaks of disease. Enter the Americans. With President Wilson’s declaration of a “war to end all wars,” US troops were shipped out to France, landing at the port of Saint-Nazaire on June 26, 1917, to welcoming cheers of “Vive l’Amèrique!”

Soon, American “doughboys” were marching through the streets of Paris—a reassuring site for besieged locals. A school teacher in the city’s Montmartre district had the idea to incorporate the unfolding events into a class assignment, asking students to sketch and write about their reactions to the war, and to the sudden presence of American soldiers in their hometown. The results offer an insight into the psyche of wartime France like few photographs or news reports can. Through innocent eyes the complexities of geopolitics are reduced to fundamental notions of Transatlantic solidarity, the specter of looming violence, and daily life at a precarious moment in history.

Montmartre, Paris. (National WWI Museum and Memorial)

For the first time ever, a selection of these drawings and letters are on view as a public exhibition at the National World War I Museum and Memorial in Kansas City, Missouri. “Vive l’Amérique! French School Children Welcome Their American Ally” presents the original children’s sketches from Montmartre in honor of the 100th anniversary of American involvement in WWI.

Vive l’Amérique! French School Children Welcome Their American Ally is on view through October 15, 2017.

American troops arrive at Saint-Nazaire on July 2, 1917. (National WWI Museum and Memorial)

(left) On the right side of the image, American troops parade in the Tuileries Park in Paris, June 19, 1917. | (right) American troops have rented the Moulin de la Galette, Oct. 20, 1917. (National WWI Museum and Memorial)

On the left, a teacher explains the role of the United States in the Great War to his class; on the right, a U.S. soldier holds an American flag. (National WWI Museum and Memorial)

The United States helps French orphans who have lost their fathers during the war.
Bottom left: an orphaned child mourns the loss of his father and right: a school scene. (National WWI Museum and Memorial)

(National WWI Museum and Memorial)

(National WWI Museum and Memorial)

The Americans at the Gare de l’Est or East Railway Station in Paris. (National WWI Museum and Memorial)

(National WWI Museum and Memorial)

American soldiers leave Paris to go fight in the trenches beside their French allies, July 8, 1917. (National WWI Museum and Memorial)

(National WWI Museum and Memorial)

(National WWI Museum and Memorial)

The Americans settle at the Moulin de la Galette in Montmartre. (National WWI Museum and Memorial)