This poppy-dotted field lies in the middle of the village of Bischofroda in the German district of Thüringen. The poppy is a well known weed, and sometimes growing in massive quantities. Where rye grows, also poppies grow. It thrives well where the ground is disturbed and poor in nutrients, for instance on construction sites, especially on sandy soil. The plant needs lots of sunlight. Poppies germinate when the seed is exposed to light, even after a long period of darkness, as happened on the French and Belgian battlefields in the First World War, where the ground between the trenches was ploughed by shell-bursts. The village of Fleury in Northern France, was left as it was found at the end of the First World War: ruins, with weeds and fields of innumerable poppies. Thus the poppy became the symbol of 'La Grande Guerre' and of indestructible vital force.