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A Network of Tunnels

"Gentlemen, we may not make history tomorrow, but we shall certainly change the geography," General Plumer told his staff on the eve of the attack. After several days of intense Allied shelling, everything suddenly fell silent at the German front at Messines Ridge near Wijtschate in the early hours of 7 June 1917. The Germans were ...

The Madonnas of Pervyse

In the First World War, thousands of women played an active part at the front as paramedics and nurses, including the divorced English midwife Elsie Knocker and the wealthy Scotswoman Mairi Chisholm. The care and medical treatment of wounded soldiers at the front was a chaotic affair. The Belgian Red Cross could not cope with the stream of ...

Hollow Cheeks

From 1916 onwards, an estimated 180,000 Belgians were forced to do hard labour for the Germans. The deportation of Belgian civilians to Germany especially provoked a wave of protest. The Belgian government in exile called the forced labour slavery, and speaking for the Catholic Church, Cardinal Mercier took the Germans to task for the ...

Wilson and the Politics of Neutrality

The news of the German invasion of Belgium did not leave Americans indifferent. As early as 1914, they organised large-scale campaigns to provide ‘poor little Belgium’ with food and clothes. Actual participation in the war, however, was not on the cards yet. Having been in office for only a year and a half, President Woodrow Wilson ...

St. Nicholas in wartime

In many Western European countries, Sinterklaas (or St. Nicholas) is celebrated around 5 - 6 December. In Belgium and the Netherlands, Sinterklaas is the ultimate children’s festive holiday, much more so than Christmas. St. Nicholas brings tasty treats and presents. This was also true on the eve of The First World War. At the time, it was ...

A Christmas spirit with a dark side

The first Christmas at the front, in 1914, passed in a remarkable atmosphere. At the start of hostilities, the soldiers had hoped for a short war. They had expected to be home long before Christmas and were surprised to find themselves still in the trenches. This is why there was little will to fight amongst many of the soldiers. This attitude was ...

Underwater claustrophobia

In the face of Britain's powerful war fleet, the Germans decided to bring a new weapon into action: the submarine. Especially once the German army declared unrestricted submarine warfare on 1 February 1917, submarines started playing an important part. From a military point of view, the weapon was a success, with German submarines sinking ...

11 July 1917 - The Front Movement Appeals to the King

In 1915, Catholic intellectuals at the frontline launched initiatives to protect soldiers from slipping moral standards and temptation, sexual and otherwise. They offered 'appropriate', organised forms of recreation through study and prayer groups, and football clubs. The initiators grasped the opportunity to push a political agenda as ...

11.11.11: the Armistice

At the start of November 1918, an allied delegation and representatives of the new German government came together to prepare an armistice. The negotiations were conducted in a train carriage in the woods of Compiegne, on the allied side of the front. The Germans, however, did not have much room for negotiation. Their troops were demoralised, and ...

De Limburgse voedselbevoorrading tijdens WO I

Vier augustus 1914. De Duitse legers vallen België binnen en veroveren op enkele maanden tijd het grootste gedeelte van ons grondgebied. Al snel kampt het bezette gebied met een immens probleem: voeding en goederen tot bij de bevolking krijgen. Nationaal Hulp- en VoedingskomiteitDe oplossing dient zich aan in de vorm van een fijnmazig ...

Framing en propaganda tijdens de Eerste Wereldoorlog

Framing is een begrip dat vaak opduikt in de media. Frames kunnen vergeleken worden met vensters waardoor je de werkelijkheid bekijkt. Deze werkelijkheid is echt en hierin verschillen frames van ‘fake news’. De maker van het frame kan het venster wel zodanig manipuleren dat hij of zij bepaalt wat de kijker van de werkelijkheid ziet en ...

Een staatsgreep in Loppem? Politieke en sociale veranderingen in België...

Op 11 november 1918 eindigt de Eerste Wereldoorlog met een wapenstilstand. De wereld staat in brand, België staat in brand. Vier lange oorlogsjaren hebben landschap en maatschappij in puin achtergelaten. Het volk smacht naar veranderingen. Al tijdens de oorlog denken politici na over mogelijke oplossingen om aan deze vraag tegemoet te ...

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