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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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
In January 1919, representatives of 32 countries travelled to Paris to re-draw the map of the post-war world, and to discuss what was to happen to the losers of the war. Each country brought its own agenda to the negotiating table. Belgium and Serbia were hoping for reparations, Polish and Irish nationalists sought recognition for their countries, ...
The International Woman Suffrage Alliance (IWSA) was founded by leading feminists in 1904. The organisation was devoted to securing women's suffrage and held regular international conferences. In 1915, it was due to take place in Berlin but was cancelled because of the war.
On a proposal by the Dutch feminist Dr. Aletta Jacobs, the ...
In the early days of aviation in 1914, people already had soaring expectations of it. The airplane would allow humanity to go further, faster and higher. When the First World War broke out, both the Germans and the Allies immediately started exploring the military possibilities of aviation. Both sides set up their own air force, using the ...
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 ...
The hardship, continuous fear and the powerlessness of the individual made life in the trenches a physically, but above all psychologically, horrifying experience. Though not visibly injured, many soldiers suffered nervous breakdowns and were no longer able to function. The British army counted 80,000 cases of shell shock by the end of the ...
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 ...
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 ...
En zone occupée, l’occupant allemand gouvernait à l’aide d’innombrables Verordnungen et Bekanntmachungen. La vie publique était réglée par des milliers de petites et grandes règles qui changeaient en permanence. Nombre de ses règles furent perçues comme des brimades par la population, mais du point de vue de la logique ...
Im besetzten Gebiet herrschten die deutschen Besatzer mittels zahlloser Verordnungen und Bekanntmachungen. Das öffentliche Leben wurde durch tausende sich permanent verändernde kleine und große Vorschriften geregelt. Viele dieser Vorschriften wurden von der Bevölkerung als Schikanen empfunden, der deutschen militärischen Logik ...
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 ... 
