Covering seven themes and richly illustrated with period photographs, archive documents and historical film footage, the exhibition takes us back to the Belgian capital 100 years ago, a city facing health and hygiene problems and the challenges of coping with a flood of refugees and returning soldiers, restoring order and setting up a new government. Brussels as it was in November 1918 is also a typical example of a city emerging from a conflict, and several aspects of this universally relevant topic resonate very strongly with us all today.
The Great War (WWI) ended on 11 November 1918. For Brussels, a city that had been under occupation for more than 50 months, 1918 was the toughest year of the conflict. The exhibition staged by the Centre for Historical Research and Documentation on War and Contemporary Society (CEGESOMA) and State Archives of Belgium, clearly highlights the most important post-occupation issues. The first thing visitors will see, giving them a vivid sense of what life was like back then, is a large screen showing archive film footage and century-old images. The exhibition’s seven themes are presented on large panels with photos and illustrations from period documents.
Visitors to the exhibition can expect to see maps of the front, an extensive collection of photographs, caricatures and newspaper cuttings, and also interviews with leading figures of the day, such as Hugo Freund, who played a prominent role in the mutinous Soldiers’ Council (Soldatenrat) in Brussels. The footage presented on several screens offers visitors insights into daily life at the time, such as the film shot by Auguste Meuter of food being distributed by a soup kitchen.
Interactive modules enable visitors to have a more detailed look at the exhibition’s main themes, for example to find out how Brussels coped with the flood of refugees, who accounted for 10% of the city’s population at the time. Another exhibit shows what a shopping list worth an equivalent of €10, €20 or €50 might have looked like in those days. Or visitors can read a selection of newspaper articles published in November 1918.
The exhibition’s modern, didactic layout is aimed at a very wide audience. Various activities are planned for schools, and a booklet of games for children also makes the exhibition family-friendly. What a city and its inhabitants go through at the end of a conflict is a theme of universal interest, and some aspects of it are still relevant today, so the exhibition will not only fascinate history buffs, but also appeal to anyone interested in modern-day Belgium.
PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Brussels, November 1918. From war to peace?
From 26 September 2018 to 6 January 2019
At the BELvue Museum, Place des Palais 7, 1000 Brussels
Free admission
VISITING THE EXHIBITION
Families: the booklet of games for children aged between 8 and 12 costs €1 per child
Groups: please book in advance. Guided tours are available on request. To enquire about prices or make a booking, please contact our partner guide associations.
School classes: please book in advance. A booklet for visiting primary school pupils costs €1 per child, and a (free) fact file for secondary school students is also available. The BELvue Museum’s educational service is also organising an activity entitled So what happened after 1918? which combines a visit to the exhibition with participation in a (free) Democracity workshop.
IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE EXHIBITION:
8 November, from 09:30 to 14:30: visit + discussion with storyteller Ingrid Slabbinck (in Dutch) – please book in advance
10 and 11 November: commemorative weekend
– Talks by Chantal Kesteloot and Jens van de Maele, curators of the exhibition.
– Guided tours
– Historical show So what happened after 1914-1918? by the Compagnie Sandra Proes theatre company
For the full programme and to make bookings, please see www.belvue.be.
27 November at 18:00: Talk by historian Sophie De Schaepdrijver: Remembering the Great War in Public Spaces (in English) – Please book in advance
6 December: Late night opening until 22:00 with guided tours – Please book in advance
5 January 2019 at 15:00: Talk (in French) by historian Laurence van Ypersele. Faire son deuil après la Grande Guerre: un combat sans fin (Mourning After the Great War: an Endless Struggle) – Please book in advance
The exhibition has been created by CEGESOMA/State Archives of Belgium as part of the centennial commemorations of the Great War.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, GO TO:
www.belvue.be
BELvue Museum
Place des Palais 7
B-1000 Brussels
info@belvue.be