The former Belgian colonials
1. The main archival fonds kept at CegeSoma and at the State Archives :
- different archival fonds of former colonials
- hundreds of photographies taken by former colonials during their stay in Congo or Ruanda-Urundi. These photos can be consulted via the CegeSoma Pallas catalog.
- interviews that were conducted as part of a research project on the social memory of former Belgian colonials. The list can be consulted here.
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Various works in the library.
You will also find further information in the State Archives which keep the official archives of the Belgian Congo, books and magazines conserved at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Federal Service of Foreign Affairs. The Service for War Victims keeps files established in connection with events following the Congo independence in 1960.
2. Where to find archival fonds outside CegeSoma and the State Archives?
- AfricaMuseum (Royal Museum of Central Africa): archives, photos, testimonies, books and magazines.
- The African Museum of Namur: archives, photos, testimonies, books and reviews.
3. Where to find additional information on the subject?
- CORNET, Anne et GILLET, Florence, "Et si la réalité était tout autre? Les albums photos d'anciens coloniaux comme source pour l'histoire", in Science Connection, n°32, décembre 2010-janvier 2011, p. 12-15.
- DEMBOUR, Marie-Bénédicte, Recalling the Belgian. Congo. Conversations and Introspection, Oxford, Berghahn Books, 2000.
- GILLET, Florence, “Congo rêvé ? Congo détruit… Les anciens coloniaux belges aux prises avec une société en repentir. Enquête sur la face émergée d'une mémoire”, in Les cahiers d'Histoire du Temps Présent, n° 19, 2008, p. 79-133.
- GILLET, Florence, “Le pèlerinage des anciens coloniaux en Région bruxelloise”, in Bruxelles et le Congo, Les Cahiers de la Fonderie, n° 38, juin 2008, p. 54-57.
- LAURO, Amandine, Coloniaux, ménagères et prostituées au Congo belge (1885-1930), Loverval : Labor, 2005.
- NDAYWEL È NZIEM, Isidore, Histoire générale du Congo. De l’héritage ancien à la République Démocratique, Bruxelles, Duculot, 1998.
- VAN REYBROUCK, David, Congo. Une Histoire., Actes Sud, Paris, 2012.
- VANTHEMSCHE, Guy, La Belgique et le Congo empreintes d’une colonie. 1885-1980, Nouvelle Histoire de Belgique n°4, Bruxelles, Éditions Complexe, 2007.
- VERLINDEN, Peter, Weg uit Congo. Het drama van de kolonialen, Louvain, Davidsfonds, 2002 et VERLINDEN, Peter, Het verloren paradijs. Kind in Congo, Louvain, Davidsfonds, 2005.
If you plan to visit our reading room, please prepare your visit well in advanceIf you need more information, please contact us by e-mail: cegesoma@arch.be.