Belgium WWII: new interface, new content

A new interface

Launched in September 2017, the www.belgiumwwii.be website hardly underwent any changes to its presentation. After seven years of loyal service, the old interface has been replaced by a brand new layout. Our aim is to make consultation more ergonomic. From now on, when visitors log on, they will find a more thematic welcome on the front page, such as a series of articles linked to the 80th anniversary of the Liberation. The topics covered will of course be updated as the months go by.

From now on, you will be able to access all the site's content from the same interface. In the “Themes” section, you will be able to carry out cross-disciplinary research on resistance, collaboration and administration. New themes will gradually be added to this section. Also to facilitate access, you can now - on the left of the home page - find all contributions by title, theme or author using an immediately accessible tab.

The top horizontal bar on the home screen also gives you direct access to all contributions (articles, personalities, places, timelines and debates). As before, you can filter your searches by theme, or even refine them by adding tags.

Another new feature is the “My research” tab, which gives you access to thematic fact sheets based on the book Papy était-il un nazi? The aim is to help those wishing to research people affected by post-war repression. Eventually, a similar system will be set up for the Resistance, based on the book Papy était-il un héros?

From the home page, you can also access the drop-down menu at the bottom of the screen. Here you will find all the sections of the site.

Changes sometimes lead to typos and/or errors. If you notice any, please let us know at belgiumwwii@arch.be.

New content

We've taken advantage of this update of the site to work behind the scenes on putting new content online. In addition to a contribution on the Belgian Railways during World War II, you will also be able to discover a biography of Narcisse Rulot, its General Manager. Research into the Belgian Railways has also brought to light new information about the 20th convoy of April 1943. A new entry has therefore been put online.

Another new feature is a contribution on the Meensel-Kiezegem tragedy. A few kilometers away and three months earlier, other tragic arrests took place in Molenbeek-Wersbeek. A contribution on this subject will be posted online shortly.

Other entries have also been put online: a new contribution on the Royal Question and another on king Leopold's Political Testament of January 1944. The resistance fighter Camille Joset and the underground newspapers De Vrijheid and La Libre Belgique (Peter Pan) are also new additions. The biographies of Gerard Romsée and Alexandre Galopin have been greatly expanded.

In 2023-2024, students from UCLouvain and UAntwerpen worked on local resistance. Writing a contribution for the site was part of their seminar work. These entries are currently being finalized. Two of them are already online: one is devoted to the communist resistance fighter Julia Bachez, and the other to the socialist resistance fighter Arthur Percque. Eventually, a good dozen contributions will be available. A fine synergy between the two universities and CegeSoma.

Other contributions include biographies of the successive Ministers of Justice at the Liberation, and an article on Julien Lahaut.

Stay tuned!