Lots of Reactions to the New Podcast Series “Weeral WO2?!”

The biweekly podcast series Weeral WO2?! by Nico Wouters and Koen Aerts, launched in April 2026, is attracting a large audience and generating a lot of feedback. This is certainly true for the episodes about the famous 20th convoy, which explore the tension between history and memory. In doing so, they also reveal some new facts about this history. For instance, the place where the train came to a halt is not the current memorial site with a monument in the municipality of Boortmeerbeek, but is actually four kilometers further away in the municipality of Haacht. It also turns out that not one but two resistance attacks were carried out on the same train. The second, forgotten attack took place at the Korbeek-Lo station, near Leuven.  Furthermore, these resistance actions on the 20th convoy are not entirely unique: there was another such action in Belgium and one in the Ardèche region of France.

These episodes led to an article in Het Laatste Nieuws, interviews with Nico Wouters on Radio 2 and Brabant regional television, a feature on the VRT news site, and articles by Karlien Beckers in De Standaard and by Vincent Rocour in La Libre Belgique.

In response, survivor and witness Simon Gronowski also wrote an opinion piece. Finally, a long article appeared in Knack, in which Nico Wouters and Koen Aerts went on a reconnaissance mission on-site in Haacht, and another “right of reply” from Simon Gronowski in the newspaper “Het Laatste Nieuws” on May 11.
 

The episode on “Should 8 May become a public holiday?” was broadcast in full on VRT Radio 1 and also prompted a response from Ruud Martens, with additional background information on the 8 May celebrations in the city of Antwerp.

High listening figures and numerous responses prove that it remains important to bring historical research to a wider audience. Before the summer holiday break, episodes will follow in May and June featuring author Tom Lanoye discussing his war novel *De Draaischijf*, the story of Narcisse Rulot, the head of the NMBS during the war, and questions such as “Was the repression truly anti-Flemish?” and “Was World War II won by the Soviet Union?”
Weeral WO2?! is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or directly via the website www.weeralwo2.be (feedback welcome at weeralwo2@gmail.com). Weeral W02?! is a podcast produced in collaboration with the Faculty of Arts and Philosophy (Ghent University), with support from Archiefpunt, CegeSoma, and FARO. Flemish Support Center for Cultural Heritage.