Resistance in Belgium: national database on the Resistance in Belgium.
Since 21 October 2024, the Resistance in Belgium platform allows anyone to research the Resistance in Belgium, thanks to a pilot project developed by CegeSoma/ State Archives. Given the growing interest in the history of the Resistance, it is essential today to make this information accessible to as many people as possible, and to enable everyone to carry out research on the subject. This project fits in with the missions and societal role of CegeSoma, the Belgian center of expertise in the history of 20th century conflicts, which is involved in research, public history projects, conservation and public access to archival documents.
-> Access to the platform : https://resistanceinbelgium.be
Why this project now?
As we commemorate the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Belgium, numerous initiatives on the history of the Resistance are emerging, both in academia and in civil society: Réseau Histoire de la Résistance, new Chair in the History of the Resistance (VUB), colloquia and publications.... For the first time, Resistance in Belgium will offer online access to data on the thousands of people involved in resistance activities during World War II, both in Belgium and, in some cases, in neighboring countries such as France.
What is in the database?
The platform currently contains information on over 42,000 individuals. These are people for whom a file linked to the Belgian Intelligence and Action services has been produced by the State Security Service. New data, in particular those concerning the statuses of resistance fighter through the underground press, armed resistance and civilian resistance, will be added regularly. Ultimately, the database should contain information on over 200,000 people, drawn from more than 350,000 individual files.
The data is structured, multilingual and readable by humans and machines alike. The platform can be used for simple searches, as well as more advanced cross-disciplinary searches, by cross-referencing hundreds of thousands of items of information according to various criteria: name, date of birth, place of residence, resistance network, or date of arrest, for example.
A project in an international context
This project is part of a worldwide trend towards open data, notably through the adoption of international standards such as Records in Contexts in the archive sector. These standards encourage the interconnection of data and its availability in machine-readable formats. By moving from a compartmentalized approach to open data, CegeSoma is playing a full part in the digital transition in archives.
A collaborative database
Officially launched in spring 2021, under the coordination of Anne Chardonnens and Fabrice Maerten (CegeSoma), this long-term collaborative project has been nurtured by the efforts of a multi-disciplinary team (volunteers, interns, jobbers and CegeSoma staff members) supervised by a steering committee.
Our aim is to ensure the future development of the platform, despite a difficult budgetary context.
A platform accessible to all
LThe platform is intended for a wide audience, but it also meets the needs of research for more complex analyses. It complements the thematic portal on the Second World War in Belgium developed by CegeSoma, Belgium WWII (www.belgiumwwii.be). The well-documented platform features a 'Frequently Asked Questions' (FAQ) section, which guides users step-by-step through the research process and answers questions about the nature of the files and data available.
In short, Resistance in Belgium is an essential tool for anyone interested in the history of resistance fighters and the Resistance in Belgium during WWII.