Audiovisual
Audiovisual department
The audiovisual department manages and valorises the photographs, the poster collection, the audiovisual archives, the interviews and the audiovisual documents.
photographic archives - poster collection - videotape collections
The photographic archives 
Little boys, members of 'Sons of the Wolf', fascist Italy 1938.
The photographic archives consist essentially of the collections of the Sipho agency which distributed a large element of the Belgian as well as the international press photographs from 1930 until 1944. In 1946, the Sipho responsibles were brought to trial and its collections were confiscated. In 1970 they were transferred to the Centre.
This important collection (some 300,000 photographs) consists of a Belgian and an international section. It has been regularly supplemented with new acquisitions such as the collections of Otto Kropf (relating to daily life in occupied Belgium), of Raphaël Algoet (on the liberation of the German concentration camps in 1945), of André Cauvin (on Congo) and photographs from private collections. The detailed alphabetical list of the collections is accessible here.
Italian children during the Second World War.
This project was begun in 1998 to digitise the photographic collection. More than 293,000 photographs have been inventorised and scanned and can be accessed and viewed through the online catalogue.
Three important remarks concerning the consultation of the image bank:
1. To make it accessible to the public, the photo collection of the Ceges/Soma is systematically inventorised, digitised and each image is provided with a description. To maintain coherence in the introduction of the descriptions, the following rules are observed: we maintain the original description, because we believe that it has an intrinsic archivistic value. In other words, the text on the back of the photograph is literally copied. This working method is important, especially where the propaganda images are concerned (which after all form an important part of our collection) and where descriptions are often manipulated or even false. In the case of private funds, we also keep all information provided by the donators.
2. As a result of the changes in the rules and dispositions with regard to the copyright, the Ceges/Soma is currently undertaking a detailed scrutiny of its collections. As a result, some photographs may no longer be accessible via our website but still present on the image bank. Though they can no longer be made available via the internet nor can they be reproduced, their documentary value remains. They can however be consulted for research purposes, by appointment, in the Ceges/Soma (contact Florence Gillet or Isabelle Sampieri). Thus, it is possible that a description indicates that a photo collection contains 25 images but that only 10 of those are visible on our website. It is also possible that a description of a photo collection does not give access to any images. This is not necessarily due to a technical problem. The collection can be inaccessible for reasons of copyright or rights of the author.
Because this detailed research will take a lot of time, some photographs are still accessible on the internet even though they will no longer be in the future. As a result of this ongoing research we may have to refuse the reproduction of some photographs. We will answer each request upon receipt of the order form. We apologise for any inconvenience these new regulations may cause. They are however essential and are applied in the interest of all parties and in accordance with the law.
3. In view of the increasing number of unpaid orders from abroad and considering the difficulties in claiming these payments, we have decided to deliver photographs only after receipt of the payment. We hope you will appreciate our position in this matter.
Price list of the reproductions
The poster collection
Since its foundation in 1969, the Ceges/Soma has accumulated an important poster collection of which a large part is related to the Second World War. It contains placards emanating from the Belgian administration and documents issued in the context of the German and Allied (British and Canadian) propaganda. But other themes are also prominent: Communist propaganda, the cinema, colonial propaganda, the 1930s, Rexism and the postwar period. Part of the collection of the well-known artist Wilchar of the 1930s and 40s also forms part of our poster collection, which, at present, consists of 2,420 posters. A complete list is available on request (Florence Gillet). The posters are also scanned and introduced in our Pallas image bank. Tick «Photo Library» , then type «Collection d'affiches» in «Word(s) from title».
Five color posters from our collection have been reproduced as postcards (available at € 0,50 per postcard or € 2 for the complete series).
The videotape collection of the CEGES-SOMA consists of approximately 600 tapes and include primarily the documentaries made by the francophone (RTBF) and the Flemish (VRT) television on the Second World War (notably the programmes made by Maurice De Wilde on the pre-war and occupation periods, the series on the Resistance and on daily life, the series Jours de Guerre, etc.).
The more recently acquired material varies in form and content. Thus, for example, the complete RTBF-series Inédits are kept at the Centre. The list of audiovisual documents as the tapes and DVD tapes can be viewed in our reading room.
The basis of the collection of sound documents consists of 4,500 records originating from Zender Brussel and Radio-Bruxelles, the two broadcasting stations that were on the air during the occupation period, together with Radio Belgium of London and New York. The Centre keeps an original of this collection and a copy on cassettes (the result of a collaboration project with the VRT). From this material two sound documents were produced in collaboration with the VRT and the Crédit Communal/Gemeentekrediet: België beeft en … buigt (on the pre-war period in Belgium) and België bezet en bevrijd (on the occupation period and the Liberation).
William Ugeux (1909-1997), an important figure of the Belgian resistance, leader of the escape line Zéro, has been interviewed on several occasions by researchers of the Centre.
We encourage students and researchers to deposit the interviews they have undertaken in the course of their research activities at the Ceges/Soma. Thus, they are preserved in the best possible circumstances while at the same time making them available for future research purposes. If you should be interested in this type of deposit, please contact Florence Gillet.
For more information : Florence Gillet
To consult the image bank online
