Welcome to CEGESOMA
The Centre for Historical Research and Documentation on War and Contemporary Society (Cegesoma) is a federal research institution on wars and conflicts of the twentieth century and their impact on Belgium. Founded in 1969, it collects archives, documentation, carries out research and organises academic and public events. This documentation is searchable through the online catalogue on this website and can be consulted in the public reading room of Centre's historic Art Deco building at the Square de l'Aviation in Brussels.
Important messageDue to important financial economies we have to make in 2013, some exceptional measures will be taken. Thus, from Monday 10 June 2013 and until at least 31 December 2013, the transfer of documents from the Belgrado depot to the reading room of the Square de l'Aviation will only be ensured on Mondays. As a consequence, to be able to consult documents from the Belgrado depot on weekdays (from Tuesday 9 a.m.) it will be imperative to order them before Monday 8 a.m.Read more... |
Seminar with Bertrand Herremans
Le jeudi 27 juin 2013 (14 h.), l'asbl Les Amis du Cegesoma a le plaisir d'accueillir Bertrand Herremans, auteur de l'ouvrage Entre terreur rouge et peste brune, la Belgique livide (1918-1940). La diplomatie belge face aux Juifs et aux antisémites, paru fin 2012 chez l'éditeur André Versaille. Read more... |
Conference ‘War and Fatherland’ - World War I and the nation state Cegesoma will coordinate an international academic conference regarding the impact of WWI on the development of the European nation state. The conference will be held in October 2015 in the Egmont Palace in Brussels (thanks to the support of the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs). The scientific committee consists of representatives of all Belgian universities together with several specialists of Federal Scientific Institutions. A committee of patrons was created as well. Chaired by Belgian Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo, this committee consists of the prime ministers of all four regional governments in Belgium. Read more... |
The first 2013-issue of the Journal of Belgian History has been published !
This first issue contains four articles on a variety of subjects: the recognition of medical specialisms in Belgium (in Dutch, by Ineke Meul and Rita Schepers), about the training of Belgian engineers in the 19th century (in Dutch, by Willemijne Linssen and Krista De Jonge), on Militärverwaltungschef Reeder and the aftermath of WWII (in Dutch, by Svenja Weers and Marnix Beyen) and on the role of France during the Congo-crisis in 1960 (in French, by Vincent Genin). All of these articles tackle new aspects on social, political and colonial history in Belgium both during the 19th and 20th centuries. Read more... |
Academic Workshop on Digital Humanities: call for expert-participantsOn 17 June 2013, CEGESOMA organises the second in its series of Academic Workshops (in co-organisation with the IAP Research Network 'Justice and Populations', EHRI and DARIAH-VL). You can find the programme here. The workshop will stimulate critical reflection among a small group of (international) experts on the possibilities and challenges of the use of Virtuel Research Environments (VRE) for the historical researcher.Read more... |
Vacancy for a PhD researcherThe University of Ghent is hiring a PhD researcher for the project 'Mayors and Legitimacy in WWI. The mayor as feeder, protector and representative in occupied and liberated Belgium and France (1914-21)'. This research project is funded by the FWO. CEGESOMA and the University of Antwerp will act as partners (both as co-supervisors of the PhD). Please find all information in the vacancy description. Candidates can apply before the 15 July 2013 to Antoon Vrints.
|
State Building: Incorporating Local Perspectives through Life Stories
|
Censored press from both World Wars available in the reading roomThe clandestine press which was published in Belgium in the periods 1914-1918 and 1940-1944 has for some time been online available via the website The Belgian War Press developed by CEGESOMA. This is not the case for the censored press. The legislation concerning the copyright does not allow online consultation of this type of press. However, the newspapers which appeared under German censorship are accessible in the main reading room of CEGESOMA (Square de l'Aviation) via terminals. The necessary lists and background articles can be found on the website The Belgian War Press.
|
Focusing on state building in Kosovo, this research is funded by the Dutch Research Foundation (NWO) and carried out by Arlinda Rrustemi (currently affiliated researcher at CEGESOMA) from Leiden University. The research tries to bring a new, more local perspective to the established literature. State building will be analyzed by using the methodology of life stories, looking at the biographies of individuals whose life experiences reveal new aspects about the process of state building. 
