Journaux de Guerre 1914-1918 (Belgique)

A long-term project

After the success of "Oorlogskranten 1914-1918" (in Dutch), the weekly "Journaux de Guerre 1914-1918" was produced for the French-speaking Belgian and then also French public, from spring 2014 to the end of 2016. It is the result of the collaboration between London-based Albertas and CegeSoma, who was in charge of the scholarly content and final editing.

A guided tour through history

This weekly tells the story of the First World War through the press of the era (national, regional, clandestine or foreign press titles). Each issue covers a significant episode of the First World War, from military and political events to everyday life in times of war. For each issue, the outline is identical: the reader finds facsimiles of period newspapers (both issues of the censored press and the underground press, newspapers published by Belgians in exile and soldiers' newspapers on the front) in full version but also useful tools to grasp the extent of the censorship and ideological propaganda that then blocked the media.

In order to place these events in their historical context, each edition is complemented by articles written by specialists that help to better understand the legacy of the conflict. The wealth and diversity of the French-language newspapers of the Great War which was preserved offers a unique panorama of this conflict, that has brutally marked the beginning of the 20th century.

The original feature of the various “Journaux de Guerre” (War Press) series is to tell the story of the two World Wars, the interwar period and the beginning of the Cold War through the press of the era.