Resistance History Network

The Resistance History Network brings together the knowledge of basic historical research at Belgian scientific institutions and universities.

Interest in the history of the Resistance in Belgium during the Second World War is growing. More and more people want to learn about wartime resistance, as well as the stories of resistance within their own families, villages or towns. At the same time, extensive historical research on the Resistance in Belgium has been conducted over several decades. As a result, it is not always easy to navigate the wealth of information available.

The Resistance History Network helps you explore this body of knowledge and find your way around existing research. The network also encourages new scholarly research, paying particular attention to the critical use of archival sources and the historical context in which events took place. In doing so, it contributes both to critical historical scholarship and to greater public awareness of the importance of Resistance history. On this website, you will find references to existing research, information on ongoing projects, relevant sources and details of upcoming initiatives by members of the Resistance History Network.

Coordination: Bart Willems — Contact: cegesoma@arch.be

Who we are ?

Chantal Kesteloot, Fabrice Maerten, Ophelia Ongena, Bart Willems and Nico Wouters (CegeSoma/State Archives) - Widukind De Ridder (KU Leuven/CegeSoma) - Dimitri Roden (UGent/CegeSoma) -Pieter Lagrou (ULB) - Michèle Corthals et Marnix Beyen (UAntwerpen) - Koen Aerts (Ugent/Archiefpunt) and Bruno De Wever (UGent) - Emmanuel Debruyne (UCLouvain) - Babette Weyns & Nel De Mûelenaere (VUB) - Philippe Raxhon (ULiège) - Gert De Prins (Archives Service for War Victims/State Archives - Tom Simoens en Aline Thomas (Royal Military Academy) - Christophe Brüll (Université du Luxembourg), Dorien Styven (Kazerne Dossin) - Samuel Pauwels (Musée de la Résistance de Belgique/Museum van het verzet), Micheline Zanatta (IHOES).

INITIATIVES IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Publications

In Verzet 1940-1944 - First publication of the Resistance History Network (forthcoming in November 2026).
Breendonk. Een nieuwe geschiedenis —The new definitive work on the history of Fort Breendonk by Dimitri Roden.
The ‘Resistance’ theme page on the www.belgiumwwii.be website offers a wide range of short articles on the Resistance in Belgium.

Lectures by members of the Resistance History Network

22 October 2026: Debate: Simon Gronowski and Nico Wouters Discuss the 20th Convoy.
5 November 2026: Breendonk. Een nieuwe geschiedenis. CegeSoma Public History Meeting with Dimitri Roden.
13 November 2026: Dimitri Roden: Presentation of the book - Breendonk een nieuwe geschiedenis (Dendermonde).
13 November 2026: Bruno De Wever: Het verzet in de Tweede Wereldoorlog (Kalmthout).
26 November 2026: Bruno De Wever: Het verzet in de Tweede Wereldoorlog (Eeuwwende Kortrijk, Broeltorens, Broelkaai, 8500 Kortrijk, 19h30-21h30).
19 Januari 2027: Bruno De Wever: Het verzet in de Tweede Wereldoorlog (Gent).

Research

1st Study Day of the Resistance History Network (UAntwerpen, 19/11/2026).
Aline Thoma’s doctoral research - Belgian Officers and Resistance Effectiveness in World War 2
Michèle Corthals - Het gender van het verzet. Vertogen en praktijken van vrouwelijk verzet in België tijdens de Tweede Wereldoorlog.
Projet - Dictionnaire historique de la Résistance au Luxembourg pendant la Seconde Guerre mondiale (Christoph Brüll)
The VUB Chair ‘Sporen van het Verzet’ (2024-2028) aims to stimulate scholarly research and scholarly communication on the Belgian Resistance in World War II.

SOME KEY PUBLICATIONS OF THE NETWORK

Papy était-il un héros ?– The basic guide for anyone searching for resistance history
JBH (Journal of Belgian History) Resistance theme issue - A sampling of the latest research on the Resistance, available fully online
La guerre secrète des espions belges – The standard work on the intelligence and action services by Emmanuel Debruyne
The missing link? Belgian Resistance in a Transnational Perspective (1936-1948) – An Article by Bart Willems on transnational resistance.
Het Verzet in de Publieke Herinnering in Vlaanderen – An article by Koen Aerts and Bruno De Wever
Bulletin du Ceges '30 - '50, n°37– Printemps 2002 – Enfants de résistant ou de collaborateur : grandir sans père ou mère (dossier)
Tegendruk. Geheime pers in Vlaanderen – A Dutch-language collection on the clandestine resistance press
De communistische subjectiviteit onder de Koude Oorlog: de uitsluitingen uit de Kommunistische Partij van België (1944-1956) - An article by Widukind De Ridder on the Parti Communiste Belge ('the party of the resistance') in the post-war period
Stad in Verzet: Antwerpen tijdens de Tweede Wereldoorlog (Lannoo, 2024)

PUBLIC PROJECTS

Podcast Weeral WO2?! (Nico Wouters & Koen Aerts):
Episode 14: Breendonk. In gesprek met historicus Dimitri Roden

Episodes 2-3: De aanslag op het Twintigste Jodenkonvooi: het historische verhaal

Episode 1: Was het verzet in Vlaanderen zwakker dan in Franstalig België?
Le Musée des Résistances/Museum van het Verzet – This museum has several members of the network on its scientific committee (currently closed)
Lecture– Nico Wouters: Verzet in Antwerpen tijdens WOII
Kinderen van het verzet – A high-profile VRT-Canvas TV series initiated by Koen Aerts
Enfants de résistants - An RTBF documentary
Podcast series : Sombre Belgique, un podcast sur les affaires cachées de notre royaume - Auvio, Season 05 : 4 Années de Résistance (CegeSoma is a partner of the series).

SOURCES AND RESEARCH TOOLS

Resistance in Belgium - The national database on the Resistance in Belgium during World War II currently contains information on some 65,000 individuals for whom a file was produced by the State Security Service in connection with the Intelligence and Action Services and/or by the Ministry of Reconstruction and its successors as part of the procedure for obtaining resistant status. New data concerning the status of armed and civilian resistance members will be added regularly. Ultimately, the database should contain information on over 200,000 people, drawn from more than 350,000 individual files.
Sources about Resistance - An overview of the main vouchers of the Resistance in the collections of CegeSoma
The Belgian War Press – Access to the content and history of the clandestine press
Master theses on the Resistance - The list of the most important master theses on the Resistance, produced at Belgian Universities (2002-2025)
Catalog of the CegeSoma photo library (Pallas) – CegeSoma's online image bank, where one can search with keywords and titles about the resistance
Les lettres d'adieu des résistants de Belgique exécutés en 1940-1944
Nico Wouters’s overview of “resistance” in the Digital Encyclopedia of the Flemish Movement: https://devb.be/id/ter-000743
La résistance en Belgique. Bibliographie sélective - A recent overview of the main studies on the subject.
Huit fonds incontournables pour l’étude de la Résistance en région liégeoise (Micheline Zanatta)

COMPLETED PROJECTS AND ACTIVITIES

Doctoral research by Babette Weyns - Verzetsorganisaties als milieux de mémoire in naoorlogs België: 1945-1975. Supervisors: K. Aerts and B. De Wever. Funded by the FWO.
International conference "Changing Perspectives on Resistance during the Second World War" in Antwerp, from September 18 to 20, 2024
The Resistance at local level - Research seminars conducted jointly by students from UCL and UAntwerpen on the Resistance in various municipalities of Brussels, Flanders and Wallonia under the supervision of Marnix Beyen and Emmanuel Debruyne (2024). Several students’ seminar papers were published online on the website belgiumwwii.be : Fontaine-L'Evêque. La résistance à l'échelon local; Forchies-La-Marche. La résistance à l'échelon local; Monceau-Sur-Sambre. La résistance à l'échelon local; Mont-Sur-Marchienne. La résistance à l'échelon local.
Study Day – Resistance in Antwerp during the Second World War (2023)
Study Day on the Resistance at the State Archives in Liège (2022)
Transmemo – A BRAIN research project (BELSPO) on the experiences of children and grandchildren of resistance fighters and collaborators in Belgium. See also : https://sprekendegeschiedenis.nl/onderzoek/transmemo/