Dans le Saillant des Ardennes, Saint Vith 1945, photo n° 96546, collection Algoet, © CegeSoma/Archives de l'Etat

World War II

Welcome to our Topics Page dedicated to Second World War. Discover our projects, events and pulications (type) about this period. Our publications also include tools such as bibliographies.You can carry out targeted research using keywords (tags). At the bottom of the page you find interesting links for further information.

Tags

Armée Secrète.Zone V, secteur 5, Groupe D - Août 1944: cérémonie de prestation de Serment, Photo n° 27912 © CegeSoma/Archives de l'Etat

Projet

Project People@War. A social history of the Second War and its Remembrance in Belgium. (2020-2030)

People @ War. A social history of the Second World War and its Remembrance...

A German officer in a Belgian office at Mons railway station. The Wehrmacht Verkehrs Direktion aggressively takes over large parts of SNCB's strategic and operational business management. Source: private collection Paul Pastiels.

Projet

Belgian Railways and deportations in WWII (2022-2023)

Projet

Wikibase Resistance (2021 - )

In brief

Initiated by the Cegesoma in the spring of 2021, the Wikibase...

Publication

Les enfants de la répression (Children of Repression)

This book is the result of years of research by ...

Publication

Papy était-il un héros?

Between 100,000 and 150,000 men and women actively took part in the struggle...

Papy était-il un nazi? Sur les traces d'un passé de guerre.

Publication

Was Grandpa a Nazi?

Staff members from the State Archives / CegeSoma have made an essential contribution to this...

Projet

EHRI (2015 - )

EHRI is a European research project (Horizon 2020) that supports Holocaust scholars by building...

Publication

CegeSoma Annual Reports

If you would like an annual overview of the activities, publications,...

Bruxelles, ville libérée (1944-1945). Un autre regard sur la Libération.

Publication

Bruxelles, ville libérée (1944-1945)

In the evening of 3 September 1944, Brussels is a liberated city....

La Wallonie libérée, 1944-1945.

Publication

La Wallonie libérée, 1944-1945.

Based on a careful selection of little known photos, selected for their...

Procès des collaborateurs, 1945-1949, (Don RTBF), copyrights CegeSoma/Archives de l'Etat.

Projet

POSTWAREX (BRAIN project) (2020-2022)

The POSTWAREX research project, which started in 2020 and had a duration of...

Publication

Journaux de Guerre 1940-1945 (Belgium)

This series of 11 issues dealing with Belgium at the beginning of the Second World War, begins...

Publication

Journaux de Guerre (War Press) 1939-1945 (France)

Les journaux de Guerre (War Press) 1940-1945 (France) – 52 issues

Following...

Publication

Bruxelles sous l'occupation, 1940-1944

This is the first volume of the "Cities at War" series. Lavishly illustrated...

Politieverordening : [betreftende het gebruik van tram en buurttram en het bezoek van schouwburgen, cinema's en andere openbare inrichtingen en manifestaties door Joden in de provincie Antwerpen], [1942], copyrights CegeSoma/Rijksarchief

Projet

La Belgique docile (2004-2006)

De septembre 2004 à décembre 2006, Emmanuel Debruyne, Nico Wouters et Frank...

Publication

Report on the Persecution of Roma in Belgium (1930–1950)

This report on the persecution of Roma in Belgium during World War II was...

Graphopresse, storage of paintings by Lucas Cranach and Robert Campin during World War II, Augustus 1939 at the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, silvergelatin print, 12.9 x 17.9 cm, Photo collection Ruth and Peter Herzog, inv. no.: L0025_F9 © Collection by Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron Kabinett, Basel, 2025

Event

Looted Art and the Art Market: Nazi Art Theft in Belgium, Europe, and Its Aftermath.

On 11-12 June 2026, the Royal Museums of Fine Art of Belgium will host an...

Event

Folterfabriek Buchenwald. Overleven en collaboreren in een Duits concentratiekamp. (The Buchenwald Torture Factory. Surviving and Collaborating in a German Concentration Camp)

Lecture and discussion in Dutch with guest speaker Jan Willem Stutje An interview by Widukind De...

Event

CegeSoma Public History Meetings – Second World War (2019–2026)

Find below an overview of the CegeSoma Public History Meetings related to...

Expo NAR – CNT - De sociale partners tijdens de Tweede Wereldoorlog. Les partenaires sociaux pendant la Seconde Guerre mondiale - © FPS Employment

Event

An exhibition on social partners during the war years

An exhibition on social partners during the war years opened on Wednesday, 4...

Study day "80 jaar na de Tweede Wereldoorlog: welk verleden voor de toekomst?", May 17, 2025, Ghent

Event

80 jaar na de Tweede Wereldoorlog: welk verleden voor de toekomst?

The study day " 80 jaar na de Tweede Wereldoorlog: welk verleden voor de...

Event

Belgian Railways under Occupation: between Collaboration and Resistance

On 25 September, the temporary exhibition ‘ Belgian Railways under...

Event

Exhibition - Belgian Railways under Occupation: between Collaboration and Resistance

On 25 September, the temporary exhibition ‘Belgian Railways under Occupation...

Publication

Inventory of the CegeSoma's 'Diaries and Manuscripts' Collection. Acquisitions 1969-2018.

The CegeSoma's 'Diaries and Manuscripts' Collection is largely freely...

Publication

Inventory of the archives of journalist Alain de Prelle de la Nieppe

The inventory of...

Group photo taken during the first Saint Nicholas party of Les Invalides Prévoyants organised at the Œuvre des "Petites Abeilles" by the Cercle "Le Turgouin". 1941. (547-2814 AA2218, no. 39). Reserved rights CegeSoma/State Archives.

Publication

Inventory 'Les Invalides Prévoyants' and Inventory 'Les Enfants de la Patrie/De Kinderen van het Vaderland' : two closely related associations

...

Publication

Inventory of the archives of Roger De Goÿ, officer of the Légion Wallonie

In 2022 and 2023, CegeSoma received the archives of Roger De Goÿ, one of the...

Event

New critical Approaches on Communists and Communism in Belgium.

On October 22, CegeSoma/State Archives, in collaboration with CArCoB/Dacob...

Projet

Occupation and everyday life: a new resource portal on World War II

On June 28, at Wuppertal University, the portal 'Societies under German...

Event

Brussels toponymy, past and future

On 14 November 2024, a study day at CegeSoma brought together some fifteen...

Anvers sous l'occupation, 1940-1945

Publication

Anvers sous l'occupation, 1940-1945

Drawing largely from the rich photographic collections of CegeSoma (mainly...

Publication

La Wallonie sous l'Occupation, 1940-1945

This album aims to provide a new synthesis of the German occupation of...

Publication

The final report on the role of Belgian Railways in deportations during WWII

On 17 January 2025, the Group of Sages presented the final report on the...

Publication

Rights, capabilities, and the making of citizens : Jewish immigrants in Israel

Adina Babesh-Fruchter began conducting research...

Event

Young Historian's Day (Promotions of 2019-2025)

Below you will find the abstracts of the different papers. If you are...

The Belgian Government's return from London, 8 September 1944, photo no. 220653, CegeSoma, RTBF Collections.

Event

September 1944: Belgium is liberated. What next ?

After the liberation of Belgium in early September 1944, the country had to...

Event

Changing Perspectives on Resistance during the Second World War

From 18 to 20 September 2024 , the Department of History of the University...

A Rooie Vlinder activist draws attention to discrimination against gays and lesbians in Belgium at the Breendonk National Memorial in 1978 during the national commemorations. (Copyright: Krist de Munter).

Publication

Preliminary investigation report into the persecution of members of the LGBTQIA+ community during WWII

In response to the resolution passed on 8 February 2024 in the House of...

2021-2022 inter-university seminar

Event

A social history of the Resistance in small Belgian communes

On April 17, CegeSoma is pleased to invite you to the presentation of the...

Le rail belge sous l'occupation. La SNCB face à son passé de guerre : entre collaboration et résistance.

Event

Senate colloquium on Belgian Railways and deportations in WWII

On 29 March 2024 , the Senate, in collaboration with Cegesoma/ National...

Bezet bedrijf. De oorlogsgeschiedenis van de NMBS

Publication

The wartime history of Belgian Railways.

The new book ‘ Bezet bedrijf. De oorlogsgeschiedenis...

Event

Enfants de résistants. Belgique. 1940-1945. (Children of Resistance fighters. Belgium.1940-1945.).

In Belgium, Resistance against the Nazi regime during the Second World War...

Publication

1943 in occupied Belgium: a turning point?

The articles in this dossier, coordinated by Geneviève Warland ( UCLouvain...

Provinciebestuur Limburg tijdens de Tweede Wereldoorlog. Een verkennend onderzoek naar de rol van het provinciebestuur in het dagelijks leven van de Limburgse bevolking onder Duitse bezetting (1940-1944).

Publication

Provinciebestuur Limburg tijdens de Tweede Wereldoorlog

The book is the result of research conducted by CegeSoma on behalf of the...

Copyright Stadsarchief Antwerpen - www.felixarchief.be

Event

The Resistance in Antwerp during the Second World War

Antwerp was the most important city for the resistance in Flanders during...

Event

Study Day on the Resistance at the State Archives in Liège

On 17 October 2022, the State Archives in Liège and CegeSoma organised an information and...

Projet

The SNCB/NMBS and deportations during WWII (2022 - 2023 )

At the request of the Belgian government, the Study and Documentation Centre...

Fighting Hunger, Dealing with Shortage. Everyday Life under Occupation in World War II: A Source Edition

Publication

Shortage and hunger in occupied Europe

World War II and the resulting occupation by Nazi Germany are inextricably...

Projet

Les transmissions. La guerre en héritage. (TheTransmissions. The Legacy of War). ( 2020-2021)

In 2017 the research project ' Transmemo ' on...

The Holocaust in South-Eastern Europe: Historiography, Archives Resources and Remembrance

Publication

The Holocaust in South-Eastern Europe: Historiography, Archives Resources and Remembrance

For many decades, the Holocaust in South-Eastern Europe lacked the required...

En territoire ennemi 1914-1949. Expériences d’occupation, transferts, héritages.

Publication

En territoire ennemi 1914-1949.

Periods of commemoration often offer opportunities in the editorial field....

Tweehonderd jaar justitie. Historische encyclopedie van de Belgische justitie / Deux siècles de justice. Encyclopédie historique de la justice belge

Publication

Tweehonderd jaar justitie. Historische encyclopedie van de Belgische justitie / Deux siècles de justice. Encyclopédie historique de la justice belge

At the time of the Dutroux affair, an easy slogan was that Belgian justice...

Information services, picture no 28082 © CegeSoma/State Archives

Publication

Resistance in Belgium (1940-1944). Selected bibliography.

This bibliography was prepared by...

Picture no. 130343, coll. Spronk © CegeSoma/State Archives

Publication

Bibliographic essay on occupied Belgium (2004)

In the framework of the research programme 'Occupation in Europe. The Impact...

Publication

Bibliography concerning Belgium in/and the Second World War. 1970 - 2006 (CegeSoma)

From 1970 to 2006, the Centre for Research and Studies on the History of the Second World War...

Nekschot. Oorlog, geweld en bevrijding in Tongeren.

Publication

Nekschot

"Nekschot" tells the story of the liberation of South Limburg, culminating...

Tussen twee vuren. Gerecht en verzet tijdens de Tweede Wereldoorlog.

Publication

Tussen twee vuren (Between the Crossfire)

During the Second World War, the Belgian judiciary is caught in the crossfire. The German...

La Belgique et la persécution des Juifs

Publication

La Belgique et la persécution des Juifs

What was the responsibility of the Belgian authorities in the persecution of...

La Belgique docile. Les autorités belges et la persécution des Juifs en Belgique durant la Seconde Guerre mondiale.

Publication

La Belgique docile

In January 2003, the Belgian Senate adopted a resolution entrusting CegeSoma...

Rachel, Jacob, Paul et les autres. Une histoire des Juifs à Bruxelles.

Publication

Rachel, Jacob, Paul et les autres.

Lieven Saerens, one of Belgium’s most renowned experts of the history of...

Les décombres de la guerre. Mémoires belges en conflit, 1945-2010.

Publication

Les décombres de la guerre

The liberation of 1944 does not only mark the liberation of Belgium. It also...

Publication

A new online publication on the activities of the Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg (ERR) in Belgium

During the occupation, the Nazis carried out cultural looting: libraries and...

Event

A workshop on looted library materials in Belgium during the Second World War

On 14 June 2019, Dr Patricia Kennedy Grimsted (Harvard University) was...

Illustration : Les enfants de la collaboration © Cédric Deru – Zest Studio

Event

Regards d'historiens (Historians' viewpoints)

Three years ago, Koen Aerts (who in the meantime became a member of CegeSoma...

Publication

Inventory of the Jacques Wynants archives published!

Notwithstanding the vicissitudes of life, scores of human beings show a...

Les curateurs du ghetto. L'association des Juifs en Belgique sous l'occupation nazie.

Publication

Les curateurs du ghetto

This work is the result of research led by a team of experts on World War II...

De Tweede Wereldoorlog als factor in de onderwijsgeschiedenis.

Publication

La Seconde Guerre mondiale, une étape dans l'histoire de l'enseignement

The war certainly affected education during the occupation. However, little...

Journal of Belgian History

Publication

Anniversary issue of the JBH on 75 years of the Second World War history

The new (double) issue of the Journal of Belgian History (JBH) was released...

The Senate - 10.12.2019, © Bart Boon (State Archives)

Event

Study day on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of CegeSoma and the 75th anniversary of the Liberation

On December 10, 2019, 200 people attended the study day at the Senate on the...

Colloquium about the 75th anniversary of the Liberation and the 50th anniversary of CegeSoma. 'The heritage of the Second World War in Belgium. Future prospects for history?'

Event

Colloquium about the 75th anniversary of the Liberation and the 50th anniversary of CegeSoma

About the event ?

In 2019, we commemorate the 75th anniversary of the...

Transmemo. A project on the memory of collaboration and resistance during the Second World War in Belgium.

Projet

TRANSMEMO (2017-2020)

In September 2017, the federal research project TRANSMEMO was launched - a...

Guerre, famille et transmission. Colloquium project ‘TRANSMEMO’ (memories of collaboration and resistance).

Event

Guerre, famille et transmission

On Thursday 3 October 2019 we will co-organize a conference of the research project TRANSMEMO...

Sources pour l'histoire des populations juives et du judaïsme en Belgique. XIXe - XXIe siècles.

Publication

Sources pour l'histoire des populations juives et du judaïsme en Belgique

Scattered sources on the history of the Jews of Belgium .......

War. Occupation. Liberation. Belgium 1940-1945.

Publication

War. Occupation. Liberation.

On 8 May 2019, a new permanent exhibition on World War II was inaugurated at...

Journaux de Guerre 1939-1945 - Les débuts de la Guerre Froide (France)

Publication

Journaux de Guerre 1939-1945 - Les débuts de la Guerre Froide (France)

After the success of the series about both World Wars and the Interwar period, the series...

De l’avant à l’après-guerre. L'extrême droite en Belgique francophone.

Publication

De l’avant à l’après-guerre.

November 24, 1991. Shockwaves are sent reverberating through Wallonia. Today...

Publication

Democratie in crisis

Laurence Petrone investigated the democratic resilience of states on the...

Les saboteurs de Morlanwelz. Etude Sociologique et Pyrotechnique.

Publication

Les saboteurs de Morlanwelz

This sociological study carried out by M. Franckson and A. Mairiaux explores...

Publication

Zélateurs & stipendiés des nazis en Fagne & Thiérache

The work of a privileged witness of the last world conflict, Marcel...

Schoollopen in oorlogstijd. Het dagelijkse leven van middelbare scholieren tijdens de Duitse bezetting (1940-1944).

Publication

Schoollopen in oorlogstijd

This book, published in 1988, is the work of students and former students...

de Gaulle, la Belgique et la France Libre

Publication

de Gaulle, la Belgique et la France Libre

This publication brings together various papers presented at a study day on...

Le travail obligatoire en Allemagne 1942-1945

Publication

Le travail obligatoire en Allemagne 1942-1945

« The deportation of workers » … in the list of crimes committed between...

De l’Avant à l’Après-guerre. L’Extrême droite en Belgique francophone.

Publication

De l’Avant à l’Après-guerre. L’Extrême droite en Belgique francophone.

November 24, 1991. Shockwaves are sent reverberating through Wallonia. Today...

Publication

Les Juifs de Belgique

This book is a selection of texts mainly written for the Belgian-Israeli...

Belgische bibliografie over de nazi-kampen

Publication

Getuigen (Bibliography of first-person accounts of the Nazi camps)

This book was (and remains) the first national bibliography of its kind, a...

Commémoration. Enjeux et débats.

Publication

Commémoration. Enjeux et débats.

As everyone knows (or should know), any commemoration involves a...

Enfants du ghetto. Juifs révolutionnaires en Belgique (1925-1940).

Publication

Enfants du ghetto

Rudi Van Doorslaer relates, in this book, the itinerary of Jewish communist...

Publication

Ils ont pris les armes pour Hitler

The fruit of a research conducted in 2003 on behalf of CEGES thanks to the...

Publication

Justice in Wartime and Revolutions. Europe, 1795-1950

Revolutions, wars and their settlement put pressure on legal systems....

Un maquis dans les cités. La Résistance à Watermael-Boitsfort, 1940-1945.

Publication

Un maquis dans les cités (A maquis in the Cities)

In this posthumous publication, André Dartevelle uses his talent as a historian and journalist...

Ressources et usages des archives de la justice militaire

Publication

Ressources et usages des archives de la justice militaire (Resources and Uses of Military Justice Archives)

Military jurisdictions in peacetime were abolished in Belgium in January...

De wieg van de Tweede Wereldoorlog. Oorlogskinderen op de as Brussel-Berlijn.

Publication

De wieg van de Tweede Wereldoorlog (The Cradle of the Second World War)

In 2009 Gerlinda Swillen, as CegeSoma associate researcher, published ‘...

Publication

Mayoral Collaboration under Nazi Occupation in Belgium, the Netherlands and France 1938-46

This international comparison between Belgium, the Netherlands and the north of France ( Nord/...

La valise oubliée. Enfants de guerre (1940-1945).

Publication

La valise oubliée (The Forgotten Suitcase)

Coming after the "children of the collaboration", made very fashionable by the Flemish television...

Leurs occupations. L’impact de la Seconde Guerre mondiale sur la littérature en Belgique.

Publication

Leurs occupations. L’impact de la Seconde Guerre mondiale sur la littérature en Belgique

One can guess that following the example of the famous Sacha Guitry in Paris...

Avenue Louise 347. Dans les caves de la Gestapo.

Publication

Avenue Louise 347

In October 1994, when preparing his film about the Armed Partisans in the...

Publication

La résistance et les Européens du Nord. Het Verzet en Noord-Europa.

The specific nature of the contributions submitted and discussed in Brussels...

Vie et attitude des catholiques belges sous l’occupation

Publication

Entre la peste et le choléra

During the Second World War, the church, like the secretaries general, the...

Publication

Résistance sans frontières.

On 9 October 1943, nine members of the Belgian and Dutch resistance were shot in Rhijnauwen (...

Murders during the Liberation and the Belgian Judiciary: the Case of Brussels

Projet

Murders during the Liberation and the Belgian Judiciary: the Case of Brussels (2017)

Multiform violence against collaborators

Everywhere in Europe, governments and...