Belgian Museums of the Great War: Politics, Memory, and Commerce examines the handling of the centennial of World War I by several museums along the Western Front in Flanders, Belgium. In the twenty-first century, the museum has become a strategic space for negotiating ownership of and access to knowledge produced in local settings. The specific focus on museums and commemorative events in Flanders allows for an in-depth evaluation of how each museum works with the remembrance and tourist industry in the region while carving a unique niche. Belgian Museums of the Great War writes the history of these institutions, analyzes the changes made in advance of the anniversary years, and considers the site-specificity of each institution and its architectural frame. Since museums not only transmit information but also shape knowledge, as Eileen Hooper-Greenhill has noted, the diverse narratives and community programs sponsored by each museum have served to challenge prior historiographies of the war. Through newly revamped interactive environments, self-guided learning, and an emphasis on the landscape, the museums in Flanders have a significant role to play in the ever-changing dialogue on the meaning of the history and remembrance of the Great War.

On 11 November 1918 the guns on the Western Front finally fell silent. In this insightful book, some of Belgium's most renowned historians explain how their country struggled back to its feet after four long years of wartime misery. Many towns and villages had been razed to the ground, factories had been plundered, and harbour installations destroyed. Unemployment was at unprecedented levels, there was an acute shortage of food, and sickness and disease weakened the population. This thoughtful series of essays by leading military, political and social historians chart the immense toll the war took on all aspects of Belgian life, and explore how post-war economic and social changes ushered in the Roaring Twenties; the colourful, frivolous, flamboyant and turbulent decade that was characterised by the rise of the avant-garde, jazz, flapper dresses, and the emergence of modern media such as radio, film and photography. Published to accompany an exhibition organised by the War Heritage Institute at the Royal Museum of the Armed Forces and Military HIstory in Brussels - 21 September, 2018 - 11 October, 2019. Contributions by Michaël Amara, Franky Bostyn, Christoph Brüll, Erik Buyst, Rik Coolsaet, Jeroen Cornilly, Karolien De Clippel, Matthijs de Ridder, Luc De Vos, Wannes Devos, Géry Dumoulin, Manuel Duran, Emmanuel Gerard, Kevin Gony, Serge Jaumain, Michel Jaupart, Chantal Kesteloot, Catherine Lanneau, Delphine Lauwers, Enika Ngongo, Marc Reynebeau, Martin Schoups, Serge Servellón, Tom Simoens, Jean-Michel Sterkendries, Jan Van der Fraenen, Christine Van Everbroeck, Laurence van Ypersele, Piet Veldeman and Antoon Vrints. SELLING POINTS: * Accompanies an exhibition organised by the War Heritage Institute at the Royal Museum of the Armed Forces and Military History in Brussels - 21 September, 2018 - 11 October, 2019 * An in-depth consideration of post WWI Belgium, and the transformative Roaring Twenties 100 b/w images

A beautifully designed collection of essays on war, loss and remembrance to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the writing of Canada's most famous poem. In early 1915, the death of a young friend on the battlefields of Ypres inspired Canadian soldier, field surgeon and poet John McCrae to write "In Flanders Fields." Within months of the poem's December 1915 publication in the British magazine Punch it became part of the collective consciousness in North America and Europe, and its extraordinary power has endured over the decades and across generations. In this anthology, Canada's finest historians, novelists and poets contemplate the evolving meaning of the poem; the man who wrote it and the World War I setting from which it emerged; its themes of valour, grief and remembrance; and the iconic image of the poppy. Among the thirteen contributors: Lieutenant-General Roméo Dallaire (ret'd) writes about the emotional meaning of the poem for war veterans; Tim Cook describes the rich and varied life of McCrae; Frances Itani revisits her time in Flanders, and mines the acts of witnessing and remembering; Kevin Patterson offers a riveting depiction of the adrenaline-fueled work of a WWI field surgeon; Mary Janigan reveals the poem's surprisingly divisive effect during the 1917 federal election; Ken Dryden tells us how lines from the poem ended up on the wall of the Montreal Canadiens' dressing room; and Patrick Lane recalls a Remembrance Day from his childhood in a moving reflection on how war shapes us all. Gorgeously designed in full colour with archival and contemporary images, In Flanders Fields: 100 Years will reflect and illuminate the importance of art in how we process war and loss.

This book addresses the many avenues that are still left unexplored when it comes to our understanding of the First World War in the Low Countries. With the ongoing the centenary of the Great War, many events have been organized in the United Kingdom to commemorate its military events, its socio-political consequences, and its cultural legacy. Of these events, very few have paid attention to the fates of Belgium or the Netherlands, even though it was the invasion of Belgium in August 1914 that was the catalyst for Great Britain declaring war. The occupation of Belgium had long-term consequences for its people, but much of the military and social history of the Western Front concentrates on northern France, and the Netherlands is largely forgotten as a nation affected by the First World War. By opening the field beyond the military and beyond the front, this collection explores the interdisciplinary and international nature of the Great War.

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A historian and former Belgian diplomat sheds light on the country’s tumultuous experience during WWI. In August of 1914, the German Empire invaded neutral Belgium in order to outflank the defenses of the French army. Yet the Belgian army resisted, managing to hold a small part of unoccupied Belgian territory north of Ypres until the Armistice of 1918. Because of their heroic defense, Belgium and its King enjoyed enormous international prestige after the war. Occupied Belgium suffered civilian executions and severe destruction. It was widely stripped of its highly developed industrial infrastructure. It was saved from starvation by food shipments from the United States which came in via neutral Holland. Four and a half years later, Belgium emerged a different country with experiences that would leave a lasting on its spirit as well as wide-ranging political implications.