Task Force For International Cooperation On Holocaust Education, Remembrance and Research

Holocaust Education, Remembrance, and Research in Belgium

Click here for an Overview of Holocaust-related activities in Belgium

"We have to continue to fight. We have to teach about democratic values, pass on the memory of crimes committed in the past and more effectively punish present-day aggressors.  During its current Presidency of the International Task Force, Belgium is required this year to coordinate the worldwide efforts to promote cooperation on Holocaust remembrance.  Our country has long been active in this area and will continue to be so."

News

International Holocaust Remembrance Day 2012

Belgium and the ITF - A Brief Summary

Special Planned Initiatives

Education

Remembrance

Research

News

Train with 1,000 young people on board heading for Auschwitz-Birkenau

On Saturday, 5 May 2012, a train heading for Auschwitz-Birkenau will leave the Belgian station of Schaerbeek, from where trains with deportees set out during the Second World War. By the time it reaches its destination, it will be carrying 1,000 young people aged between 16 and 18 who, alongside Belgian Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo, will be taking part in the international ceremony at the Auschwitz-Birkenau Monument on 8 May 2012 to commemorate the liberation of Europe. Of the 1,000 young people on board, 720 will come from throughout Belgium, while the other 280 will be from other European countries and will be picked up along the way.

This initiative, which aims to mobilize Europe's youth in a mass symbolic show of democracy that rejects political extremism, has a number of objectives:

-          an educational goal: the young people will visit the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum and the Birkenau extermination camp to learn about the atrocities of the Nazi regime;

-          remembrance: they will look around the camp accompanied by survivors and eyewitnesses;

-          citizenship: they will get to know about concentration camps and find out what can happen when human rights are neglected.

This special journey is a brainchild of the National Institute for Veterans - National Institute for War Invalids, War Veterans and War Victims (IV-INOG/IV-NIOOO (website in French)), the Auschwitz Foundation and the International Federation of Resistance Fighters (FIR).

You can follow the progress of the train at www.traindes1000.be (website in French) or on Facebook and Twitter (warveterans.be).  Further information is also available on www.belgium.be.

Train of 1000

Click on one of the images to view the gallery (12 pictures).

On 8 May 2012, the Prime Minister of Belgium, Elio Di Rupo, travelled to Auschwitz-Birkenau, to attend a meeting of 1,000 young people from Belgium and other parts of Europe who had arrived by train as part of an unforgettable memorial journey.

Exhibition: "Deportation and Genocide, a European Tragedy"

The Belgian National Institute for Veterans - INIG is making the travelling exhibition "Deportation and Genocide, a European tragedy" available to schools free of charge.

This exhibition presents and analyses the different functions assigned to the concentration camp system in the Nazis' ideological project and draws a parallel between repression deportation and racial deportation. The exhibition chronologically follows that system from the first camps referred to as "wild" camps and improvised to a large extent, including the rapid construction of the Dachau model, followed by an internationalisation of the system and its spectacular growth after the outbreak of the Second World War, to end in the deadly chaos of the death marches. The actual idea behind the concentration camp "system", as an integral part of the Nazi totalitarian State's view of the world and the State's operation, is also studied.

Fully presented in 4 languages (French, Dutch, English and German), the exhibition is aimed at a broad audience, although it was prepared quite particularly as a support for the teaching of History at the last level of secondary education. The actual exhibition is transported, assembled and guided free of charge by the Institute's guides.

If you have any inquiries, please send them to the Institut des Vétérans - INIG, Boulevard du Régent 45-46 - 1000 Brussels - Tel.: 0032.2.227.63.97, E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , site: www.warveterans.be.

Further details can be found here.

The Belgian National Institute for Veterans - INIG Puts 2,200 Nazi Camps and Prisons on a Historical Map

On 1 April 2011, the Belgian National Institute for Veterans - INIG revealed the Map of Nazi camps and other places of detention. That historical map of Germany and Central Europe is the most comprehensive produced up to now on the subject of the world of Nazi concentration camps. It mentions over 2,200 places spreading from northern France to Ukraine. Those places include 21 concentration camps, 6 extermination camps, 838 Kommandos, 509 prisons, 498 camps (non KZ), 95 stalags, 46 oflags, 103 work/re-education camps and 70 transit or labour camps for racial deportation, 6 euthanasia centres (T4 programme) and 24 camps for Gypsies.

All the places have been meticulously listed, categorised, located and indexed.

This project is the outcome of two years' research and the result of fruitful cooperation between the Belgian National Institute for Veterans - INIG and the National Geographical Institute

• Useful information:
  • The map is sold at the price of €10.00 (+ €4.20 postage) and may be obtained by applying to the Institut des Vétérans - INIG, Boulevard du Régent 45-46 - 1000 Brussels - Tel.: 02 227.63.61, E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , site: www.inig.be)

More information can be found by clicking here.

International Holocaust Remembrance Day 2012:

In honor of Belgium's 2012 Chairmanship of the ITF and on the eve of the day of commemoration of the liberation of Auschwitz, a ceremony was held on 26 January 2012 at the Heritage Centre Lamot in Mechelen by the Board of Governors of "Remembrance - Education - Justice" (National Committee of the Jewish Community of Belgium for the Restitution & Memory).  Herman Van Rompuy, President of the European Council, was the keynote speaker at the ceremony.  Additional speakers included the Chairman of the Central Israelitic Consistory of Belgium, the President of the Claims Conference, Beate Klarsfeld, and representatives of the Jewish Communities.  Belgian Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo transmitted a video message to the ceremony.

Belgium and the ITF - A Brief Summary

"As the head of the Belgian delegation to the Task Force for International Cooperation on Holocaust Education, I can clearly confirm Belgium's commitment to the principles of the Stockholm Declaration.  Those principles are enforced through the Belgian legislation and educational programs."

-Quote from Raoul Delcorde, Ambassador, Head of Delegation to the Task Force

Date of ITF membership: 15 November 2005

National remembrance days: 27 January and 8 May

Belgian Delegation to ITF: The Delegation of Belgium to ITF is headed by Ambassador Raoul DELCORDE and is composed by representatives of the Federal Government (Prime Minister and Ministry of Foreign Affairs), of the competent authorities of the three linguistic communities (Flemish, French-speaking and German-speaking) as well as of key education, commemoration and research institutions.

General :  Below is a brief overview of some of the various initiatives that have been taken in Belgium in connection with Holocaust remembrance, education and research. This information and much more can be found in the brochure "Belgian initiatives concerning the Holocaust (1997-2009)" http://kanselarij.belgium.be/nl/commissies/ and on the various websites mentioned below.

Belgium - Special Planned Initiatives

• Belgian ITF Chairmanship in 2012
• Opening of new museum in Mechelen in 2012: KazerneDossin.  Memorial, museum, and documentation centre about the Holocaust and human rights.

Belgium - Education

In our federal system, education policy is a competence exercised autonomously by the French, Flemish and German-speaking communities and these communities promote the education of Holocaust history in the school curriculum; for example, in classes like history, literature, ethics or religion.

French Community

In the French Community, work is being carried out to offer better support for citizenship education at school to increase awareness in students of the challenges of an active citizenship and to help them come to a better understanding of and involvement in society through, among other means, legislative initiatives. Since 2008, the French Community has invited the institutions at all levels to organise activities in the context of the International Holocaust Remembrance Day. As such, since 2009, all schools received tools to encourage their students to reflect on this topic (see websites: www.creccide.be and www.enseignement.be).

The decree of March 13th, 2009 concerning the passing on of remembrance of the crimes of genocide, and the Holocaust in particular, but also crimes against humanity, war crimes and acts of resistance strengthened and coordinated the initiatives taken in the French  Community. The work of history and memory on Holocaust finds its place in the system set up by this decree. This one bases itself on the recognition of reference centres which have to propose resources to the actors of the world of the education on one hand and the calls for annual projects (collection of testimonies, visits of places, seminars, etc.) on the other hand (www.enseignement.be/dob).

Flemish Community

Education in Flanders includes many starting points for remembrance education. Not only in history lessons, but also in the context of other development goals and exit qualifications. To support their activities regarding remembrance education, schools can appeal to one of many organisations with an educational support package on the themes of peace education, remembrance education, public responsibility, democratic philosophy, and so on. An important instrument as regards this remembrance education is the website www.herinneringseducatie.be. This website offers an overview of all workshops, activities, educational packages and initiatives.

German-speaking Community

Also in the German Community, the Holocaust is broached not only in history class. The theme is also often discussed in language, religion and ethics lessons. This is done through witness testimonials in the schools, lectures by authors, joint book reviews or project work. In doing so, the various schools can use the materials and information made available by "GrenzGeschichteDG". In addition to lectures and witness testimonials on contemporary history, there are also trips to locations between The Netherlands, Germany and Belgium and between Luxembourg, Germany and Belgium known for refugees, resistance and persecution.

This is how the different communities work to offer an answer to the two anti-Semitic threats that, according to Simone Veil, ex-President of the European Parliament, loom over society: "revisionism and a less spectacular one, more insidious and therefore more serious: the difficulty of teaching Shoah history at school".

In December 2004, the Belgian government declared 27 January to be "Remembrance Day of the Genocide Committed by Nazi Germany". Commemorative events related to war are regularly organised throughout the country on three main levels. The Federal Government is in charge of the commemoration, held on 8 May, of the soldiers who fell in the two world wars and subsequently in humanitarian actions of the Belgian army. On the same day, the Ministry of Defence holds an important commemoration to the Unknown Soldier and to the Liberation. There are also many local level commemorations, often with the presence of military units and music bands.

1,537 Belgian citizens were awarded the title of "Righteous among the Nations" for having saved the lives of thousands of Jews.

Monuments and Museums

More than 40 monuments in Belgium are dedicated to the remembrance of the Shoah victims. Amongst the best known are the "NationaalGedenkteken van de Joodsemartelaren van België in Anderlecht", the Liège education centre "Les Territoires de la Mémoire, Centre d'Education à la Résistance et à la Citoyenneté" which takes an educational approach aimed at the future, and the "KazerneDossin".  The "KazerneDossin", the former "Joodse Museum van Deportatie en Verzet" is housed in the former SS-Samellager in Mechelen, referred to at the time as "the waiting room of death" because this place played a key role in the deportation of 24,908 Jews and 351 gypsies to Auschwitz from 1942 to 1944 (www.cicb.be).  In 2012, the newly renovated museum "KazerneDossin. Memoriaal, museum en documentatiecentrum over Holocaust en mensenrechten" will open its doors. This renovated museum will showcase a permanent historical exhibit on the persecution of Jews and gypsies and the beginnings of human rights issues. Work will also be done via temporary exhibits in the framework of the broader theme of 'human rights'. Finally, the JMDR is in charge of the exhibition project of the Belgian wing in Auschwitz.

Belgium - Research

Research into the persecution of the Jews started in Belgium in the 1970s. The "Navorsings- en Studiecentrum voor de Geschiedenis van de Tweede Werelddoorlog" was founded in 1969 and then subsequently renamed the "Studie- en Documentatiecentrum Oorlog en Hedendaagse Maatschappij" (SOMA - www.cegesoma.be). The SOMA has many archives on file that shed light on the persecution of the Jews in Belgium and is a federal research and documentation centre. The SOMA also organises various research projects, among which are those that relate to the Second World War and the Holocaust, and actively participates in the European project 'European Holocaust Research Infrastructure' (EHRI) which officially starts on 16 November 2010. EHRI stands for the development of a European database made up of the archive collections on the persecution of the Jews during the Second World War from twenty organisations (research centres, museums, et.) from Europe and Israel (www.ehri-project.eu).

The "Stichtingvoor de EigentijdseHerinnering" was founded in 1994 and carries out historical research on the Jewish community of Belgium in the 20th century and records testimonials. The "Stichtingvoor de EigentijdseHerinnering" also publishes a magazine called "Bijdragen tot de eigentijdseHerinnering" in which many articles study and discuss the tragedy of the Holocaust (http://www.fmc-seh.be).

Commission on Jewish Assets

In July 1997, at the request of the Jewish community, the Belgian government created the Study Commission that was to examine the situation of the assets of the members of the Belgian Jewish community, assets that were stolen or abandoned after the Second World War (the so-called Commission on Jewish Assets). The research into the theft of Jewish possessions in Belgium was completely innovative. In July 2001, the report on the study of the theft of Jewish assets was presented and this gave rise to the establishment of the "Commissievoor de Schadeloosstelling van de leden van de JoodseGemeenschap van België".  During its legal mandate (until late 2007), this commission investigated and dealt with the claims for damages from despoiled assets at the expense of the members of the Belgian Jewish community (www.combuysse.fgov.be).

In the course of the study on the stolen Jewish assets and the {close work with/collaboration of [given the subject matter, we might want to avoid the use of 'collaboration/collaborate/collaborator']} the authorities, more and more voices were heard in the Jewish community proposing an in-depth study of the likely participation of the Belgian authorities in the persecution and the deportation of Jews. In 2003 the Belgian government complied with this request. The mission was entrusted to the Ceges/Soma. The result of this investigation, published in the report "Docile Belgium", was presented to the Senate in 2007.

Since 2000, theses and monographs have been published on such topics as the escape of Jewish deportees from the XXth convoy and Jewish members of the Resistance, the assistance to Jews (Jewish children) and post-war problems of the return of these children to their community, the "Association of the Jews in Belgium", founded by the Nazis, the Belgian diamond trade and the Jewish educational system during the occupation, and Belgian 'Jew hunters' and the re-establishment of the Jewish community in Belgium after World War Two.

28 Transports, 18522 Portraits

In February 2009, the "Joods Museum voorDeportatie en Verzet" published a four-volume set of books with 18,522 portraits of 25,000 people who were deported from Mechelen to Auschwitz. This unique work to commemorate the deportation is the result of ten years of research in the available archives and three years of scanning.

Exhibits, lectures, and so on are also organised regularly by universities and other scientific institutions.

This is all intended to underscore that each and every one of us has the task of never forgetting the tragic events of the Holocaust.