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Breendonk Prison Camp
Breendonk is a village in the municipality of Puurs-Sint-Amands in the province of Antwerp, Belgium, with a population of 3,000, halfway between Brussels and Antwerp. History Its name stems from the medieval ''Bredene Dunc,'' which translates as "wide mound" or "a dry spot in the marshes." In the 19th century, it was known for its beautiful Neo-Gothic church and the lavish mansion of the Earl de Buisseret. Both were destroyed by the Belgian army at the start of World War I because they obstructed the gunner's view from the local fortifications. From the 20th century on, it was best known for its fortification at Fort Breendonk, built in 1909. It was judged that Antwerp, being continental Europe's second-most important port, needed two circles of fortifications for its defence. Breendonk's fortification was part of the outer defensive ring. These fortifications were built on the same site previously occupied by Roman fortifications; this site was selected because it was the only ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fort Breendonk
Fort Breendonk (, ) is a former military installation at Breendonk, near Mechelen, Belgium, which served as a Nazi prison camp (''Auffanglager'') during the German occupation of Belgium during World War II. Originally constructed between 1906 and 1913 as part of the second ring of the National Redoubt defending Antwerp, Fort Breendonk was used by the Belgian Army and was covered by a five-metre thick layer of soil for defense against artillery fire, a water-filled moat and measured . It was used in both World War I and World War II by which time it had become militarily obsolete. Fort Breendonk was requisitioned by the Schutzstaffel (SS) shortly after the Belgian surrender on 28 May 1940 and used as a prison camp for the detention of political prisoners, resistance members, and Jews. Although technically a prison rather than a concentration camp, it became infamous for the poor living conditions in which the prisoners were housed and for the torture and executions which were ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the world's countries participated, with many nations mobilising all resources in pursuit of total war. Tanks in World War II, Tanks and Air warfare of World War II, aircraft played major roles, enabling the strategic bombing of cities and delivery of the Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, first and only nuclear weapons ever used in war. World War II is the List of wars by death toll, deadliest conflict in history, causing World War II casualties, the death of 70 to 85 million people, more than half of whom were civilians. Millions died in genocides, including the Holocaust, and by massacres, starvation, and disease. After the Allied victory, Allied-occupied Germany, Germany, Allied-occupied Austria, Austria, Occupation of Japan, Japan, a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brabantian Dialect
Brabantian or Brabantish, also Brabantic or Brabantine (, , ), is a dialect group of the Dutch language. It is named after the historical Duchy of Brabant, which corresponded mainly to the Netherlands, Dutch province of North Brabant, the Belgium, Belgian provinces of Antwerp (province), Antwerp and Flemish Brabant as well as the Brussels-Capital Region (Brusselian dialect, Brusselian; where its native speakers have become a minority) and the province of Walloon Brabant. Brabantian expands into small parts in the west of Limburg (Belgium) , Limburg, and its strong influence on the Flemish dialects in East Flanders weakens toward the west. In a small area in the northwest of North Brabant (Willemstad (North Brabant), Willemstad), Hollandic is spoken. Conventionally, the Kleverlandish dialects are distinguished from Brabantian, but for no reason other than geography. Over the relatively-large area in which it is spoken, Brabantian can be roughly divided into three subdialects, all ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Belgian Beer
{{Disambiguation ...
Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct language formerly spoken in Gallia Belgica *Belgian Dutch or Flemish, a variant of Dutch *Belgian French, a variant of French *Belgian horse (other), various breeds of horse *Belgian waffle, in culinary contexts * SS ''Belgian'', a cargo ship in service with F Leyland & Co Ltd from 1919 to 1934 *''The Belgian'', a 1917 American silent film See also * *Belgica (other) *Belgic (other) Belgic may refer to: * an adjective referring to the Belgae, an ancient confederation of Celto-Germanic tribes * a rarer adjective referring to the Low Countries or to Belgium * , several ships with the name * Belgic ware, a type of pottery * Bel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Duvel Moortgat Brewery
Duvel Moortgat Brewery (Brouwerij Duvel Moortgat) is a Flemish family-controlled brewery founded in 1871 in Antwerp Province, Belgium. Its strong golden pale ale, Duvel, is exported to more than forty countries. Duvel is Brabantian, Ghent and Antwerp dialect for ''devil'', the standard Dutch word being ''duivel'' . Other popular beers include Maredsous and Vedett. History The brewery Moortgat was founded in 1871 by Jan-Leonard Moortgat, who was descended from a family of brewers that lived in Steenhuffel, Belgium. In the 1950s, the third generation of Moortgats took control of the brewery. In the early 1970s, when the company was struggling financially, Moortgat bottled and distributed the Danish beer, Tuborg. The two companies ended this arrangement in the early 1980s, but it did save the brewery, which by then had managed to also set up massive distribution channels for their flagship beer, Duvel. In June 1999, Duvel Moortgat NV went public on Euronext Brussels. Duvel Mo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Austerlitz (novel)
''Austerlitz'' is a 2001 novel by the German writer W. G. Sebald. It was Sebald's final novel. The book received the National Book Critics Circle Award. Plot Jacques Austerlitz, the main character in the book, is an architectural historian who encounters and befriends the solitary narrator in Antwerp during the 1960s. Gradually, we come to understand his life history. He arrived in Britain during the summer of 1939 as an infant refugee on a kindertransport from a Czechoslovakia threatened by Hitler's Nazis. He was adopted by an elderly Welsh Nonconformist preacher and his sickly wife and spent his childhood near Bala, Gwynedd, before attending a minor public school. His foster parents died, and Austerlitz learned something of his background. After school, he attended Oriel College, Oxford and became an academic drawn to (and began his research in) European architecture. After a nervous breakdown, Austerlitz visited Prague, where he met a close friend of his lost parents, Vera, w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paul Hoornaert
Paul Hoornaert (5 November 1888 – 2 February 1944) was a Belgian far right political activist. Although a pioneer of fascism in the country he was an opponent of German Nazism and, after joining the Belgian Resistance during the German occupation, died in Nazi custody. Early years Hoornaert was born in Liège to a middle class Catholic family and studied at the University of Liège, completing his doctorate in law in 1910. Philip Rees, ''Biographical Dictionary of the Extreme Right Since 1890'', Simon & Schuster, 1990, p. 190 A lawyer by profession, Hoornaert was a veteran of the First World War where his combat record was highly distinguished. National Legion A strong admirer of Benito Mussolini, but equally demonstrating a staunch hatred of Germany, Hoornaert was a member of the far right veterans' group National Legion (, ) which was established in Liège in 1922.R.J.B. Bosworth, ''The Oxford Handbook of Fascism'', Oxford University Press, 2009, p. 472 Initially a minor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fascism
Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hierarchy, subordination of individual interests for the perceived interest of the nation or Race (human categorization), race, and strong regimentation of society and the economy. Opposed to communism, democracy, liberalism, Pluralism (political philosophy), pluralism, and socialism, fascism is at the far right of the traditional left–right spectrum.; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; Fascism rose to prominence in early-20th-century Europe. The first fascist movements Italian fascism, emerged in Italy during World War I, before Fascism in Europe, spreading to other European countries, most notably Nazi Germany, Germany. Fascism also had adherents outside of Europe. Fascists saw World War I as a revolution that brought massive changes to the nature ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bert Van Hoorick
Bert Van Hoorick (31 January 1915 – 19 February 2000) was a Belgian politician and writer. He was a member of the Belgian parliament from 1946 up to 1949 and from 1958 until 1976. When 18 years old, he joined the Belgian socialist party and also the Socialist Anti-War Lique and in the late thirties the Communist Party of Belgium, of which he became a leading member. During the second world war Van Hoorick became a member of the resistance. He was apprehended by the Nazis in January 1943 and imprisoned in the Nazi concentration camps of Breendonk and Buchenwald. After the war he became chief editor of ''De Rode Vaan'', the journal of the Belgian communist party. In 1946 he was elected to the municipal council of Aalst and to the Belgian parliament. After the events of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, he broke with the communist party and in January 1957 he became a member of the Belgian socialist party. In 1958, he became a member of parliament for the socialist party, a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Communist Party Of Belgium
The Communist Party of Belgium (, , KPB; , , PCB) was a political party in Belgium from 1921 to 1989. The youth wing of KPB/PCB was known as the Communist Youth of Belgium. The party published a newspaper known as ''Le Drapeau Rouge'' in French and ''De Roode Vaan'' in Dutch. History The Communist Party of Belgium was formed at a congress in Anderlecht, Brussels on 3–4 September 1921. KPB/PCB was formed through the unification of two groups, the Communist Party led by War Van Overstraeten and the Belgian Communist Party led by Joseph Jacquemotte, following a split from the Belgian Workers Party. At the time of its foundation, KPB/PCB had around 500 members. KPB/PCB became the Belgian section of the Communist International. The party gained parliamentary presence in 1925, as both Van Overstraeten and Jacquemotte were elected to the Chamber of Representatives. By 1935 KPB/PCB had 9 deputies in the Chamber and 4 members in the Senate. In 1938 it had a membership of about 8,5 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jacques Ochs
Jacques Ochs (18 February 1883 – 3 April 1971), was a Jewish Belgian artist and Olympic fencer in the épée style (in which he was champion) and competed in the saber, and foil fencing categories. Biography Ochs was Jewish, and was born in Nice, France. His family moved to Liège, Belgium, in 1893. He was the Belgian Champion fencer in 1912 and competed for Belgium in the 1912 Stockholm Olympics, winning a gold medal in the team épée event (his teammates included Gaston Salmon). He also competed in three individual events at the same Olympics. In the individual foil and individual épée categories, he reached the 2nd round before being eliminated (he finished 39th in foil, and 29th in épée.) Ochs's final event was individual sabre, but he was eliminated in the 1st round. Whilst pursuing a career as a professional fencer, he also worked at the newspapers "Newspaper of Liège", "Small Parisian", and "the Belgian Nation", drawing caricatures. His cartoons of personal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Herman Liebaers
Herman Liebaers (February 1, 1919 in Tienen, Belgium – November 9, 2010 in Jette, Brussels) was a Belgian linguist. He was director general of the central Belgian Royal Library and ''Marshal of the Royal Household'' of the Royal Court of Belgium. Education He obtained a master's degree in literature from Ghent University in 1942 and a Ph.D. in 1955 at the same university. Career In 1943, he started working at the Royal Library of Belgium in Brussels (''Albertina''). During the war he was captured by the Nazis and imprisoned in the concentration camps of Breendonk and Huy. In 1950, he spent 6 months in the U. S. with a Fulbright scholarship and worked a few weeks at the Library of Congress. From 1951 until 1956, he was also Assistant Secretary of the Belgian American Educational Foundation. In 1954, he moved on to become the librarian of the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN).Wijnstroom, Margreet (2 December 2010). "Dr. Herman Liebaers, 1919-2010". Internatio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
