
The Centre for Historical Research and Documentation on War and Contemporary Society (french: Centre d'Études et de Documentation Guerre et Sociétés contemporaines; nl, Studie- en Documentatiecentrum Oorlog en Hedendaagse Maatschappij), known by its combined French—Dutch acronym Cegesoma or CegeSoma, is a historical
research institute and
archive
An archive is an accumulation of historical records or materials – in any medium – or the physical facility in which they are located.
Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual ...
based in
Anderlecht
Anderlecht (, ) is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the south-western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Forest, Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, and Saint-Gilles, as well as th ...
,
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
in
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...
. It focusses on
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
and the
contemporary history of Belgium. Since 2016 it has formed part of the
Belgian State Archives. Its director is Nico Wouters.
History
The Centre was founded in 1967 as the Centre for Research and Historical Study into the Second World War (''Centre de Recherches et d’Etudes historiques de la Seconde Guerre mondiale'', CREHSGM; ''Navorsings- en Studiecentrum van de Geschiedenis van de Tweede Wereldoorlog'', NSGWO) . It was created in response to the legal acquittal of
Robert Jan Verbelen, a Flemish collaborator, in 1965 as a result of insufficient documentary records. From 1969, the institution began to actively collect publications, interviews and archives relating to the Second World War.
Subsequently, it began to expand the scope of its research into
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
and other aspects of
contemporary history. In 1997, it was renamed the Centre for Study and Documentary on War and Contemporary Society. It became an autonomous part of the
State Archives of Belgium in 2016.
[
]
Major projects
Notable projects run by the Centre include:
*Belgian War Press: a digital archive
An archive is an accumulation of historical records or materials – in any medium – or the physical facility in which they are located.
Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual or ...
of Belgian newspaper
A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background.
Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sport ...
s published during World War I and II, both "censored" and "clandestine";
*Belgium WWII: an educational resource on aspects of Belgian history during World War II.
Research
The Centre has supported a range of monographs, edited volumes and peer-reviewed journal
An academic journal or scholarly journal is a periodical publication in which scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. Academic journals serve as permanent and transparent forums for the presentation, scrutiny, and ...
s including the '' Journal of Belgian History''. It is a member of the European Network for Contemporary History
European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to:
In general
* ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe
** Ethnic groups in Europe
** Demographics of Europe
** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe a ...
(EURHISTXX).
See also
* State Archives (Belgium)
* Royal Library of Belgium
The Royal Library of Belgium (french: Bibliothèque royale de Belgique, nl, Koninklijke Bibliotheek van België, abbreviated ''KBR'' and sometimes nicknamed in French or in Dutch) is the national library of Belgium. The library has a history t ...
* Belgian Federal Science Policy Office
The Federal Public Planning Service Science Policy ( nl, Programmatorische Federale Overheidsdienst Wetenschapsbeleid; french: Service public fédéral de programmation Politique scientifique; german: Föderaler Öffentlicher Programmierungsdienst ...
* NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies - an equivalent institution in the Netherlands
* '' Journal of Belgian History''
References
External links
*
*
Organizations established in 1969
Research institutes in Belgium
History institutes
Scientific organisations based in Belgium
Archives in Belgium
Military history of Belgium
Science and technology in Belgium
Education in Brussels
Buildings and structures in Brussels
{{Sci-org-stub