Poster 'I curse the war', undated (Collection ADVN, VAFCS8)
The poster was created on the occasion of a November 11th day and dates from the 1920s. With a clenched fist and the unmistakable words 'I curse war', it expresses the abhorrence of violence and senseless bloodshed. The poster was commissioned by the Association of Flemish War Veterans (VOS), a major Flemish nationalist pressure group. The First World War had reinforced the close intertwining of Flemish sentiment and antimilitarism for several reasons. On top of the horrors of war, there was the association of the armed forces with a Frenchified military leadership and with the defense of what, for many, did not feel like a fatherland. All of this fueled both anti-Belgianism and pacifism. It would lead to a small group of Flemish nationalist conscientious objectors who ended up in Belgian prisons and became martyrs. This non-violent stance was not shared by the entire Flemish movement. A radical activist core did not renounce violence if it served Flemish nationalism. This group gained the upper hand in the 1930s, and thus VOS slid into collaboration with the German occupiers during World War II. From the rise of the peace movement in the 1960s onwards, pro-Flemish organizations were prominent, and the Volksunie spoke out against the deployment of nuclear weapons and the arms trade, but the past of collaboration continued to cast a dark shadow over the link between antimilitarism/pacifism and the Flemish movement.
Sources:
- Antoon Vrints (2023). VOS Alliance. In: Encyclopedia of the Flemish Movement. 2023. https://devb.be/id/org-004429
- Antoon Vrints (2025), Luc Vandeweyer (1998). Pacifism. In: Encyclopedia of the Flemish Movement. 2025. https://devb.be/id/ter-000514
Photo 'Action for Green and the Environment' Volksunie Antwerp with a small group of demonstrators wearing gas masks in Kasteelpleinstraat, 1970s. Photo Pierre Vissers. (Collection ADVN, VFA523)
If the association of the Flemish movement with antimilitarism seems distant now, concern for the environment is, at first glance, not a priority either. And yet, it was the Volksunie (VU) that was one of the first political parties to put forward 'the environment' as a program point. In 1969, the VU even organized its first ecological congress. In this way, the VU captured the discontent regarding the major infrastructure works and construction projects being deployed by the three traditional parties in many municipalities. Examples include the opposition to the construction of the A24 in Limburg, the E3, and the Menen-Mouscron motorway. The gas masks worn here by the Volksunie demonstrators were generally regarded as a symbol of protest against war, violence, and environmental pollution.
Source: Andreas Stynen / Jos Gysels (2023). Nature, environment and landscape. In: Encyclopedia of the Flemish Movement. 2023. https://devb.be/id/ter-001009
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The ADVN, Archive for National Movements, is an archive and center of expertise on the heritage of the Flemish movement and other national movements in Europe.
