Bread & Roses is cheating

For the virtual expo Bread & Roses is cheating we invited friendly heritage institutions to share special pieces from their own collections that, in their opinion, resonate with the meaning of the legendary slogan behind the magazine's name:We want bread and we want roses too'.

Since the beginning of the twentieth century, that powerful slogan has symbolized social justice worldwide. Bread refers to the right to fair wages and economic security. Roses represent everything that makes life more than mere survival: culture, nature, education, beauty, freedom, and equality. Together, they express a desire for a dignified and just existence. An aspiration that is just as relevant today as it was then.

Bread & Roses is cheating brings together a multifaceted selection of objects, images, documents, and stories thanks to the enthusiastic cooperation of numerous heritage institutions.

On October 15, 1961, a striking demonstration marched through La Louvière, organized by the Socialist Youth Guard (SJW). The action brought together a diverse group of left-wing and pacifist voices opposing the growing militarization in the climate of the Cold War. Central to the movement was the plea for conscientious objection and universal pacifism, symbolized by the 'broken rifle'. This photograph from the CegeSoma archive captures a moment when a new, more militant form of pacifism began to manifest itself.

In the photo of the demonstration, we recognize on the balcony, among others, Stéphane Huvenne of the Brussels branch of the International Anti-Fascist Solidarity, Léon Hurez and Ernest Glinne, both Members of Parliament for the Belgian Socialist Party, prominent pacifist and Belgium's first conscientious objector Jean Van Lierde, and SJW members Georges Dobbeleer, Daisy Lenaerts, Hector Roland, Claude Thiry, and Joseph Schoofs. It was a period in which the leading bodies of the Socialist Youth Guard consisted mainly of Trotskyists, or their so-called 'fellow travelers' such as Schoofs and Thiry.

The demonstration was prompted by the increasing tension between patriotic veterans on the one hand, and socialist veterans and the SJW on the other, specifically regarding conscription in the context of the Cold War. The group of left-wing demonstrators opposed the militaristic logic and advocated for a relaunch of the Workers' International. Conscientious objection and the concept of conscientious objectorship were gaining ground as pacifist issues. This is also why the demonstration took place under the symbolic flag of the 'broken rifle' (see 'le fusil brisé 1921-1961' on the poster on the left), the universal symbol of pacifism that emerged after the First World War. This demonstration and new pacifist movement in the early 1960s thus aligned with an older pacifist tradition, although it now took on a more militant form due to conscientious objection. This militant form of pacifism from the early 1960s reopens an interesting discussion in 2026, in the context of renewed war rhetoric and increased recruitment for the Belgian army.

(Cegesoma, Jean van Lierde Collection, image no. 125471)

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CegeSoma is the Belgian center of expertise for the history of twentieth-century conflicts.

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