De Volkswil emerged from the need among Leuven socialists to make their ideas known and openly protest all kinds of abuses. The magazine was therefore strongly politically oriented, and its tone was at times particularly sharp.
The first edition appeared on December 17, 1893. Until October 1895, an edition was published every two weeks, but after that, it was decided to publish the magazine weekly. Publication ceased with the outbreak of World War I, but De Volkswil From 1936 onward, a page was reserved for young people to gain a better understanding of the Red youth movement. World War II caused another hiatus in publication. When the magazine resumed after this interlude, it appeared that De Volkswil had not fully recovered. The magazine continued to appear weekly, but occasionally issues were skipped, and its frequency became more erratic. De Volkswil finally discontinued in 1951.
De Volkswil was digitized in collaboration with the Leuven City Archives. The series is not entirely complete: a few editions are missing, but these will eventually be located and added to the database. De Volkswil has been made searchable through OCR.
