The workshop will review research into the history of the Spanish Civil War in Belgium, with contributions from French historian Edouard Sill and documentary filmmaker Sven Tuytens . The afternoon will conclude with a public debate moderated by Vincent Scheltiens .
In 1975, the year dictator Francisco Franco died, Ghent historian Rudi Van Doorslaer became the first Belgian to gain access to the Spanish files of Belgian members of the International Brigades. These documents were kept in the archives of the former secret police in Salamanca. In the following decades, the data was systematically supplemented with information from other archival sources, collected both domestically and internationally.
In recent years, François Van Pelt, who studied political science at the Université Catholique de Louvain, has supplemented this data collection with valuable information from the original files of the International Brigades. These archives were evacuated from the Brigades' base in Albacete to the Soviet Union in 1938 and preserved in the Moscow State Archives.
They have now been digitized and are available online. Van Pelt developed a database that forms the basis of the Brigadistas from Belgium . For the first time, we now have a nearly complete list of the volunteers from Belgium and Luxembourg who participated in the Spanish conflict.
Website Brigadistas from Belgium
Program
1:30 PM – Coffee and reception
2:00 PM – Welcome by Gita Deneckere, professor at Ghent University and chair of Amsab-ISG
2:05 PM - Introduction by Vincent Scheltiens, historian
2:10 PM – Database presentation
- Rudi Van Doorslaer, guest professor at Ghent University
The history of the database - François Van Pelt, Political Science, Catholic University of Louvain
Comment on the basis of the development of the work - Donald Weber, Research Coordinator Amsab-ISG
Presentation of the website
3:00 PM – Coffee break
3:15 PM – Speakers
- Edouard Sill, researcher Center d'Histoire Sociale des Mondes
Contemporary - Sven Tuytens, VRT correspondent Madrid
Spain today: the shadow of the civil war
4:30 PM – Public debate
- Vincent Scheltiens, moderator
- Widukind De Ridder, researcher at CegeSoma
5:30 PM – Reception
Practical
- Date: Wednesday, May 28 - 1:30 PM - 5:30 PM
- Location: Public space Amsab-ISG - Bagattenstraat 174 - 9000 Ghent - Accessibility & accessibility
- The workshop is free, but advance registration is required via the registration form at the bottom of this page. The venue seats 50 people, so please arrive early.
- The workshop will be held in Dutch, English and French.
This event is organised by the Amsab Institute for Social History, in consultation with CegeSoma , the Belgian centre of expertise for the history of 20th-century conflicts.
