News
This confinement is the time par excellence to discover new horizons through a good book. 23 April is World Book Day. The perfect occasion to test the benefits produced by 15 minutes of reading a day. Take the time to read a book: enjoy a quiet moment, discover, escape … on your own or with your family.
On 23 April #toutlemondelit.be More info on www.toutlemondelit.be
The Train of 1000 thinks of Easter. What could be going on in the camps during Easter?
Witold Pilecki, a Polish officer and resistance fighter, infiltrates the Auschwitz concentration camp. He is arrested on 19 September 1940. Three days later he is dropped in the camp as Tomasz Serafinski, prisoner number 4859. His objective: collecting information about camp conditions. Over a period of three years he creates an underground resistance movement a thousand strong - the ZOW - and reports about the cruel living circumstances endured by the prisoners to the Armia Krajowa. He escapes on Easter day 1943. He soon p...
Today, on International Veterans Day, we put three War Heritage Institute documentaries on line, to be viewed on our YouTube channel.
The day commemorates the 10 Belgian paratroopers killed in Kigali (Rwanda) in April 1994 and by extension all servicemen who lost their lives in humanitarian or peace missions since the war in Korea.
View three episodes of the “Journal de champagne” series, featuring our veterans in the Congo, Rwanda and former Yugoslavia on https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMLqBhLv1hEG6XQe7f16elA/videos
In a very different context and just when the First World War comes to a close, so-called “Spanish” flu spreads worldwide. In the winter of 1918-1919 up to a billion people become ill, on a total world population of 1.9 billion. The number of fatalities is estimated at 50 to 100 million. The epidemic also hits hard in the literary world, with Guillaume Apollinaire and Edmond Rostand among famous deadly casualties.
The site "Tous les jours curieux", dedicated to photography, managed to retrieve some period pictures.
© C.Raymond / © touslesjourscurieux
The Train of 1000, a joint undertaking by the Auschwitz Foundation and the War Heritage Institute, honours the memory of the 25.267 people deported to Auschwitz between 1942 and 1944. One of them is the Jewish-German painter Felix Nussbaum.
As of 1933 - the year Hitler rises to power - the artist has to face persecution and exclusion. After a long journey he hides in Brussels for many years, but he is betrayed in the summer of 1944 and ends up at the Dossin Barracks, from where he is deported to Auschwitz by the last train convoy. He is murdered on 9 August 1944. Shortly before his death, he paints “Triumph...
Our 6 sites had to close their doors, but our teams keep calm and carry on during the confinement. Historians and collection managers prepare future exhibitions, the administrative services provide constant follow-up, the security teams guard our precious possessions, … while waiting for your next visit.
The situation is exceptional and we do our utmost to keep in touch with you all. We know that a direct confrontation with an object from the past indeed remains priceless, but the institution nevertheless wishes to maintain its activity and to surprise you in these trying times.
We therefore suggest following...
Check out the War Heritage Institute’s War Dead Register. The register now also contains Second World War victims (in allied service, Belgian resistance, etc.) and counts more than 60.000 entries, mainly relating to the two world wars.
Who belonged to my family and who lived in my town? What was their civilian and military life like? When and how did they die and where were they buried? Read the original entry in the War Graves Service archives. That is the kind of information contained in the www.wardeadregister.be. #culturesurvivechallenge.
www.wardeadregister.be
The coronavirus makes it impossible to keep the calendar of 5 to 10 May 2020 initially set for the Train of the 1000. Safety indeed prevails.
However, the Auschwitz Foundation and the War Heritage Institute (WHI) found an alternative. The Train of the 1000 is delayed to November 6 to 11, 2020. We greatly appreciate the efforts the schools made all along the term. Their initiatives with regard to tolerance, inclusion and solidarity touch us deeply.
Keep on following the Train of the 1000. More news will reach you soon. #TR1000 #culturesurvivechallenge
In order to protect the health of our communities and to limit the spread of COVID-19, we have decided to adapt our program. The symposium "Asbestos Exposed. Museum Best Practices" is therefore cancelled.
We hope to offer the same program in a later period and we will keep you informed as soon as possible.
Dear public, culture comes knocking!
We are experiencing exceptional times. The quarantine measures intended to limit the spread of the coronavirus made us shut down our sites. But although our doors are closed, we keep our minds open and our enthusiasm for sharing and transmitting knowledge remains intact! To accompany you in this historical period of consignment and to maintain our link with you, we have prepared a selection of items you will be able to discover over the following days and to share with family and friends through our Facebook page War Heritage Institute and our event #culturesurvivechalle...