Belgium and the First World War

During World War I, Americans and British were riveted by the invasion and occupation of Belgium. Over 5,500 innocent civilians were executed in August 1914, over 2 million fled to the Netherlands, France and Britain, and the 5 million remaining in the country faced mass starvation. The great medieval historian Henri Pirenne (1862-1935) provides a detailed, gripping account of the occupation.

During World War I, Americans and British were riveted by the invasion and occupation of Belgium. Over 5,500 innocent civilians were executed in August 1914, over 2 million fled to the Netherlands, France, and Britain, and the 5 million remaining in the country faced mass starvation. The great medieval historian Henri Pirenne (1862-1935) provides a detailed, gripping account of the occupation. He describes the hunger, the deprivations, the unemployment, the arbitrary arrests and deportations, the indignities of home invasions and confiscations, the censorship, the conscription of workers, the dismantling and destruction of Belgian factories, and the administrative division of the country. Though Pirenne himself was arrested in March 1916 for resistance to the German regime, he writes about the occupiers calmly and dispassionately. Belgium and the First World War comprehensively surveys the catastrophe and chronicles the stoicism and the resiliency with which Belgians responded.

Henri Pirenne (1862-1935), Professor of History at University of Ghent from 1886, made his reputation with what would eventually be a seven-volume history of Belgium. Belgium and the First World War can be considered a postscript, carrying the story to 1918 and elaborating some earlier themes. The two books for which Pirenne is best known in the English-speaking world are also post-war publications, Medieval Cities and Mohammed and Charlemagne. The theses of both are still debated today. Pirenne's pioneering work in economic and social history inspired the Annales School in France, as well as two generations of British and American scholars. On March 18, 1916, the historian was arrested and deported to Germany for having urged the faculty at University of Ghent to close the institution for the war's duration. Despite international protests, he was not released until after the armistice. Pirenne used his time in captivity to learn Russian, give courses for his fellow prisoners, and begin work on his magisterial History of Europe, which grew out of his prison-camp lectures.