Armistice in Antwerp: such deep scars left Eers… (Antwerp)
On August 4, 1914, the German armies invaded Belgium. Antwerp was actually not a priority for them. They wanted to conquer Paris in the first place. But after two sorties of the Belgian army, they decided to get rid of the thorn in their right flank. Antwerp was within the fall of Brussels, the country’s new capital.
fat Bertha
King Albert himself contains the defense from the Palace on the Meir, but to no avail. After heavy fighting, during which the city was bombarded by heavy artillery – the infamous fat Bertha and a bombardment of zeppelin Z IX, commanded by Kapitän Horn – Antwerp surrendered on 9 October.
The city was then almost extinct. More than a hundred thousand Antwerp residents and military had fled over a temporary pontoon bridge over the Scheldt.
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Soldiersfuhrer
After that, life started again, although that was not exactly pleasant under the occupation. There was a shortage of food and eventually even metal was so foreign that the German banknotes, City beans called, released.
That was to replace the change they sent to the heimat, where it was melted down to make weaponry. Brewing kettles, church bells and the Minerva factory, among others, suffered the same fate.
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In addition, the city was attacked by planes. For example, a bombing raid on the Sint-Paulusplaats on October 28, 1917, resulted in seventeen deaths. In this way, the Allies killed even more Antwerp in total than the Germans.
Antwerp was a popular destination for the soldiers of the German Imperial Army on leave. In 1916 a guide was even made for them, the Soldatenführer durch Antwerp, released. The booklet included tourist hotspots such as the Zoo (entrance fee: 25 pfennigs – unless they came with a full company, then it was only 10 pfennigs). It also featured ads for businesses they could turn to ore-class Küche and a foamy one stein corpse.
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From 300,000 to 300 Germans
After the armistice on November 11, 1918 – Antwerp was still behind the front line – the troops entered the city. “King Albert was the first to make his happy entrance, but there was no cheering, no flags were waved,” says Christophe Declerq, affiliated with KU Leuven.
“Both the population and the soldiers were a bit uneasy. And so, until mid-1919, they had constant new troops – Scots, Belgians and Americans – parade through Antwerp, until the result could be recorded. Very bizarre.”
In 1914 Antwerp had about 10,000 Germans out of a population of 300,000. “After the armistice, they, together with the occupying army, left the city hastily. In 1919 there were barely 300 Germans registered in the population register. They were collectively smeared, but eventually took place in the first Antwerper and only then German. But they still have to leave.”
Their have often confiscated. For example, the department store of the depicted Tietz family on the Meir, where the name of the famous straw hat tits due to, confiscated. It later became the Innovation.
Furthermore, some street names on the Eilandje, which were developed after German cities after the First World War, were given a new name.
Paul van Ostaijen is besieged
The experiences of the Flemish soldiers in the trenches during 14-18 caused a lot of resentment. One of the consequences was the rise of Flemish nationalism, a concept that already started during the occupation by the Germans. For example, the left-wing poet Paul van Ostaijen – known for Occupied City – a convinced flamingo.
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Christophe Declerq: “At the beginning of a visit by Cardinal Mercier to Antwerp in January 1918, he devised a demonstration. Belgian counterparts showed up en masse, so that he and other Flemish activists barricaded themselves in hotel Wagner on De Keyserlei. They were relieved by the Germans, but van Ostaijen received a prison sentence, although he ultimately did not have to serve.” He fled to Berlin in 1918, later returned to Belgium, was given an amnesty and died of tuberculosis in 1928.
Fraternelles
After the war, Flemish nationalism met its name on the left flank of the political spectrum. Historian Martin Schoups, affiliated with UGent, picks up on the thread: “In 1919, the Flamingant Front Party was founded by ex-combatants. “It was a popular, anti-militarist movement that was very strong in Antwerp. Although they did not achieve great success in the electoral field, they were not present on the street and often ran amok.”
In 1932, right-wing former combatants, called Fraternellen, wanted to demonstrate in Antwerp. “The association was close to the Belgian army and strongly opposed amnesty for Flemish activists. Many other veterans disagreed. They mobilized en masse, closed streets, pelted them with eggs and sabotaged their procession.”
A year later, the Front Party was renamed the Flemish Nationalist Association, which made a move to the right. For example, the VNV collaborated with the German occupier during the Second World War.
Many Antwerp socialists also supported the Flemish cause. “That’s how Camille Huysmans wore (in 1933-1940 and 1946-1947 mayor of Antwerp and after the Second World War also prime minister of Belgium, red.) during Herman Van den Reeck’s funeral, one of the corners of the pall.” The latter was an Antwerp activist in the Flemish Movement who was shot dead by the police in 1920 during a commemoration of the Battle of the Golden Spurs. “In terms of symbolism, that can count.”
Eating, drinking and dancing
Ten lock back to the armistice. “Initially, November 11 was not a public holiday. The government wanted to celebrate it on August 4, the day the Germans invaded. But the veterans disagreed. For them it was the beginning of all misery and a day of mourning.”
“They pushed for it to be moved to November 11. It was a real holiday without too many serious speeches. It was a day that, after a visit to the cemetery and the Monument to the Fallen, should be all about eating, drinking and dancing together. They aimed to win the war. Over the years this has evolved with the extinction of the veterans. It would also be a little weird if we party on November 11th.”
Ridiculous statue
On Thursday, the First World War was again commemorated with, among other things, a wreath laying at the Monument to the Fallen in the City Park in the presence of mayor Bart De Wever and provincial governor Cathy Berx.
The Antwerp veterans did not think the monument, which was inaugurated in 1930 and was donated to the National Bank until the early 1950s, was not won. “They said it was ugly, ridiculous and far too militaristic. An almost Napoleonic statue, with King Albert on his horse glorifying the war instead of starting the suffering of the soldiers.”
(mibl)