75 YEARS OF LIBERATIONOFFICIAL PROGRAM 2019-2020

www.belgiumremembers44-45.be

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75 years ago

September 1944On 6 June 1944, the Allies landed in Normandy. It took until 2 September for Mons to be liberated as the first city in Belgium. During the following days, British (including the Belgian Brigade Piron) and American forces also liberated Brus-sels, Antwerp, and Liège. In the meantime, Polish and Canadian troops advanced through West and East Flanders. The Bel- gian Resistance too played an important role. Market GardenMid-September saw the start of Operation Market Garden, which aimed to circumvent the German Siegfried Line in a push through The Netherlands. The operation combin-ed a number of airborne landings (Market) with a ground offensive (Garden) from the

Leopoldsburg area. The operation partially failed as the Lower Rhine near Arnhem could not be crossed (‘A bridge too far’). Battle of the ScheldtA major problem now was that the supply lines from the French coast had become stretched to breaking point. Opening the Scheldt river and the port of Antwerp was the crucial solution. What followed was a heavy battle for the Scheldt Estuary and near the Belgian and Dutch coast. In this fight Canadian forces played a major role. It took until 28 November 1944 for the first Allied ship to enter Antwerp. Even then the Germans did not give up as they started a reign of terror with their new V1 and V2 ‘Vergeltungswaffe’.

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Battle of the BulgeStarting on 16 December 1944, the Ger-mans also tried to retake Antwerp with a major offensive through the Ardennes, the so-called ‘Battle of the Bulge.’ The German siege of Bastogne became legendary and even more so the American reply to the demand to surrender: ‘Nuts!’ It took the Allies until the end of January 1945 to erase most of the German advance. From that point on, the Germans were on the defensive again all along the front. The Allied push into Germany now gathered steam. Liberation of the campsMeanwhile, the liberation of concentration and extermination camps revealed the unprecedented scale of Nazi horrors. The liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau on 27 January 1945 in particular created much outrage. From the Kazerne Dossin in Malines, 25.274 Jews and 354 Roma had been deported. Only 1.395 of these were still alive at the time of the liberation of the camps. Of the more than 3.500 (mainly) resistance fighters who passed through the Belgian camp of Breendonk, half that number did not survive the war.

End of World War IIOn 8 May 1945, Nazi-Germany capitulated and the Second World War had come to an end in Europe. By then, Belgium was already in a turbulent period of repression, the mourning of the dead and the beginning of reconstruction. 75 years afterBetween 8 May 2019 and 8 May 2020 the liberation of Belgium and the end of the Second World War will be officially comme-morated. Celebrating the regained freedom is a central focus as well as transmitting memories from those who have experien-ced the war to those who were born much later and will carry us into the future. All government levels are working together on a commemoration program that is coor- dinated by the War Heritage Institute. However, we cannot do this alone and kindly ask you to lend us a hand. Take a look at which commemorations you would like to participate in and then contact one of our partners. Together we can ensure that the events of 75 years ago will never be forgotten.

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Official Program 2019-2020

ExHIBITIONSFrom 09/05/2019 Brussels (Royal Military Museum)Prestigious national exhibition on World War II on a 3.000 m² surfacewww.belgiumremembers44-45.be

From 29/01/2019 Brussels – Poperinge – Roulers – Aalter – Tielt – Lommel – Sint-Niklaas – Beerse/Merksplas‘Armoured wings’, travelling exhibition on Polish forces and the liberation of Belgium

From 08/06/2019 Zeebruges (Seafront)‘Operation North Sea 44-45’, exhibition on the war at sea and the battle for the Scheldt Estuary | www.seafront.be | www.belgiancoast.co.uk/seafront

From 06/2019 Bastogne (Bastogne War Museum)‘Art Liberty - From the Berlin Wall to the Street Art’, free outdoor exhibitionwww.bastognewarmuseum.be

From 08/2019 Mons (Mons Memorial Museum)New experience on the liberation of 1944www.monsmemorialmuseum.mons.be

From 09/2019 Brussels (Halles Saint-Géry)Photographic exhibition on the liberation of Brussels and surroundingsvisit.brussels

From 09/2019 Antwerp (FelixArchief)Exhibition on the liberation of Antwerp and its aftermath, 1944-45www.vredescentrum.be

From 09/2019 Malines (Kazerne Dossin)‘Auschwitz.camp’: exhibition on the complex history of the extermination camp Auschwitz and its surroundingswww.kazernedossin.eu

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EVENTS21/07/2019 BrusselsNational parade Linked to 75 years of liberationwww.belgiumremembers44-45.be

31/08 – 13/09/2019 Mons – Ath – Enghien – Halle – Brussels – Vilvoorde – Mechelen –Breendonk Willebroek – Boom – Antwerp – Brasschaat - Brecht – Turnhout – Geel – Leopoldsburg‘Liberation Column North’, unique tour through Belgium with some fifty historical vehicles and various commemorative eventswww.belgiumremembers44-45.be

31/08 – 01/09/2019 MonsAnnual event ‘Tanks in Town/Mons’, assembling military vehicles from the Second World War, inauguration of a Sherman tank near the Mons Memorial Museum, liberation ball and official commemoration at the Grand Placewww.monsmemorialmuseum.mons.be www.mons.be

06/09 – 08/09/2019 AntwerpAn international 3-day program, starting on Friday, to commemorate the many victims and celebrating democracy. On Saturday, a large freedom parade will drive through the city with a flypast of historic aircraft and a parade of sail on the Scheldt. On the ‘Grote Markt’ there is a sound-and-light show and on the Groenplaats a liberation ball. Sunday is for the official ceremonies.

Throughout the weekend a ‘liberation village’ can be visited on the Scheldekaaien.www.visitantwerpen.be

More events this weekend all around the country, particulary in the provinces Antwerp and Liègewww.belgiumremembers44-45.bewww.liegetourisme.be

13/09 – 15/09/2019 LeopoldsburgCommemoration of the start of Operation Market Garden with an official ceremony, the annual Sanicole Inter-national Air show and ‘De Grote Rappèl’, a unique historic theater walk. On Saturday a large Dutch historic vehicle column sets off to Nijmegen from Leopoldsburg.www.degroterappel.be

18/09/2019 Breendonk75th commemoration of the victims of Auffanglager Breendonk.www.breendonk.be

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EVENTS13/12 – 15/12/2019 Bastogne‘Nuts weekend’: international top event On Saturday, a great sound-and-light show at the Mardasson Memorial as well as throughout the weekend various events at the Bastogne War Museum. In the Bastogne Barracks: demonstrations, guided tours, a militaria fair, and a festive spectacle. In the centre of Bastogne: music and entertainments from the 1940s and the traditional throwing of nuts. www.bastogne75.be | More events in the Ardennes: www.luxembourg-belge.be

17/01 – 21/01/2020 Bastogne – Houffalize – La Roche-en-Ardenne Hotton – Manhay – Vielsalm – Stavelot – Malmedy – Elsenborn‘Liberation Column South’, unique tour through the Ardennes with some fifty historical vehicles and various commemorative eventswww.belgiumremembers44-45.be | www.bastogne75.bewww.luxembourg-belge.be | www.liegetourisme.be

05/05 – 10/05/2020 Brussels - Auschwitz‘Train of 1000’: voyage by train with 1,000 youngsters to Auschwitz-Birkenau to commemorate the end of the Second World War on 8 May 1945www.belgiumremembers44-45.be

08/05/2020 BrusselsClosing ceremony to mark the end of the Second World Warwww.belgiumremembers44-45.bevisit.brussels

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WAR GRAVES

Extension of www.wardeadregister.be with all Belgian soldiers killed during the Second World War. Commemorative plaques ‘PRO PATRIA 1940-1945’ to mark soldiers’ graves at civilian cemeteries can be requested from town administrations free of charge.

“When you go home tell them of us and say for your tomorrow we gave our today”

Want to fi nd out more about the Second World War in Belgium? CegeSoma is the Belgian research centre for the history of the Second World War. www.belgiumwwii.be contains a status quaestionis of the research into this period as well as much historical background information.

Want to fi nd out more about the Second World War in Belgium?

research into this period as well as much historical background information.

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More commemorative events?Various other events are prepared and not in

this fl yer. Discover them on the websites of the

partners or ask for their programs.

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