Seminar with Tatiana Sîrbu La politique des “ villages tsiganes― en Bessarabie sous trois administrations: tsariste, roumaine et soviétique: 1812-1956 Ces dernières années, le sort des Roms a, à plusieurs reprises, été porté au devant de l'actualité. Mais cette question est une problématique ancienne qu'il n'est pas inutile d'examiner sur le plan plus historique. Pour aborder l'histoire chaotique de cette population, le CEGES invite le mercredi 19 décembre 2012 l'historienne Tatiana Sîrbu pour une présentation qui traitera de l'évolution de la situation des Roms en Bessarabie aux 19e et 20e siècles, fruit de ses recherches de doctorat. Seminar with Ugur Ümit Üngör Expropriation et destruction : génocide et confiscation des biens arméniens en 1915  Peu d'événements historiques suscitent autant de controverses que le génocide arménien. Le sujet a encore marqué l'actualité politique lorsque le Parlement français a adopté une loi réprimant la négation du génocide arménien avant son invalidation par le Conseil constitutionnel. Le CEGES a, pour sa part, souhaité se pencher sur cette question le mercredi 5 décembre 2012 (2.30 p.m.). Seminar with Laurent Thiery La répression: un élément central de la stratégie politique d'Occupation dans les départements du Nord - Pas-de-Calais On Wednesday 21 November 2012( 2.30 p.m.) the CEGES/SOMA receives Laurent Thiery. L'historien français qui a récemment soutenu sa thèse de doctorat à l'Université de Lille 3, viendra présenter ses recherches au cours d'un séminaire consacré à la répression allemande dans le Nord de la France durant la Seconde Guerre mondiale. Seminar with Aline Sax The world view of Flemish collaborators On Wednesday 17 October 2012 the CEGES/SOMA receives Aline Sax, who recently obtained her PhD in history. This historian and writer of children's books from Antwerp will give a seminar on the motivation and the world view of Flemish collaborators during the Second World War. The roundup of 3 and 4 September 1942 Jules Coest (in the middle), acting burgomaster of Brussels in 1942 (Photo Ceges/Soma) 70 years ago, 718 Jews living in Brussels were arrested in the middle of the night by the occupier and the Belgian SS. This Brussels roundup took place in the context of the great roundups of the summer of 1942. Without the keeping of a Jewish register following the orders of the occupier in the autumn of 1940 and applied by all Belgian towns concerned, this roundup would not have had the same impact. The event was commemorated by the burgomaster of Brussels, Freddy Thielemans (see the complete text of his speech). He apologised to the Jewish community in the name of the city authorities. Beyond the duty of remembrance, the burgomaster also announced his intention of confiding a complementary mission to the Ceges/Soma on the case of Brussels. This study will be published and handed to the city's public servants and the schools. Commemoration of the cooperation of the Antwerp police forces to the round-up of the Jews, August 1942 Lieven Saerens (© John Moussiaux). On Wednesday 15 August it was 70 years since the cooperation of the Antwerp police to the first round-up of the Jews in Belgium. On this occasion, a ceremony where a commemorative plaque was presented, took place in the Antwerp city hall. Mayor Patrick Janssens and the President of the Jewish Central Consistory of Belgium, Professor Baron Julien Klener as well as Soma/Ceges historian Lieven Saerens addressed the public. For the speech of Lieven Saerens, click here. Ceges/Soma-collaborator Karel Stroppe takes a dip Ceges/Soma-collaborators are not merely active in the scientific field. Karel Strobbe is responsible for the project "North-Limburg and the Second World War") and also lends support to the departments public history and academic activities. On Sunday 8 July he took part in the Big Swim, a swimming tour around the city of Ghent. The Big Swim was a continuation of the Big Jump, a European project where people in several places took a dive to draw attention to the quality of the water.  The Cahiers d'Histoire du Temps présent The Cahiers d'Histoire du Temps présent/Bijdragen tot de Eigentijdse Geschiedenis (CHTP/BEG) are an illustrated journal focusing on the history of Belgium in the twentieth century, in particular on the two World Wars, the political and cultural history and on the historiographical debate. As a scientific journal, the CHTP/BEG reserves a fundamental role for photographic illustrations, which are considered an essential part of the documentary and archive collections.  The journal publishes articles in French, Dutch and English. Since 1996, it is published twice yearly and runs to approximately 300 to 400 pages. Some issues are devoted to the exploration of a particular theme. Its editorial committee consists of researchers of the CEGES/SOMA as well as external researchers. Each issue contains an important section “Library― with reviews of scientific publications related to the history of Belgium.  The journal is a member of the Association des Revues scientifiques et culturelles. Its articles are summarized and reviewed in Historical Abstracts and America : History and Life.  Seminar with Peter Haslinger The break-up of Czechoslovakia - an experience to share ? Le mercredi 30 mai 2012 (14h.30), le CEGES a le plaisir d'accueillir l'historien autrichien Peter Haslinger. Il viendra nous présenter un séminaire intitulé “The break-up of Czechoslovakia - an experience to share ?―. Ce séminaire sera le dernier de ce premier semestre 2012. Peter Schrijvers Peter Schrijvers obtained a Master's degree in History and American Studies from the Catholic University of Leuven and a PhD in US History from the Ohio State University in Columbus. He specializes in US foreign relations history and US involvement in World War II. He was a Research Fellow at the Royal Military Academy in Brussels, has taught at the Institut Universitaire de Hautes Études Internationales in Geneva, and is currently a Senior Lecturer at the University of New South Wales in Sydney. From 26 January to 30 June 2012 he carries out research at the CEGES/SOMA for a study on the Battle of Bastogne.  Has left the Centre on 30th June 2012.    Bastogne Revisited: An Iconic American Battle Gets a Second Look Using New Military Sources from US Archives and Often Neglected Belgian Civilian Sources, this project, supported by the CEGES/SOMA and funded by the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia, aims at the publication of a study in English which leaves behind the standard view of the Battle of the Bulge widespread in Anglo-Saxon society.  New depot for the collections of the CEGES-SOMA Consequences for the service in the reading room 29 May 2012 will be an important date in the history of the Ceges-Soma because for the first time, the institution will dispose of a second depot which will provide twice its actual storing space. The occupation of the second depot will also involve a thorough reorganisation of the collections. Everything possible has been done to minimise the consequences with regard to the service to the readers. Nevertheless, the access to some types of documents will become temporarily more difficult (see further in text). Moreover, the reading room will be closed for two short periods: from Tuesday 29 May to Friday 1 June and from Monday 18 June to Wednesday 20 June. Symposium Transitional Justice: final programme brochure On 23 and 24 May 2012, SOMA-CEGES organizes the closing symposium of the transitional justice project. This international symposium will take place in the Egmontpalace. For specific questions, please contact dr. Nico Wouters. You can find the brochure with all practical information and the final version of the programme here.  German taxes on the compensation of Belgian survivors of the forced labour programme. Some background information In the autumn of 2011, news appeared in the press concerning German tax demands issued to Belgian survivors of the forced labour programme or their widows. The ombuds service of the Ministry of Pensions claimed that their department could not help the aged pensioners, advising them to lodge a notice of objection in German to the German tax authorities. The tax demand was introduced because, after the independence of the Baltic States, thousands of former military collaborators claimed military pension benefits from Germany. That this measure would also affect the victims of forced labour had escaped the attention of the German authorities. Recently, Alvin De Coninck, son of a resistance fighter, has tackled the dossier. He has recapitulated his conclusions so far. Seminar with Pim Griffioen and Ron Zeller La persécution des Juifs aux Pays-Bas, en France et en Belgique, 1940-1945. Convergences, spécificités et causes  Le mercredi 2 mai 2012 (à 14h30), le CEGES accueillera les deux historiens néerlandais Pim Griffioen et Ron Zeller. Ils présenteront leur étude comparative sur la persécution des Juifs aux Pays-Bas, en France et en Belgique. In Memoriam Natan Ramet On Wednesday afternoon 4 April 2012, Natan Ramet, one of the last Auschwitz survivors and a well-known name in memory education, died at the age of 86. After the death of David Susskind and Georges Schnek, the Jewish community loses three prominent contemporaries in a short time.