The Discovery Lunches are an opportunity to enjoy a sandwich during a free, accessible and popularised scientific lecture. All in the unique setting of the peristyle, our open-air (covered) conference area, with a breathtaking view over the Parc du Cinquantenaire.

There's no need to register for the Discovery lunches, which take place from 12:00 to 13:00.

Bring your own lunch or order and pay for one of the delicious dishes from the Tipi Cinquantenaire guinguette.

The space is covered. Conferences will only be moved in the event of the park being closed. This information will be communicated via our social networks and in the calendar on this website.

Infos discovery lunch 27.06.24

Speaker: Nico Wouters - Centre for the History of War, Media and Society | National Archives of Belgium

Topic: Between collaboration and resistance: the Belgian National Railway Company (NMBS) and deportations during World War II

This conference is in Dutch.

Context:
During the WWII occupation, the NMBS was perhaps the most telling example of what in Belgium is called the “politics of the lesser evil,” namely cooperating with the German occupiers in the general interest of the country and its people.

This mammoth company was responsible for supplying much of the raw materials, materials and food. Its cooperation with the all-powerful German occupiers thus became inevitable. That’s where it fell into the abyss: between 1941 and 1944 the Belgian railways helped deport Belgian forced labourers, Jews, political prisoners and Roma. At the same time, however, a broad-based resistance against the occupiers also emerged from within the NMBS.

The message is not a simplistic one of black, white and grey areas, but rather about difficult choices in a complex context of dictatorship and hostile occupation. The study was commissioned by the Senate and Deputy Prime Minister and Mobility Minister Georges Gilkinet.