The Vlaamsche Hoogeschool (Dutch; [lower-alpha 1] "Flemish Academy"), commonly referred to by its detractors as von Bissing university (Dutch : von-Bissinguniversiteit), [1] was a Dutch-speaking university established at Ghent in German-occupied Belgium in October 1916. Distinct from the existing State University of Ghent, the University formed part of the German Flamenpolitik and was a response to the long-established grievance of the Flemish Movement which campaigned against Ghent University's curriculum being taught only in French, despite the university being located in Dutch-speaking Flanders. The institution took its informal name from Moritz von Bissing, the German Governor-General of Belgium from 1914 to 1917, who was himself one of the Flamenpolitik 's chief advocates.
Before the outbreak of World War I higher education in Belgium was run in French, despite the presence of a majority Dutch-speaking population. French had historically been privileged as the language of the government, civil service and the bourgeois across the country. In the late 19th century, however, the emerging Flemish Movement (Vlaamse Beweging) increasingly challenged the use of French in majority Dutch-speaking Flanders. In the years before the World War I, the movement had achieved de jure legal equality for Dutch as an official national language, but the issue was still contentious at the outbreak of war in August 1914. In particular, the language used in higher education was still being highlighted by the Flemish Movement, as French remained the only language of instruction in all Belgian universities. At the outbreak of war, it appeared that the State University of Ghent, located in the Flemish city of Ghent, would be forced by law to begin teaching in Dutch by 1915, but the outbreak of war and German invasion of Belgium stopped any realization of this objective. [2]
In German-occupied Belgium, Governor-General Moritz von Bissing sought to make the territory easier to govern by exploiting pre-war linguistic divisions. The Flamenpolitik ("Flemish policy") was launched in 1916 and was also influenced by Pan-German beliefs. In particular, since the issue of Ghent University was already contentious, the German administration hoped to legitimize itself and at the same time to discredit the Belgian state. [3]
The university was inaugurated on 3 October 1916 with Peter Hoffmann as rector, [2] with around 40 academics. [4] The German mathematician, Walther von Dyck, was put in charge of the project. Von Dyck strongly believed that the university would defend Germany's strategic and military interests, describing it as "a mighty fortress, a trusty shield and a weapon for us Germans." [5]
The university opened its doors on 24 October 1916. [6] It faced opposition from current students at Ghent University, and also was condemned by a petition signed by 38 leading Flemish public figures including Louis Franck delivered before its opening. [7] Among the academics was the lawyer Lodewijk Dosfel , historian Jules Mees, and the linguist Hippoliet Meert . [8] Among the original students was the Flemish Movement activist Wies Moens and the poet Gaston Burssens. It was considerably smaller than the State University of Ghent, which admitted more than 1,200 students each year before the war. In contrast, between October 1916 and October 1918, 477 students registered at the Institute. In the first year, 138 students were enrolled, while that number increased to 407 enrolled students in 1917-1918. [9] [10] . [9]
The university itself is considered by historians to have failed to achieve its aims. [1] [11] It failed to gain wide support from across Flemish Movement, particularly since some of the early supporters, including the historian Paul Fredericq who had campaigned for Dutch language instruction, had been imprisoned. [1] It was equally resented by many French-speaking academics. [2] This, however, did not stop the continuation of the Flamenpolitik by the German administration, which led to the creation of the Council of Flanders (Raad van Vlaanderen, or RVV; a quasi-independent Flemish government) in February 1917. [12]
Although the Flemish Movement had campaigned for the "Flemishization" (flamandisation) [3] of Ghent University, many within the movement were divided about whether accepting the university would be collaboration and some students passively resisted it. [2] The establishment of the university created a rupture within the Flemish Movement between the "Activists" (activisten) who supported the German initiatives and the "Passivists" (passivisten) who opposed any form of collaboration with the Germans. [7] After the end of the war, in 1930, Ghent University became Dutch speaking following continued agitation by the Flemish Movement.
Von Bissing University featured in the Belgian 2014 miniseries In Vlaamse Velden ("In Flanders' Fields") produced by VRT. In it, one of the protagonists, Philippe Boesman (played by Wim Opbrouck), tries and fails to get tenure at the university as an academic gynaecologist. [13]
Flanders is the Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, language, politics, and history, and sometimes involving neighbouring countries. The demonym associated with Flanders is Fleming, while the corresponding adjective is Flemish, which can also refer to the collective of Dutch dialects spoken in that area, or more generally the Belgian variant of Standard Dutch. The official capital of Flanders is the City of Brussels, although the Brussels-Capital Region that includes it has an independent regional government. The powers of the government of Flanders consist, among others, of economic affairs in the Flemish Region and the community aspects of Flanders life in Brussels, such as Flemish culture and education.
Ghent University is a public research university located in Ghent, Belgium.
The Flemish Movement is an umbrella term which encompasses various political groups in the Belgian region of Flanders and, less commonly, in French Flanders. Ideologically, it encompasses groups which have sought to promote Flemish culture and the Dutch language as well as those seeking greater political autonomy for Flanders within Belgium. It also encompassed nationalists who seek the secession of Flanders from Belgium, either through outright independence or unification with the Netherlands.
Greater Netherlands is an irredentist concept which unites the Netherlands, Flanders, and sometimes Brussels. Additionally, a Greater Netherlands state may include the annexation of the French Westhoek, Suriname, formerly Dutch-speaking areas of Germany and France, or even the ethnically Dutch and/or Afrikaans-speaking parts of South Africa, though such variants are mostly limited to far-right groups. A related proposal is the Pan-Netherlands concept, which includes Wallonia and potentially also Luxembourg.
The Flemish Region, usually simply referred to as Flanders, is one of the three regions of Belgium—alongside the Walloon Region and the Brussels-Capital Region. Covering the northern portion of the country, the Flemish Region is primarily Dutch-speaking. With an area of 13,522 km2 (5,221 sq mi), it accounts for only 45% of Belgium's territory, but 57% of its population. It is one of the most densely populated regions of Europe with around 490/km2 (1,300/sq mi).
Moritz Ferdinand Freiherr von Bissing was a German officer from Prussia.
Wies Moens was a Belgian literary historian, poet and Flamingant activist. He was also a founding member of the right-wing Verdinaso movement.
The education in the Flemish Community covers the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium and consists of three networks (netten): government-provided education (gemeenschapsonderwijs), subsidized public schools and subsidized free schools.
Lodewijk De Raet was a Flemish economist and politician. He played an important role in the Flemish movement. He was co-founder of the Vlaamsche volkspartij (1892), and was a proponent of the use of Dutch instead of French at the University of Ghent in Flanders. He believed that the economic development of Flanders was necessary for the political and cultural strengthening of the region. His motto was: taalbelang is stoffelijk belang.
Louis Marie François Franck was a Belgian lawyer and liberal politician.
Flamenpolitik is a policy practiced by German authorities occupying Belgium during World War I and World War II. The ultimate goals of these policies was the dissolution of Belgium into separate Walloon and Flemish components and Germanisation.
The Duitsch-Vlaamsche Arbeidsgemeenschap, better known as DeVlag, was a small radical pro-Nazi organization active in Flanders during the German occupation of Belgium. It was founded in 1936 by academics Jef Van de Wiele and Rolf Wilkening as a cultural association to strengthen the exchange of students and professors between the universities of Leuven and Cologne.
The Frontpartij was a Belgian political party that campaigned for increasing recognition for the Flemish people and their language. Originating from the earlier Frontbeweging, the Frontpartij was an early attempt to fully politicise the Flemish Movement. In contrast to some of its successor movements the party supported democracy and autonomy rather than authoritarianism and independence.
The history of Belgium in World War I traces Belgium's role between the German invasion in 1914, through the continued military resistance and occupation of the territory by German forces to the armistice in 1918, as well as the role it played in the international war effort through its African colony and small force on the Eastern Front.
The Comité National de Secours et d'Alimentation was a relief organization created in 1914 to distribute humanitarian aid to civilians in German-occupied Belgium during World War I. It was directed by the Belgian financier Émile Francqui. The CNSA acted as the network by which the aid brought in by the international Commission for Relief in Belgium (CRB) could be distributed within Belgium itself.
The Yser Front, sometimes termed the West Flemish Front in British writing, was a section of the Western Front during World War I held by Belgian troops from October 1914 until 1918. The front ran along the Yser river (IJzer) and Yser Canal (Ieperlee) in the far north-west of Belgium and defended a small strip of the country which remained unoccupied. The front was established following the Battle of the Yser in October 1914, when the Belgian army succeeded in stopping the German advance after months of retreat and remained largely static for the duration of the war.
The Council of Flanders was formed by members of the "activist" or "maximalist" faction of the Flemish Movement in German-occupied Belgium on 4 February 1917 with tacit German support. Its founders, who included Pieter Tack and August Borms, wanted to realize the independence of Flanders from Belgium using German support provided as part of the Flamenpolitik. The Council originally included 46 members, but eventually expanded to include 93. Despite hopes that the council would be allowed full legislative powers, it never became more than a consultative body. It also suffered from internal factionalism and infighting.
The German occupation of Belgium of World War I was a military occupation of Belgium by the forces of the German Empire between 1914 and 1918. Beginning in August 1914 with the invasion of neutral Belgium, the country was almost completely overrun by German troops before the winter of the same year as the Allied forces withdrew westwards. The Belgian government went into exile, while King Albert I and the Belgian Army continued to fight on a section of the Western Front. Under the German military, Belgium was divided into three separate administrative zones. The majority of the country fell within the General Government, a formal occupation administration ruled by a German general, while the others, closer to the front line, came under more repressive direct military rule.
Jozef Cantré was a Belgian sculptor and illustrator. He was one of the main artists in the development of the movement of Flemish Expressionism.
The Flemish Guard was a collaborationist paramilitary formation which served as an auxiliary police in parts of German-occupied Belgium during World War II. It was founded as an independent formation in May 1941 at the initiative of the Union of Flemish Veterans and the Flemish National League. Both associated with the pre-war Flemish Movement, the VNV soon emerged as the largest collaborationist faction in Flanders during the occupation. In propaganda, the Flemish Guard was depicted as the police force of a future independent Flanders. It was distinct from the Flemish Legion, formed by the VNV in July 1941, to participate in the German invasion of the Soviet Union.