On the eve of the war, in 1914, the Leuven Faculty of Law had fifteen tenured professors, and two professors emeriti. Some of these professors has another profession on top of teaching. They were, for some of them, active in the Catholic Party, and the cumulation with a political mandate, at the local or national level, or with a ministerial position was quite common. The war affected their activities in several ways. The start of the war and the events of August 1914 particularly brutally affected the city of Leuven, and the university even more. On August 2, 1914, Germany sent an ultimatum to the Belgian government. Less than forty-eight hours later, the first houses were set on fire near the German border. On August 5, the Belgianpour lire la suite…
Tag: Belgium
The right of Belgian student soldiers
The German invasion, in August 1914, pushed part of the student population into the army. They were forced to interrupt their higher education. The necessities of war prevented the resumption of structured scholarly activity in the first months after the German invasion. It was only a year later, in September 1915, that there was a desire among the army and conscripts for a resumption of studies. This desire was expressed by the army medical auxiliaries, who had not had the opportunity to take their last medical doctorate finals and who wanted to see an examination panel organized so that they could complete their education and obtain their degree. The War Department vetoed it : the organization of an examination panel for students of the 3rd doctoratepour lire la suite…
The “Von Bissing University” in academically locked Belgium
The establishment of the Vlaamsche Hoogeschool, better known as the “Von Bissing University”, marks a high point in the period of occupation and the relations between the occupying authorities, Flemish activists and “patriots” during this period. While, in the context of the occupation, universities closed, an academic institution was created in Flanders — in Ghent — in 1916, with the support of German authorities. Presenting this moment and this particular institution requires to situate it in the context of the Flemish claims that had been developing in the previous decades. Since independence, Belgium had made French its only official language and had neglected the Flemish language and culture. All education was given in French. The Flemish movement, which had been developing in Belgium since thepour lire la suite…
A space to maintain law education in Brussels : the New University
The German invasion in August 1914 was soon followed by the occupation of most of the country. The context of war and occupation was an obstacle to the resumption of classes : many of the professors and students had either fled or joined the military. . In Leuven, the sack of the city, the massacre and the fire of the university library represented major obstacles. In Liège, the ransacking of the university’s premises prevented any resumption under “normal” conditions. These circumstances led the four universities of Belgium at the time, the State Universities of Liège and Ghent and the Free Universities of Brussels and Leuven, to close their doors. At the Free University of Brussels, the start of the new academic year, scheduled for October 14,pour lire la suite…
The Belgian academic landscape before the First World War
The Belgian academic landscape as it had developed from the first law on higher education of September 27, 1835 is the result of a historic connection as well as a parliamentary consensus on freedom of education, geographical decentralization and structural centralization. The history of higher education in Belgium in the contemporary era began at the turn of the 19th century, when the “Belgian” space annexed to the Republic, a bundle departments, saw in 1797 the closure of the former University of Leuven. It was a casualty of the abolition of universities by the decision of the National Convention of September 15th, 1793. After a period of apparent vacancy, higher education in the “combined” departments was subject to Napoleonic reforms. The Act of Ventôse 22, XIIpour lire la suite…