What Happened to the People of Flanders
Everywhere, in any war, civilians pay a terrible price. In neutral Belgium that began in 1914 with mobilisation.
Local policemen delivered army draft cards to the doors, the young men said hasty farewells and hoped for a quick return. For many it was their last goodbye. Woman, children and those too old for the draft stayed at home. War was on its way, and more and more men found themselves taking up arms.
The escalation was rapid. On August 2, Germany demanded that Belgium stay neutral while German troops occupied the country on the way to invade France. King Albert I rejected this and the next day German troops invaded the country.
As a direct result Britain entered the war to defend Belgian neutrality and while they were coming the Belgian army held up the Germans and inflicted heavy casualties at the first battle of the war - the Battle of Liege. Despite defeat there after four days, the Belgians regrouped and continued to hinder the German advance across the country. Their successes brought extreme retribution.
Towns destroyed
Whole towns were burned to the ground by the Germans and thousands of people were executed. The most notorious incident was at Aarschot, where homes were plundered and the injured rounded up, marched to the river and shot. The atrocities continued as did the battles until finally the Belgian divisions were concentrated east of the River Ijser in north-west Flanders. It was here, towards the end of October 1914, that the Belgian Army opened the sluice gates and flooded the countryside to halt the Germans.
By now many Belgian families were fleeing towards or into France. With the German army moving deeper into the country, those fleeing in its path carried blankets, clothes and other essential items on bicycles, in prams or on wagons.
Even outside the direct influence of the battles themselves, these were chaotic and often tragic days. As thousands of people headed for safety, children became unintentionally separated from their parents - some were lost on the road while others were left behind.
To France, the Netherlands & the UK
But it was not only France the refugees were heading for. Many crossed the border into the neutral Netherlands where they were placed in camps. One of the camps was named Ede and was sited to the north of Arnhem. There, in the midst of the vast heath stood a complete village with its own church, hospital and school. Today the spot is marked by a Monument to the Belgians.
Many families also crossed the Channel to the United Kingdom and soon Belgians were spread throughout England, Wales and Scotland.
As the German army advanced towards the Belgian coast, the refugees told stories of the atrocities of the past months, causing even more fear, and people "saw" spioenen (spies) everywhere. Road signs were removed because of worries that spies had created special symbols on them to make it easier for the enemy. It was the Uhlanen or German scouts on horses about whom the most horrific stories were told and in the Zonnebeke area near Passchendaele the first hostilities were between Uhlanen, armed with lances, and the Belgian national police.
Of the Belgians who fled to France, many spent the war in Normandy, some near Paris, while still more travelled south to find sanctuary. The French welcomed the Belgians, giving them work and enabling them to integrate into communities there.
Many fleeing in West Flanders arrived in Ypres and from there travelled on to safer places. They spent varying amounts of time in Ypres as some were hospitalised with typhoid. Some died and others, including those who recovered, were transported to St Omer, across the border in France.
Another known escape route was via Vlamertinge to Dunkirk where they boarded transport vessels, spending several days and nights in holds designed for cattle. Those who didn't survive were buried at sea while the survivors landed further south in France and looked for employment near La Rochelle and around Lourdes. Other refugees took trains towards Rouen.
Most believed they were leaving home for only a short period, expecting to be back in a few days or weeks. Some left their animals behind and buried their money in their gardens or hid it behind tiles in their homes. In fact, they were to lose everything. The shelling left the villages as unrecognisable piles of rubble and many people returning home after the war found it impossible to find where their homes had once stood.
Those who stayed behind
Those who didn't flee faced other problems. Close to the frontline in Flanders the situation was impossible. Yet despite the constant danger from shelling and bombs, some people insisted on staying at home and were ultimately forced to leave.
In fact, most of Belgium was occupied by the Germans with only a small part left under the control of the Belgian Army. The Germans divided their area into four zones:
Okkupationsgebiet (Occupation area): This area covered three-quarters of the occupied land. Authority was transferred to the German "general government".
Etappengebiet (Supply area): The rules were tighter in these areas, where soldiers rested and the German army was provisioned. Life was completely subservient to the occupying force.
Operationsgebiet (Operations area): This was the frontline zone and was about 25 kilometres wide on the German side. A very strict war regime was in place and civilians were almost never permitted there.
Marinegebiet (Marine area): This zone was located on the coast and the same rules applied as those in the Operations area. The German Navy ran this area.
Inside occupied Belgium there were serious disruptions to daily life. German time was introduced, the German Mark became the only currency and everyone had to carry an identity card. Goods such as copper, tin, wool, rubber and leather were regularly requisitioned, as were horses, pigeons and food supplies. Civilians were left to their own devices and food distribution came to a halt.
Food appeals
Wealthy industrialists tried to fight the lack of food by implementing an "Aid and Food Committee". The committee searched for help abroad and finally received it from the United States of America which was neutral at the time.
Municipal borders became the new horizons. No one was permitted to enter another municipality without permission. Moving house was difficult and almost nothing could be done without special permits. Civilians could rarely use trains, if trains ran, as they were under the control of the German army.
The lack of food and the restrictions on movement led to a black market of smuggled food. People attracted by the profits smuggling offered, took huge risks. If caught, they earned a long stay in prison and-or a heavy fine.
As the full force of war gripped West Flanders, those still living in the German sector fled in the direction of Roeselare and further inland. Others tried to follow some of the first refugees into the Netherlands - many entered Holland only to return across the border and head for the unoccupied part of Belgium where they could enlist in the army. It was a journey that was not without its hazards.
As early as 1914, barbed wire was in place on the heavily guarded border between occupied Belgium and the Netherlands. In 1915 the Germans raised the wire, creating a 1.60 metre high electrified fence. Initially, 500 volts ran through - later this was increased to 2,000 and eventually 4,000 volts.
Despite this, many Belgians succeeded in escaping under or over the fence. Not everyone made it - some were caught and shot, others electrocuted.
The Resistance
Amid all this was the resistance. More than 7,000 men and women stayed behind and actively collected information about the German army for the Allied intelligence services. Widespread networks of spies supplied the Allies with information and kept roads and railways under covert observation. This provided a good idea of which troops were on the frontline, how many wounded there were, which material was on its way to which part of the front, etc. It was information of the utmost importance and aided the Allies who could then build up a picture of where and when the Germans would attack.
The resistance in World War One was not violent and the sabotage that occurred on a large scale during World War Two was rare. Almost 2,000 "spies" were arrested and tried. Many were sent to prison or deported to Germany while some 300 were executed.
Meanwhile, those Belgians still living on the Allied side of the frontline were also evacuated. Military commanders ordered the evacuation of Ypres, for example, because of the dangers created by shelling and typhoid. The few remaining houses were used by the military. On both sides of the frontline civilians, including children, were sometimes forced to work, building bunkers, digging trenches, etc.
Children sent abroad
In 1915 there was compulsory evacuation of children living near the frontline. They were sent to "school camps" in other countries, but with Belgian teachers and nuns continuing to educate them. The journey to their new schools in France and neutral Switzerland sometimes took several weeks, and families were separated - boys and girls were sent to separate schools.
In Vinkem, close to Veurne, large schools were set up with the support of Queen Elisabeth of Belgium. The normal curriculum was followed although children had to work in the fields from time to time. Not all children were able to attend a Belgian school. Many received their education in French or English and after the war some had to re-integrate in Flemish schools.
By now, across a swathe of West Flanders where villages and farmland had once existed, only trenches and streams twisted through a desolate wasteland, pockmarked by hundreds of craters where just the stark, grey bunkers stood out.
After the Armistice in 1918 most Belgians returned home, although some didn't - those who had started families in other countries or simply enjoyed their lives elsewhere. Today many French families, for example, have Flemish roots.
Families who were separated in the initial flight from war often found one another after the liberation and when the reconstruction began. Bomb craters were filled and bunkers demolished. Sheds were built to house those who were first to return. House by house, street by street, village by village, communities were rebuilt. And, finally, what had begun with mobilisation ended with demobilisation and the soldiers who had survived returned home.
(Photos by kind permission of the Memorial Museum Passchendaele)