The Germans are here again

May 23 1940: Ghent falls into the hands of the German soldiers. A war mayor is appointed. What’s the impact of war on the daily lives of the inhabitants? What exactly was the German oppression? Meet the victims and heroes of the violence of war.

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Nearly immediately after the town’s intake of the army the Leopold barracks and the bunker in the Park became the epicenter of the German commando. The Germans leave their mark on culture through the Ghentian Opera. The Militärverwaltung, the military administration, rules the University where guest colleges are held in German. The guide will take you along the commemorative plates of deportees and Ghentians fallen in action. Ghent and its surrounding municipalities escaped the bombardments of 1940, but some of them were destroyed by the ‘friendly fire’ of 1944. A walk that evokes a time of turmoil.

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