Gesets- und Verordnungsblatt für Wallonien, 1918-01-21 (In Flanders Fields Museum, Ypres)
Read 380.000 Pages of News from World War I
80,374 Belgian newspaper and magazine issues published between 1914 and 1918 were digitised and are now freely accessible via three open digital archives:
Digital Preservation Saves Newspapers from WW1
The paper originals of the 964 titles in The Belgian Press from the Great War are preserved in seventeen Belgian heritage institutions. Despite meticulous conservation by these guardians, this heritage has become extremely fragile. Digitization was therefore badly needed.
To preserve the content for future generations and to make them freely accessible to everyone, the periodicals were digitised in three projects. The Belgian Press from the Great War is the joint presentation of these initatives.
A Historical Source of World Significance
In these conflict-ridden times, it is not hard to see the global relevance of newspapers from the First World War. This collection of historical newspapers extensively documents life for the citizens of an occupied country, during a major conflict which was partly fought out on their soil. Parallels with contemporary events are never far away.
The collection contains all sorts of press coverage from Belgium during the First World War: censored daily newspapers and regular weekly and monthly papers, illegal press, trench newspapers, prisoners of war press, refugee press, press for Belgian citizens abroad and the new generation of newspapers that started to be published at the end of the war. It is a treasure trove of information about daily life and major events.
Online Catalogue
The Belgian press from the Great War is also included in Abraham. Belgian Newspaper Catalogue. For all titles, links to their respective digitised issues and information about the paper holdings are included.
Lists of Titles and Issues
For quick reference, see this comprehensive list of titles in de digital collections. A full list of all digitised issues, including links to the digital copies, is available as a spreadsheet.
Open Data
Metadata on all 80,374 newspaper issues, including their paper and digital preservation location, is available for downloading.
