The Belgian Church during the Second World War

A researcher at CegeSoma from 1976 until his death in 1994, Alain Dantoing specialized in the history of the Church in Belgium during the Second World War as seen from the perspective of the episcopate and, in particular, Cardinal Van Roey. He published his thesis on this subject in 1991. From 1978 to 1982, he organized a major survey among members of the Belgian clergy in office during the war.

The interviews conducted by Alain Dantoing mainly concern the Church under occupation in Belgium during the Second World War. As part of his research, he interviewed clergymen throughout the Church hierarchy, including pastors, abbots, canons, reverends, Monsignors, etc. In addition to his interest in the Catholic Church, Alain Dantoing was also interested in many other aspects of the occupation in his interviews, such as the role of the gendarmerie, the Secret Army, the press, the Pierlot government in exile in London, etc. Moreover, he devoted several interviews to the question of Belgian refugees abroad: in France, Spain and Portugal. The interviews were conducted in the 1970s and 1980s, with the last two interviews in 1992 on the Verdinaso.