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At the home of: the lives of Belgian public figures

VRT
 
Time period: twentieth century - now
Number of interviews: ≥280
Accessibility: by appointment via vrtarchief@vrt.be
Transcripts: before 1982 fully transcribed
Period of interviews: 1962-1978, 90s - now
Remarks:

The complete transcription from the interviews 1962-1982 can be found on DBNL

VRT ARCHIVES

 

Ten huize van … is a Flemish talk show that first appeared on TV1 (Eén) in 1957.

Each episode, presenter Joos Florquin visited a Famous Fleming or Famous Dutchman and interviewed him in his own home. For three days he installed himself in the home of the person in question, while his camera crew shot footage. Most of the interviewees were from the political or cultural world. The first guest was Gerard Walschap. More than 250 followed. The interviews centered on the interviewees. They were able to talk freely and were only in the picture themselves. In other words, true oral history.

 

Over the decades, Florquin interviewed an impressive number of people. The interviews were written down afterwards, compiled and published in a series of books. When Florquin died in 1978, the program was also stopped for a long time.

 

Only in the 1990s did new episodes appear around “At the home of”, this time with Edward De Maesschalck as interviewer (34 episodes). From 2003 Frieda Van Wijck took over the presentation.

 

 

An overview of many of the interviewed:

Naam Uitzending Boekdeel
Aafjes Bertus 1969 7
Alfrink Bernardus J. 1971 9
Aubroeck Karel 1958 2
Avermaete Roger 1962  
Baekelmans Lode † 1963 3
Baie Eugène † 1961 10
Baksteen Dirk † 1963 3
Baksteen Gerard † 1963 3
Baur Frank † 1960 16
Boon Constant 1977 17
Boon Louis-Paul (2) † 1971 8
Bosmans Phil 1978 15
Bovy Vina 1977 18
Brachin Pierre 1967 8
Broekx P. † 1965 16
Brugmans Henk 1962 18
Brulez Raymond † 1959 1
Burssens Amaat 1962  
Cardijn Jozef † 1962 3
Carmiggelt Simon (2) 1972 9
Caspeele Hendrik 1973  
Claes Ernest † 1958 1
Collaer Paul 1961  
Collin Fernand 1964 3
Contrijn Jef 1974  
Cool August 1968 7
Coppé Albert (2) 1973 10
Cornelis Hendrik 1971  
Cox Jan † 1976 17
Craeybeckx Lode † 1966 4
Daan Lea 1969  
Daisne Johan † 1972 10
Darciel Elsa 1975  
De Bock Eugène † 1962 16
De Boeck Felix 1958  
De Boeck Felix 1967 1
De Clerck Oscar † 1960  
Declerck Richard 1977 17
De Coen Jeanne † 1961  
De Cuyper Floris † 1959  
De Hartog Jan 1965 4
De Jong Marinus 1959 18
De Keyser Paul † 1961  
De Leebeeck Maria 1977  
Delwaide Leo † 1969 8
De Man Yvonne † 1965 4
De Mayer Aloïs † 1963  
Demedts André 1968 6
De Meester Johan 1965  
De Meester Louis 1969 16
De Meyer Willem 1964 14
De Muynck Gust 1965 4
Den Doolaard A. (2) 1971 9
Denys Willem (2) 1978 15
De Pillecyn Filip † 1959 1
De Raeymaeker Louis † 1966 17
De Ridder André † 1961 1
De Schryver August 1968 7
De Smedt Emiel J. 1977 15
De Smet Léon † 1961 2
De Spot Jan † 1977 16
De Sutter Ignace 1977 14
De Sutter Jules † 1967 15
De Troyer Prosper † 1958 1
De Vocht Lodewijk † 1958 13
De Vree Paul 1972 13
De Waele Fernand J.M. † 1966  
De Wit Gaspar † 1961  
Diels Herman 1968  
Diels Joris 1968 6
Dille Denijs (2) 1975 13
Dumon André † 1963  
Elaut Leon † 1965 4
Elsing Johan-Mark 1977 15
Elström Harry 1960  
Eyskens Gaston (2) 1974 11
Fayat Hendrik 1976 15
Gerlo Aloïs 1973 13
Gevers Marie † 1963 17
Geyl Pieter † 1961 2
Gheyselinck Roger † 1970  
Gijsen Marnix 1959 1
Gijsen Marnix 1974 12
Gilliams Maurice 1968 5
Goris René 1975 12
Grammens Flor 1972 9
Gronon Rose † 1969 6
Gunzburg Nico 1967 9
Haanstra Bert 1976 13
Haasse Hella (2) 1975 12
Haesaerts Paul † 1966 17
Hagedoorn Georgette (2) 1975 13
Helman Albert 1976 14
Herberigs Robert † 1960  
Herckenrath Antoon † 1974 12
Herreman Raymond † 1960 2
Heymans Corneel † 1963 3
Hoste Marcel A.J. † 1974 18
Hullebroeck Emiel † 1958 1
Indestege Luc † 1965 5
Jacquemyns Pol † 1967 16
Janssens Magda † 1971 10
Jespers Floris † 1959 5
Jespers Oscar † 1958 5
Jonckheere Karel 1968 5
Kimpe Reimond † 1964 3
Knuvelder Gerard 1974 14
Kuypers Julien † 1962 5
Lamberty Max † 1960 5
Lampo Hubert (2) 1973 10
Langui Emile † 1969 6
Lauwereys Modest † 1962  
Leemans Victor † 1967 7
Leys Fanny 1960 5
Liebaers Herman 1973  
Luns J.M.A.H. 1968 6
Maes Jef 1975 18
Magits Leo 1966 8
Malfait Hubert † 1968 16
Manteau Angèle 1967 5
Marceau Félicien 1976  
Major Louis 1967 7
Martens Adriaan † 1963 3
Martens Gaston † 1958 2
Masereel Frans † 1961 1
Minnaert Marcel † 1970 7
Minne Joris 1958  
Minne Joris 1967 1
Minne Richard † 1962 1
Moens Wies 1975 12
Mussche Achiel † 1961 2
Naessens Maurits 1961 6
Nees Staf † 1959 2
Opsomer Isidoor † 1957  
Paerels Willem † 1959  
Peeters Flor 1958 1
Peeters Karel C. † 1970 11
Pelemans Willem 1962 18
Philips Luc 1971 9
Picard Leo † 1963 17
Pieck Anton 1973 11
Poels Albert 1959 1
Pols André M. † 1964  
Poot Marcel 1972 17
Preud’homme Arm. 1970 8
Renard Raf 1977  
Rens Jef 1969 6
Roelants Maurice † 1959 2
Romein-Verschoor Annie † 1974 11
Ruyslinck Ward (2) 1975 12
Ryelandt Joseph † 1959 10
Sabbe Etienne † 1968  
Saverys Albert † 1958 1
Schillebeeckx Edward (2) 1976 13
Schmidt Annie M.G. (2) 1974 11
Schmook Ger 1963 18
Segers Paul W. 1966 17
Servaes Albert † 1966 3
Servranckx Victor † 1961 5
Seuphor Michel 1965 4
Slabbinck Rik 1971 10
Stynen Léon 1972 18
Stracke E.P. Desiderius † 1966 4
Struye Paul † 1971 8
Stuiveling Garmt (2) 1970 8
Suenens Leo 1970 8
Termote Albert † 1970  
Terruwe Anna A.A. 1972 10
Thiel Urbain † 1967  
Thuysbaert Prosper † 1962  
Tinbergen Jan 1976 13
Torfs Jos 1978  
Vaerten Jan † 1974 12
Van Acker Achiel † 1964 3
Van Aken Piet (2) 1978 15
Vanaudenhove Omer 1977 14
Vanbeselaere Walth. 1970 18
Van Cauwelaert Emiel 1976 17
Van Cauwelaert Frans 1960 2
Vandekerckhove Michiel 1973 18
Van den Abeele Hugo † 1967  
Vandendriessche Ern. 1969  
Vandeputte Robert 1971 16
Van der Essen Leo † 1960  
(Van der Goes Hugo) 1968  
Vanderlick Armand 1969 7
Van der Meer Frits 1973 11
Van der Meer de Walcheren Pieter † 1966 4
Vandermeulen Lambertus † 1974 12
Van der Mueren Floris † 1960  
Van der Plaetse Antoon † 1968  
Vanderpoorten Herman 1978 15
Vandersteen Willy 1976 13
Van de Velde Anton 1964  
Van de Voorde Urbain † 1964 7
Van Duinkerken Anton † 1960 1
Van Eynde Jos 1975 14
Van Hemeldonck Em. † 1958 1
Van Hool Bernard † 1970  
Van Hulse Camil 1967  
Van Isacker Karel 1977 14
Van Istendael August 1975 16
Van Oorschot Geert (2) 1977  
Van Overstraeten Jozef 1966 5
Van Overstraeten War 1960 10
Van Oye Paul † 1965  
Van Reeth Flor † 1959 14
Vansina Dirk † 1965 4
Van Straaten Werenfried 1972 12
Van Vlaenderen Michel † 1964 3
Van Waeyenbergh Honoré † 1961 2
Van Werveke Hans † 1969 6
Van Wilderode Anton 1976 14
Vercammen Jan 1973 11
Veremans Renaat † 1959 2
(Verlooy Jan Baptist) 1973  
Victor René 1964 17
Vinck Joseph † 1970 18
Vranckx Alfons † 1973 16
Walschap Gerard 1957 1
Wasserman Ida † 1968 6
Westerlinck Albert 15
Wijnants Ernest † 1960  
Wildiers Max 1969 7
Yoors Eugène † 1959 1

Belga Sport

Vlaamse Radio- en Televisieomroeporganisatie
 
Time period: from the second half of the 20th century until now
Number of interviews: ≥100
Accessibility: via enquiry
Period of interviews: 2007-now
Remarks:

The episodes can be viewed in the VRT archive.

 

Belga Sport is a Flemish documentary television series depicting turning points in Belgian sports history. The program, made by Woestijnvis and shown on the Flemish public broadcaster Canvas, digs up fragments from the VRT sports archives and sheds new light on “known” facts through testimonies. The subtitle therefore reads Old sports stories in a new light. The first series was broadcast in the spring of 2007. A new series was recently released in 2024. In June 2008, Belga Sport was awarded the Prize of Television Criticism. And in early 2011, the program received a nomination from the Flemish Television Stars in the category “Best Information Program.

 

There is also a podcast with the creators of Belga Sport. Which can be found here.

Belpop – an oral history of music

Vlaamse Radio- en Televisieomroeporganisatie
 
Time period: the second half of the 20th century until now
Number of interviews: ≥66
Accessibility: partially online
Period of interviews: 2008-now
Remarks:

Partially available online

Other seasons can be found in the VRT archives

Title: Belpop: de eerste vijftig jaar

Author: Jan Delvaux

Publisher: Borgerhoff & Lamberigts, Ghent, 2011
ISBN: 9789089312495

Belpop is a TV program about the Belgian pop scene on Canvas. It refers to belpop, a collective term for music by Belgian groups. Since 2008, each episode deals with one artist, sometimes several artists get the floor. They talk about the past of belpop. Between 2008 and 2020, Luc Janssen did the interviews and voice-over. As of 2023, Bent van Looy took over this task. Also see a review of this last season here.

 

Jan Delvaux, contributor to the program, also published a book in 2011 entitled Belpop: de eerste vijftig jaar, in which he describes the history of Belgian pop music, from Kili Watch of The Cousins to the present.

 

Also see the following video on belgian music history: Belpop Bonanza #1000 – Een duik in 40 jaar AB geschiedenis

An oral history of design

Vlaams Architectuurinstituut
 
Time period: 1916-2014
Number of interviews: 7 (8 people)
Accessibility: via application form
Transcripts: short summary
Period of interviews: 18 June 2014 - 19 January 2015
 

The cultural heritage of design does not consist only of sketches, models, photographs or correspondence of designers. With design, there is also a strong interaction between explicit knowledge and tacit knowledge, knowledge that may be passed on but which usually does not receive written expression. That is why the Flemish Architecture Institute conducted interviews with designers, policy makers and craftspeople. As a result, the interviews do not all cover the same topics and time periods. A mix of young and old and of profession was chosen; furniture maker, artist, design connoisseur and director of Design Flanders all have their say.

 

The following people were interviewed:

  • Leonce Dekeijser (1924-2015), interior architect, he explains that in his college days, “interior design” did not actually exist. He took courses with architects and decorative arts and eventually earned a degree in furniture art. He discusses the teaching methods, the subjects and his teachers. He talks about the interaction between design and education

  • José Vanderlinden (1920-?), furniture maker, the emphasis in the conversation with José Vanderlinden is, much more than in the conversation with Leonce Dekeijser, on the technical aspects of furniture making.

  • Luc (1953-now) and Katrien Mestdagh (1980-now), stained glass artists, the conversation includes the neo-Gothic tradition in Ghent in terms of stained glass painting, and how it lives on to this day in atelier Mestdagh. They discuss the need for commissioning.
  • Achiel Pauwels (1932-now), ceramist, he talks about how he learned the craft, how the teachers did not always give away the secrets of the craft just like that, and what the relationship was with the other art craft courses and the sculpture course. The conversation also explores the emphases he placed in his own classes and the importance he attached to drawing in doing so.
  • Moniek Bucquoye (1948-2022), connoisseur and promoter of design, the talk provides an insight into how product development education was shaped in Flanders from a historical perspective. She highlights the difference between product development and industrial design.
  • Lieven Daenens (1948-now), former director of the Design museum Ghent. Daenens discusses the evolution of the museum, its change of name and position with the advent of the museum decree in the 1990s. He discusses the quality of Belgian design culture and education in Belgium.
  • Johan Valcke (1952-now), director of Design Flanders, the conversation with Valcke gives an insight into how art crafts and design were viewed in Belgium and Flanders from an economic point of view and a historical perspective.

 

The four interviewers were art historians and artists: Katarina Serulu, Marieke Pauwels, Eva Van Regenmortel and Aletta Rambaut

Hungarian refugees in Flanders in 1956

Logo Amsab-ISG
UGent Vakgroep Nieuwste Tijden
 
Time period: 1900-1990
Number of interviews: 16
Accessibility: Reading room AMSAB-ISG
Transcripts: Yes (in print)
Period of interviews: 2002-2003
Remarks:

One time registration and login necessary

 

The 1956 Hungarian refugee flow illustrates how the international community can quickly resolve a humanitarian crisis. The first asylum countries did not bear the brunt of their humanitarian response to the massive request for protection from the many Hungarians.

 

The 1956 Hungarian flow of refugees illustrates how the international community can quickly resolve a humanitarian crisis. The first asylum countries did not bear the brunt of their humanitarian response to the massive request for protection from the many Hungarians.
The 1956 refugee crisis also shows how broad support for refugee protection can facilitate inclusion.

 

Students from the Vakgroep Nieuwste Tijden at Ghent University conducted oral history interviews with 16 Hungarian refugees who came to Belgium in 1956.

In addition to the full transcripts, 10-minute summaries are available.

Banners flutter, fists greet

Betoging te Sint-Niklaas in 1959
Logo Amsab-ISG
AMSAB-ISG
 
Number of interviews: 13
Accessibility: Éénmalige registratie en login
Period of interviews: 1997-1998
Medium: wav, cassette-band
 

In the year that Sint-Niklaas celebrates its 800th anniversary, the socialist movement in the Wase capital reveals its history, with the expo ‘Het Grote Rode Verhaal’ at the Volkshuis and gets a permanent place in the Art Deco building. There is not only an expo.

The socialist movement also mapped out a walk along the most prominent places in Sint-Niklaas where the socialist story was written. Among others, it runs through the Tabaksstraat, where many workers used to work in the cigar factories, past the former Bond Moyson in Mercatorstraat, the former cooperative shop in Truweelstraat to the Volkshuis.

 

The project is an initiative of ABW-Waasland. It was realised in cooperation with the AMSAB and financially supported by ABW, SP and Bond Moyson of Waasland.

A first publication resulted from it in 1996, edited by Geert Van Goethem (AMSAB-Antwerp), with the title Vaandels ruisen, vuisten groeten. The work dealt mainly with the founding period of the socialist movement in Sint-Niklaas, from around 1895 until the outbreak of
the Second World War. The period after the war was covered only briefly.

 

A second phase was therefore launched in July 1997. The publication Banners murmur, Fists salute.
Volume II covers the period 1945-1975. A brief chapter was also devoted to the occupation
and liberation (which, who knows, might later turn into a third publication). The format of this second volume has become somewhat broader. This time, not only the town of Sint-Niklaas but the whole district is scrutinised, entirely in line with the evolution that the socialist movement in the Waasland region underwent during this period. The trade union as well as the party and the sick association are covered. A chapter is also devoted to the women’s movement.

Destined for Ghent

Integratiedienst Gent and Amsab-ISG
 
Number of interviews: 45
Accessibility: One-time registration and login
Transcripts: yes
Period of interviews: 2011

 

Medium: wav-files

Migration is of all times. Time and again, people have said goodbye to their native land for various reasons, facing a sometimes very uncertain future. It takes courage to leave everything familiar behind and build a new existence on unfamiliar ground. The ‘Destined for Ghent’ project aims to record stories, rituals and traditions of people with a migration background and make them accessible to a wide audience. In all these stories, the focus is on life in the city of Ghent, on the strength and courage needed for a new beginning in a foreign environment.

 

‘Destined for Ghent’ aims to give migrants’ heritage a place within the growing focus on heritage in general and hopes to encourage migrants of different origins to record (or have recorded) memories of their personal migration stories.

The stories will be collected by ‘trackers’, volunteers who themselves have a migration history. The trackers are offered hands-on training that introduces them to the world of oral history. Armed with this knowledge, they go in search of witnesses to interview.

More than 50 trackers have now successfully completed the training. The first 27 interviews have been delivered. Trackers and witnesses together represent 32 of Ghent’s 159 nationalities.

.

‘Destined for Ghent ‘ showed the results of the project to the public in various ways. The five duo-photos of trackers and witnesses on Heritage Day kicked off the project. A book, a multimedia application in STAM, an exhibition and numerous other forms of presentation will follow at a later stage.

 

‘Destined for Ghent’ is a project of AGORA, a Ghent partnership between the city council, various welfare organisations and national associations of migrants. The Integration Service is doing the coordination. Ghent University, STAM (City Museum), Amsab-ISG (Institute of Social History) and FARO (Flemish Cultural Heritage Support Centre) guarantee the scientific input in the project.

 

© Stad Gent – Integratiedienst/project ‘Bestemd voor Gent’

Red or no bread

© AMSAB-ISG - Binnenzicht van de bakkerij van de coöperatie SM Vooruit. Gent.
Amsab-ISG
 
Time period: 1900-1995
Number of interviews: 68
Accessibility: openbaar
Transcripts: ja
Period of interviews: 1998-1999
Remarks:

Toegankelijkheid: eenmalige registratie en login

Het archief is enkel toegankelijk mits toelating van de archiefvormer of diens afgevaardigde na een beargumenteerde schriftelijke vraag.

Medium: cassetteband - gedigitaliseerd mov
 

Bread was the chief component of the workers’ meal, so a good choice to sell in a cooperative. Everyone who was a member of the cooperative could share in the profits, and every worker naturally bought his bread from the cooperative. In the beginning, the activity remained modest, but once the bread was delivered to homes and the distributed profits increased, the cooperative began to grow.

 

The bakery, which combined advantageous prices with good quality, became a great success. The registration fee was 25 centimes and buyers undertook to buy all their bread from the cooperative. A 6% discount in the form of purchase vouchers and reinvestment of part of the profits quickly made Vooruit grow into a complex organisation with all kinds of activities. People’s pharmacies and shops selling groceries, coal, garments and shoes appeared. By 1901, the company had grown from one bakery with 150 members to several bakeries, twenty outhouses and more than seven thousand members! On the Garenmarkt (now the Anseeleplein), an old factory was bought in which a bakery, as well as a shop, a coffee house and a meeting room were opened. The first Vlaamse Volkshuis was born.

 

These interviews were conducted as part of the Interview Project entitled “Red or no bread. A practicum in the subject methodology of the Newest Times partim Oral History in the second candidature of History (second Bachelor of History), academic years 1998-1999 (teacher: Professor Dr Bruno De Wever).

Liberal storytelling evenings

CAVA - Centrum voor Academische en Vrijzinnige Archieven
 
Number of interviews: 10
Accessibility: public
Transcripts: yes
Period of interviews: 2013-2014

Op zoek … De evolutie van het vrijzinnig humanisme in Vlaanderen sinds de Tweede Wereldoorlog

Gily Coene, Jimmy Koppen, Frank Scheelings (red.)

Uitgeverij ASP/VUBPRESS, 2018

ISBN: 978 90 5718 7094

(voorkant: linosnede Gerard Gaudaen)

 

 

 

 

What made someone a liberal humanist? Why did someone commit to a particular cause? What form did the commitment take? And how did family, social, professional and regional backgrounds play a significance in the life of the liberal humanist? As part of the project ‘A Liberal Humanist Cultural Heritage Forum for Flanders’, CAVA approached numerous committed liberal humanists with these questions. Because witnesses are also forgetting and/or disappearing. Moreover, there is a glaring lack of sources on this chapter in the history of Flanders and Brussels. These memories and stories therefore provide a wealth of information not readily available in written sources. They constitute important testimonies about the breakthrough of liberal humanist thought in Flanders and Brussels and are part of the oral heritage of liberal humanism.

CAVA therefore organised several storytelling evenings, during which a panel of liberal humanists from the region reminisced. The audience did not leave out either. An audio recording was made of each talk. At the bottom of this page you will find an overview of the various storytelling evenings.

Moreover, the stories and testimonies of the story evenings were supplemented by interviews of liberal figures.

The liberal storytelling evenings took place with the support of the Flemish Government, deMens.nu, Uitstraling Permanente Vorming (VUB) and the Humanistisch Vrijzinnige Vereniging.

 

  • Ronse: Een avond vol vrij zinnige verhalen (Tuesday 25 June 2013)
  • Hasselt: Jong en vrijzinnig (Sunday 15 September 2013))
  • Vilvoorde: Een avond vol vrij zinnige verhalen (Thursday 24 October 2013)
  • Antwerpen: Vrijzinnigheid en onderwijs (Tuesday, 26 November 2013)
  • Brugge: Een avond vol vrij zinnige verhalen (Wednesday 19 February 2014)
  • Tienen: Een avond vol vrij zinnige verhalen (Monday 24 March 2014))
  • Kortrijk: Vrijzinnigheid over de generaties heen (Tuesday 25 March 2014)
  • Mechelen: Een avond vol vrij zinnige verhalen (Thursday 3 April 2014)
  • Elsene: Studentikoos en vrijzinnig (Thursday 8 May 2014)
  • Aalst: Getuigenissen over vrijzinnig humanisme (Saturday 10 May 2014)

Pioneers of liberal-humanist care

CAVA - Centrum voor Academische en Vrijzinnige Archieven
 
Number of interviews: 4
Accessibility: public
Transcripts: ja
Period of interviews: 2016

Op zoek … De evolutie van het vrijzinnig humanisme in Vlaanderen sinds de Tweede Wereldoorlog

Gily Coene, Jimmy Koppen, Frank Scheelings (red.)

Publisher ASP/VUBPRESS, 2018

ISBN: 978 90 5718 7094

(Front cover: linocut Gerard Gaudaen)

 

 

 

 

Following Heritage Day 2017, which was dedicated to “Care”, several interviews were conducted with volunteers and pioneers of liberal-humanist care. A number of excerpts were selected from each interview, which together form the audio bar ‘Pioneers of liberal-humanist care’. As the full interviews contain a wealth of information, we don’t want to withhold them from you. Via the links below, you can listen to or read the interviews and learn more about the pioneers of liberal-humanist care and the course they took.

 

  • Interview with Els Goderis (10 november 2016)
  • Interview with Conny Verkest (17 november 2016)
  • Interview with Tania Ramoudt (14 december 2016)
  • Interview with Jan Verlinden (15 december 2016)