Children Of The Resistance

During the second World War tens of thousands of Belgians joined the resistance against the Nazi's. Their children bear witness about this war period. What is it that their parents did, why did they join the resistance and what danger did they face? Did they realise the risk they took and what the impact could be on their family? These children remember the war period vividly. How they needed to stay silent about what they saw and heard at home, how afraid they were that the acts of resistance of their fathers or mothers would be discovered. Many resistance members were taken prisoner by the Germans. Even after 75 years, the children remember these arrests as if it were yesterday. Some witnesses never saw their father of mother again. Today they look back: was it worth it? And what feelings prevail: pride in their actions? Or bitterness about the irreplacable loss?

In the fifties and sixties, former resistance fighters unite and try to weigh in on the public debate. They fought for strict punishment of collaborators and recognition for their own acts of resistance. Later they vigorously opposed the plans to grant amnesty to collaborators. The fact that these collaborators are making themselves heard more and more often is not welcomed in resistance circles. The more years it takes, the more difficult it becomes for former resistance fighters to make their voices heard. The memory of what they did during the war is fading. Myths are created that are tarnishing the image of the resistance. In the 1970s there was a haze of adventurism, banditry and crime surrounding the resistance. Many members of the resistance are embittered by the skewed memory of their actions.

The Second World War is now 75 years behind us, but for the children of resistance fighters it is still present every day. The war marked their lives. Their social and civic commitment is linked to the past and many continue their parents' fight against extremism today. Many children of the resistance are concerned about the legacy of their parents' actions. They look at current affairs through these glasses and have strong opinions about them. But above all, one message always comes to the fore: never forget.