Town Crier | 2014-18.brussels

Men, women and children gather to hear a public crier in Schaerbeek. This trade, which had already disappeared from the streets before the war and only persisted in remote towns, returned to Brussels with the German occupation. Walking with their bell, they proclaimed news from one square to another. In this way, they communicated official proclamations, but also practical information, like the price of the fish at the Halles. An information channel which replaced another, since the pre-war press had been dismantled.

With German invasion, most newspapers disappeared from the Brussels newsstands. Pre-war press directors preferred to quit than to work under German censure. In the following months, however, the situation changed: new titles appeared, claiming the need for information and the restoration of national economy. Since there was no other choice, these newspapers sold very well. Most people nevertheless read them with a strong sense of distrust: they knew that German censure controlled all information, and that this press had to be read between the lines.