von Bissing | 2014-18.brussels

Moritz von Bissing, general governor of Belgium, visited the Brussels Fine Arts Museum. The German initiatives in the fields of art, theatre and music were particularly numerous during the war. Intended for the entertainment of the German colony, these had also another mission: through the display of cultural refinement, the occupier intended to change its image of “barbaric Germany” and thereby consolidate its hegemony over the country.

German culture in Brussels was an instrument of propaganda. The occupier intended to win over the population, particularly the Flemish community. By exploiting the linguistic disputes, the Germans endorsed a Flamenpolitik, namely through an unprecedented support to Flemish literature. Political and military ambitions had consequences in the cultural field. At the era of total war, the battle was waged on all fronts.