Publisher's Synopsis
On 11 November 1918 the guns on the Western Front finally fell silent. In this insightful book, some of Belgium's most renowned historians explain how their country struggled back to its feet after four long years of wartime misery. Many towns and villages had been razed to the ground, factories had been plundered, and harbour installations destroyed. Unemployment was at unprecedented levels, there was an acute shortage of food, and sickness and disease weakened the population. This thoughtful series of essays by leading military, political and social historians chart the immense toll the war took on all aspects of Belgian life, and explore how post-war economic and social changes ushered in the Roaring Twenties; the colourful, frivolous, flamboyant and turbulent decade that was characterised by the rise of the avant-garde, jazz, flapper dresses, and the emergence of modern media such as radio, film and photography. Published to accompany an exhibition organised by the War Heritage Institute at the Royal Museum of the Armed Forces and Military HIstory in Brussels - 21 September, 2018 - 11 October, 2019.
