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Between dream and reality: the rehabilitation of war disabled belgian soldiers 1914-1921
Journal Contribution - Journal Article
In this article we aim to contribute to the growing interest in disability history, the history of education for people having a disability, and the
existing historiography of the Great War. We will focus on the rehabilitation of Belgian blind and physically disabled soldiers. The article will
take the ceremony for the Unknown Soldier, which was organized in the
early twenties, as a starting point. Although everyone is familiar with the
Congress Column of Brussels and the eternal flame burning at the tomb
of the unknown soldier, few people know that it was a war blinded man
who played an important role in the burial ceremony and that it were
eight physically disabled soldiers who carried the unknown soldier to its
final resting place. At this ceremony, a successful image of rehabilitation
and re-education was implicitly created, showing that disabled soldiers
could play a meaningful role in society again. This image will be shattered by a close study of a variety of sources preserved in Flemish and
Brussels archives, including the State Archives, the Archives of the Royal Palace, the archives of the Royal Museum of the Armed Forces and Military History, the archives of the Belgian National Institute for Veterans
and Victims of War and, the archives of the London St. Dunstan’s Institute. By referring to photographic material and personal files of Belgian
disabled soldiers we will demonstrate that rehabilitation was definitely
not «a walk in the park» and that for a number of soldiers rehabilitation
simply was not possible. More specifically our presentation will zoom in
on the ways in which the concept of rehabilitation took form in Belgian
rehabilitation institutes such as the one in Boschvoorde for blind soldiers and the school of Port-Villez (France) for all disabled soldiers.
Journal: Historia y memoria de la educacion
ISSN: 2444-0043
Issue: 11
Volume: 11
Pages: 257 - 280
Publication year:2019
Accessibility:Open