Who we are

A group of young people, a tape recorder and the memory of ordinary people: that is how it began.

In the 1960s, Jan Hardeman recorded a few conversations on tape. The fascinating stories of Marie Beck and Oscar Ricour from Dranouter left no one unmoved. For the young people who listened to these stories on 11 November 1977, the Great War became a story about people. People who worked and had fun, who made plans for their future, who had a sweetheart, married and had children. People like themselves. People who were completely unexpectedly overwhelmed by a war that would turn their whole existence upside down.

They were moved. So they went to visit men and women who had lived through the war. Once trust had been built, they took a small tape recorder along. That is how an important sound archive came into being. On 11 November 1977, the 11 November Group (Elfnovembergroep) was founded.

Out of those testimonies grew the book Van den Grooten Oorlog, published on 11 November 1978. The people’s play Nooit brengt een oorlog vrede (Never Does a War Bring Peace), inspired by the same stories, premiered on the same day. In the following years came exhibitions, lectures and, in 2015, the Memorial Garden for Refugees in Westouter, so that we do not forget that so many people here are children or grandchildren of refugees.

In his book “De Stilte van de Salient” (Lannoo, 2005), the historian Johan Meire devoted a chapter to the 11 November Group: Een keerpunt in de streek (A turning point in the region).

Since the voluntary dissolution of the 11 November Group on 22 July 2020, Malegijs vzw, the publisher of all editions, has continued the work.

Now we are bringing the testimonies back to life in a series of short films based on the stories in the book. That way, young people today also hear the voices of those who lived through the war.