SOUTH-EAST-FLANDERS ----- ZUID-OOST-VLAANDEREN
FLEMISH ARDENNES ----- VLAAMSE ARDENNEN
FLANDERS - BELGIUM ----- VLAANDEREN - BELGIE
Next page Former Page Historical Overview Homepage Created 2001/03/17 |
1918 - 1965 Post-war reconstruction of Belgium was subsidized by the American Marshall Plan for Europe. It was a politically turbulent period. Main political question of the time was the return of the abroad residing Belgian king, Leopold III. Though a referendum on March 12, 1950, showed that 57% of the population was in favour of a return, the affair ended ultimately with the abdication of King Leopold III in favour of his twenty year old son, Boudewijn (Baudouin). During the 1950's, Belgian politics was focused on the educational system. Ideological differences between Catholics and free-thinkers caused some political turbulences. On June 13, 1955, Minister Collard, education minister in a cabinet formed by Labour and Liberals, introduced a law cutting back on subsidies for Catholic junior high and high schools. Those subsidies had been introduced by a former, entirely Christen Democratic government. The "Collard Law" led to a so-called "school battle", resulting in a compromise in 1958, the so-called "school pact". Differences of opinion between the French and Dutch speaking parts of Belgium led on November 1, 1963, to the introduction of the so-called "language border". A law defined which parts of Belgium were Dutch speaking (Flanders) and which French speaking (Wallonia). In 1948, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxemburg created a customs union, the Benelux. After that, Belgium co-founded several international organizations : the Organization for European Economic Cooperation (EEC - 1948), replaced by the European Economic Community in 1958, the Council of Europe (1948), the European Community for Steel and Coal (ECSC- 1952), the European Atomic Energy Agency (Euratom - 1958), the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD - 1960) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), among others. In 1960, Congo, Belgium's colony since 1908, became independent. Cooperation between labour and employers' unions led to the creation of a social law system and social security. The agricultural sector saw its employment level decreasing to 5% of the labour population by 1965, though its share of national production remained at a same level as before. A continued mechanization, an increasing use of fertilizers, more cattle breeding and land consolidations formed the basis for a strong productivity increase in the primary sector. In South-East-Flanders, national research institutes for plant diseases, small live stock, agricultural know how, ornamental plant cultivation, cattle feeding, dairy and plant improvement were established in the towns of Merelbeke, Oosterzele and Melle. The blooming service sector more than compensated the relative decline of the industrial sector in Belgium. In 1956, a highway between Brussels and Oostende was inaugurated. The World Exposition in Brussels welcomed 41 million visitors in 1958. In 1961, the so-called "Union Law" (Dutch : Eenheidswet) promoted regional economic expansion in Belgium, favouring regions economically lacking behind. The number of cars in Belgium reached 900,000 by 1960 and continued to increase with 50,000 pieces a year. Local social life was still much centered around the many village pubs, local associations, and movie theaters popping up in even the smallest village. By 1965, however, television started to make inroads into local social life. Source: Koenraad DE WOLF, Architectuurgids Zuid-Oost-Vlaanderen. Art Deco en Modernisme (1918-1965), Zottegem, 2000, p. 8. (English translation: Architectural Guide of South-East-Flanders. From Art Deco to Modernism (1918 - 1965). |
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