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During the Second World War, Belgium and Northern France were placed under the supervision of a German Military Administration with a complex hierarchical structure and numerous departments and services, each of which was responsible for controlling or influencing a particular aspect of life under German occupation. The German Military Propaganda Department Belgium (Propagan- da-Abteilung Belgien, PAB) was tasked to control the media and to oversee every cultural aspect of occupied Belgium and North- ern France. Mainly composed of German specialists, the offices of the PAB had a significant influence over diverse sectors such as cinema, theatre, literature, music, and visual arts. Several scholars have looked into some activities of the PAB, but so far there has been no overarching and comparative analysis of the aims and the methods of the PAB. This article partially fills this void by shedding light on the PAB's policy towards "cultures of spectacle", with a focus on theatre, cinema, concerts, and cabarets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

War zones are often referred to as a 'theatres of war', large-scale military conflicts described as 'spectacles of war'. This seems to hold the promise of a spectacle taking place. This experience has been the subject of ample historic research as well as fictional representations in novels, films, plays... In this introductory article (and by extension in this special issue) we ask a different question: what happened to theatres and spectacles during wars? How were theatrical performances, concerts, screenings, and illustrated lectures shaped by the war and how did the war affect their audiences? On cultural stages actors, musicians, dancers, and lecturers met; films were screened, plays and concerts performed. We refer to 'cultures of spectacle', an umbrella term we will use for live performances and screenings that took place in front of an audience that physically gathered in one space in order to attend a cultural event. In this article, we do not only argue for comparative research between different types of spectacle but also between different time periods. More concretely we propose to look at cultures of spectacle during the two German occupations of Belgium during both the First World War (1914-1918) and the Second World War (1940-1944). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many articles and books discuss film stars of the so-called 'Third Reich', the movies they played in and/or the ways in which such stars supported by the National-Socialist regime, by attending social events, supporting Winterhilfe or performing for German troops. This article expands that focus by looking at the ways in which German film stars were deployed to target foreign audiences. Within the context of his ongoing research on the German reorganisation of the Belgian film sector (1940-1944), the author reconstructs the visits that several famous actors or directors (Marika Rökk, Georg Jacoby, Heinz Rühmann, Hertha Feiler, Zarah Leander, Ilse Werner, Hans Steinhoff and Heinrich George) paid to German-occupied Belgium (1940-1944). This reconstruction demonstrates that such visits were welcomed by the German propaganda service in Belgium (Propaganda- Abteilung Belgien), but, all in all, were rarely and sometimes rather hastily organised. The propaganda service and the Belgian branches of the German film distributors Ufa and Tobis seem to have failed to develop a consistent strategy of using German film stars as cultural agents. By extension, the German film producers/distributors do not seem to have developed a similar strategy for (occupied) Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents information about the newsreels showed at cinema presentations in Belgium during World War II. It is noted that the newsreels were provided by the German ministry for cultural education and propaganda, the Reichsministerium für Volksaufklärung und Propaganda (RMVP). Distinctions are drawn between the German weekly newsreel Deutsche Wochenschau (DW) and the RMVP reels broadcast in Belgium. Further comments are provided concerning the Belgian populace's response to German propaganda.

The article presents information about the historical development of Flemish television news in Belgium. Note is taken of related research performed by international media historians Lieve Desmet and Roel Vande Winkel. Descriptions are given of the preservation of some audiovisual and recorded news material, as well as of reasons why other material has been destroyed or lost because of structural changes or personal decisions on the part of archivists. Further comments are included regarding the similarities between Flemish and French news broadcasting from the 20th century.

The article discusses the history of news film reports from Belgium during the period between World War I and World War II. Note is taken of the disappearance in 1994 of a Belgian newsreel called "Belgavox." Belgian film history is described in terms of its relationship to the greater international history of film. The article also discusses the establishment of a central Belgian newsreel in the middle of the 20th century, after the country's history of reliance on foreign news footage for the creation of newsreel material.

The article presents an introduction to this issue on the development of audio-visual news programs in Belgium, including newsreels shown in Belgian cinemas, the history of television news in Dutch and French, and the impact of World War II on Belgian post-war news programing.

The article introduces the issue by taking note of its central theme which is the history of news films in Belgium, including comments on German-produced newsreels shown in Belgian cinemas, the history of news television reports, and the impact of World War II on Belgian broadcasting.