National Content: Belgium
In front of the bombings horror.
The French Cardinals call the English and American Episcopate for help.
| Source | “ La Province de Namur ”, the 15th of May 1944, page 1. |
| Event referred to | Cities bombing during World War II |
| Technological characteristics | Type of file : image Extension : pdf Characteristics Dimension of the file: 1818 Ko Availability proposed: pdf document with zoom options |
| Description of the source | Kind of source: Daily newspaper Origin of the source: Archives of the Public Library of Namur (Belgium) Language: French Copyright issues: full availability |
| Contextualisation of the source | “La Province de Namur” was a regional daily newspaper distributed in the Namur district, controlled by the Germans. It has been published from the 17th of August 1940 till the 31th of August 1944. It was the regional edition of the daily newspaper “La Gazette de Charleroi” which was authorized by the German authorities. Before the war, it was a newspaper of middle-left and anticlerical trend. It disappeared after the war. |
| Interpretation of the source | It is true that populations in the towns and industrial centers were much more hit by the Anglo-American air raids. The town of Namur and surrounding areas and villages were historically and for the most part catholic. German propaganda uses the religious feelings of the population in order to create hostile reactions towards the Allies, to justify itself by an argument of authority, and to reinforce itself, even if the bishops condemn those horrors… |
| Original Contents | |
| Original Contents (English Translation) | In front of the bombings horror... In the present time, the intensifying air raids on France, our homeland, fill our hearts with sadness and anguish. Almost every day we are witnesses, ourselves and our Episcopate’s colleagues, of the cruel ravages made by the Allies air raids in the civilian population. Thousands of men, women and children, absolutely not involved in the war, are killed or hurt, and their homes are destroyed.(...) On behalf of so many victims, who beg for mercy, we dare to earnestly ask you to intercede with your respective governments so that civil populations of France are saved as far as it is possible.(...) Venerated Brothers, we ask Our Lord Jesus-Christ your heart to be moved about sufferings we mention. |