Brussels (The Brussels Morning Newspaper): From September 3 to 5 the Cinema Vendôme in Ixelles will showcase four documentaries celebrating the liberation of Brussels on September 3 1944 featuring Patricia Niedzwiecki’s extensive collection of European Resistance stories
The Ixelles Cinema Vendôme will feature four documentaries showcasing the European resistance memory from September 3 to 5. Its to honour this crucial historical event Allied forces entered Brussels on September 3, 1944 including British, American and Canadian soldiers who freed the city after four years of German occupation during World War II. This liberation was an important turning point in the war for Belgium as it was finally liberated from enemy hands. Only five days later the return of Belgian government signified a restoration of sovereignty and commencement of rebuilding process following the series of struggles caused by occupation.
What Stories of European resistance did Patricia Niedzwiecki uncover?
Patricia Niedzwiecki is a French filmmaker who spent twenty five years of her life listening to firsthand accounts of people who were part of the European Resistance during World War II and trying to collect thirty hours of them on film. She has managed to gather some unique video footage and emblematic pictures from that time period. The vast documentations serve as an invaluable archive preserving the experience and efforts made by those who opposed subjugation and fascism at this turning point in the history of Europe.
The filmmaker was approached by around thirty people who have since passed away after reading an article that described how Niedzwieckis father survived a concentration camp. In an effort to further explore the European Resistance movements during World War II they each had their own personal narratives to offer.
