The national rail museum Train World has opened the exhibition entitled “Belgian Railways under occupation: between collaboration and resistance”. The exhibition sheds light on a dark chapter in the history of the Belgian rail company NMBS. NMBS says that the aim of the exhibition is to ensure that the role played by NMBS during the Second World War is never forgotten.
The exhibition tells visitors the story of Belgian Railways (NMBS) from just before Nazi Germany's invasion of Belgium in 1940 to its Germany’s capitulation to the Allies in May 1945. As Belgium’s largest employer and a key hub for transport and industry, NMBS was soon under the control of the occupying German forces. The Germans used the railways to move soldiers, weapons, political prisoners and deportees to Germany and the Eastern Front.
Caught between collaboration and resistance, NMBS adopted what it describes as being a "policy of the lesser evil."
The Director of Train World Thierry Denuit told the press agency Belga that "The story of NMBS is a story of being between collaboration and resistance. Mr Denuit characterises the stance of the rail company during the occupation as being “a grey area”.
"At the beginning of the occupation, the Germans almost immediately took charge of the company’s operations.".
Visitors to the exhibition can also follow the further course taken by NMBS during the occupation. There are large sections of the exhibition devoted to deportations and to resistance against the occupying forces.
Educational value
An extensive range of teaching materials, lectures, testimonies and documentation on the railways under German occupation are linked to the exhibition. Classes from more than 300 school across Belgium have scheduled visits.
“Pupils can use packages containing educational material to reflect on individual responsibility and the responsibility of the company itself. This enables them to really get a grip on the whole story."
The exhibition came about as result of academic research into NMBS' role in deportations and transportation of prisoners during the Second World War. The rail company is also cooperating with Kazerne Dossin, from where Jews and Romani that had been arrested by the Germans were sent to concentration camps. The aim is to keep this dark chapter in our history alive.
The exhibition runs until the end of June 2026 and is free for visitors under the age of 18.