‘A Modern Liberation’. Belgium and the Start of the American Century, 1944-1946

The historiography of the liberation of Belgium traditionally focuses on military operations and the first enthusiastic encounters with Allied troops in September 1944. In reality, however, Allied forces remained stationed on Belgian soil until late in 1945, causing relations to be much more complex...

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Main Author: Peter Schrijvers
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: European Association for American Studies
Series:European Journal of American Studies
Online Access:https://journals.openedition.org/ejas/9695
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author Peter Schrijvers
author_facet Peter Schrijvers
author_sort Peter Schrijvers
collection DOAJ
description The historiography of the liberation of Belgium traditionally focuses on military operations and the first enthusiastic encounters with Allied troops in September 1944. In reality, however, Allied forces remained stationed on Belgian soil until late in 1945, causing relations to be much more complex than is generally remembered. This paper examines the American presence in Belgium, both in terms of waves of admiration and currents of discontent, and concludes that, despite their mixed reception, American troops more than any others came to represent a ‘modern’ liberation creating rising expectations
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spelling doaj.art-1f727c833330494499411b02b88066032024-02-14T13:22:17ZengEuropean Association for American StudiesEuropean Journal of American Studies1991-93367210.4000/ejas.9695‘A Modern Liberation’. Belgium and the Start of the American Century, 1944-1946Peter SchrijversThe historiography of the liberation of Belgium traditionally focuses on military operations and the first enthusiastic encounters with Allied troops in September 1944. In reality, however, Allied forces remained stationed on Belgian soil until late in 1945, causing relations to be much more complex than is generally remembered. This paper examines the American presence in Belgium, both in terms of waves of admiration and currents of discontent, and concludes that, despite their mixed reception, American troops more than any others came to represent a ‘modern’ liberation creating rising expectationshttps://journals.openedition.org/ejas/9695
spellingShingle Peter Schrijvers
‘A Modern Liberation’. Belgium and the Start of the American Century, 1944-1946
European Journal of American Studies
title ‘A Modern Liberation’. Belgium and the Start of the American Century, 1944-1946
title_full ‘A Modern Liberation’. Belgium and the Start of the American Century, 1944-1946
title_fullStr ‘A Modern Liberation’. Belgium and the Start of the American Century, 1944-1946
title_full_unstemmed ‘A Modern Liberation’. Belgium and the Start of the American Century, 1944-1946
title_short ‘A Modern Liberation’. Belgium and the Start of the American Century, 1944-1946
title_sort a modern liberation belgium and the start of the american century 1944 1946
url https://journals.openedition.org/ejas/9695
work_keys_str_mv AT peterschrijvers amodernliberationbelgiumandthestartoftheamericancentury19441946