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From Antwerp to Ostend

On the brink of invasion, holidaymakers promenade while refugees shelter in beach huts on the Belgian coastline in 1914.

Travelogue 1914 5 mins Silent

Overview

The summer of 1913 saw the last big bash of the belle Γ©poque at the World's Fair in Ghent, advertised in the background of this film. One year on, Germany's invasion of neutral Belgium brought the world's attention back to a very different scene. This topical travelogue clings nervously to the coast, while the promenading and larks in the sea are contrasted with the refugees in beach huts.