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The Vlaamsche Hoogeschool (Dutch; "Flemish Academy"), commonly known as the von Bissing University (Dutch: von-Bissinguniversiteit), was a Dutch-speaking university in Ghent established in German-occupied Belgium in October 1916. The university, which was separate from the existing Ghent University, formed part of the German Flamenpolitik and was a response to the long-established grievance of the Flemish Movement which campaigned against Ghent University's curriculum being taught only in French, despite the university being located in a majority Dutch-speaking region. The institution took its informal name from Moritz von Bissing, the German Governor-General of Belgium from 1914 to 1917, who was one of the chief proponents of the Flamenpolitik.
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Background
Before the outbreak of World War I, the almost universal language of higher education across Belgium was French. This was because French had historically been privileged as the language of the Belgian government and the upper classes across the country. In the late 19th century, however, the emerging Flemish Movement (Vlaamse Beweging) attacked the use of French in majority Dutch-speaking Flanders. In the years before the World War I, the movement had achieved de jure legal equality for Dutch as an official national language, but the issue was still contentious at the outbreak of war in August 1914. In particular, the language used in higher education was still being highlighted by the Flemish Movement, as French remained the only language of instruction in all Belgian universities. At the outbreak of war, it appeared that Ghent University, located in the Flemish city of Ghent, would be forced by law to begin teaching in Dutch by 1915, but the outbreak of war and German invasion of Belgium stopped any realization of this objective.
In German-occupied Belgium, Governor-general Moritz von Bissing sought to make the territory easier to govern by exploiting pre-war linguistic divisions. The Flamenpolitik ("Flemish policy") was launched in 1916 and was also influenced by Pan-German beliefs. In particular, since the issue of Ghent University was already contentious, the German administration hoped to legitimize itself and at the same time to discredit the Belgian state.
University
The university was opened officially on 3 October 1916 with Peter Hoffmann as rector, with around 40 academics. The German mathematician, Walther von Dyck, was put in charge of the project. Von Dyck strongly believed that the university would defend Germany's strategic and military interests, describing it as "a mighty fortress, a trusty shield and a weapon for us Germans."
The university opened its doors on 24 October 1916. It faced opposition from current students at Ghent University, and also was condemned by a petition signed by 38 leading Flemish movement figures delivered before its opening. Among the academics was the lawyer Lodewijk Dosfel and the activist Hippoliet Meert. Among the original students was the Flemish Movement activist Wies Moens. It was considerably smaller than the University of Ghent, which had more than 1,200 students in each year before the war. By contrast, Von Bissing university never had more than 400 students in each year at its height.
Reception and legacy
The university itself is considered by historians to have failed to achieve its aims. It failed to gain wide support from across Flemish Movement, particularly since some of the early supporters, including the historian Paul Fredericq who had campaigned for Dutch language instruction, had been imprisoned. It was equally resented by many French-speaking academics. This, however, did not stop the continuation of the Flamenpolitik by the German administration, which led to the creation of the Raad Van Vlaanderen ("Council of Flanders" or RVV; a quasi-independent Flemish government) in February 1917.
Although the Flemish Movement had campaigned for the "Flemishization" (flamandisation) of Ghent University, many within the movement were divided about whether accepting the university would be collaboration and some students passively resisted it. The establishment of the university created a rupture within the Flemish Movement between the "Activists" (activisten) who supported the German initiatives and the "Passivists" (passivisten) who opposed any form of collaboration with the Germans. After the end of the war, in 1930, Ghent University became Dutch speaking following continued agitation by the Flemish Movement.
Von Bissing University featured in the Belgian 2014 miniseries In Vlaamse Velden ("In Flanders' Fields") produced by VRT. In it, one of the protagonists, Philippe Boesman (played by Wim Opbrouck), tries and fails to get tenure at the university as an academic gynaecologist.