International Chair for the History of the Second World War: Taking History Personnaly by Vincent Stuer

Jean-Benoît PILET, Doyen de la Faculté de Philosophie et Sciences sociales,
Thomas BERNS, vice-Doyen de la Faculté de Philosophie et Sciences sociales,
Laurent BAVAY, Président du Département d’Histoire, Arts et Archéologie,
Pieter LAGROU, Professeur d’Histoire et responsable académique de la chaire,
Baudouin VELGE, représentant du fonds baron Jean-Charles Velge,

ont l'honneur de vous inviter à la leçon inaugurale de la
 

CHAIRE INTERNATIONALE D’HISTOIRE DE LA DEUXIÈME GUERRE MONDIALE
2025-2026

International Chair for the History of the Second World War / Internationale Leerstoel voor de Geschiedenis van de Tweede Wereldoorlog

Taking History Personnaly

by Vincent Stuer

Spokesman of the Renew Europe group in the European Parliament

Writer, playwright and political aide

Monday 8 December 2025 at 6:30PM
Auditorium R42.5.503 (DRION)

The opening lecture will be followed by the Baron VELGE Award and a reception in the Coin Culture (Av. Paul Héger, Building U).

The International Chair for the History of the second World War organizes annually a series of lectures by a historian who has distinguished her or himself by his or her recent contributions to the field. The Chair has consistently taken pride in honoring scholars who went against the grain with innovative interpretations and endeavored to show that the history of the last global conflict also allows us to understand the contemporary world. The list of laureates of the previous 12 editions highlights this (Timothy Snyder, Tsuyoshi Hasegawa, Filippo Focardi, Andrii Portnov, Kerstin von Lingen, Pawel Machcewicz, Florent Brayard, Philippe Sands, Giorgos Antoniou, Claire Andrieu, Phillips Payson O’Brien, Raz Segal).
For its thirteenth edition, The International Chair for the History of the second World War at the Université Libre de Bruxelles welcomes Vincent Stuer who is a Belgian writer, playwright and political aide, currently spokesman of the Renew Europe group in the European Parliament.
He is the author of ‘Unsung’ (KVS/Skagen, 2017, with Valentijn Dhaenens), a monologue about the psychology of politicians; ‘Hoogmoed’, the biography of a fascist who ends up in the resistance (B&L 2020); and non-fictions books, ‘Kleinstaterij!’ (Bezige Bij, 2014) and ‘Curb your Idealism—the EU as seen from within’ (ASP/VUB Press, 2018), both tracing the history of the European idea and its relevance for contemporary politics.
The starting point for the lecture series is ‘Rexit’, his book about the Belgian royal question of 1940-50, which he adapted for the stage with actors Bruno Vanden Broecke and Valentijn Dhaenens (B&L/KVS, 2024).
In Leopold vs. Spaak: Taking history personally (8 December) Vincent explains his decision to recount the country’s wartime and postwar events through the double perspective of Leopold III and his foreign minister, Paul-Henri Spaak. If form follows function, he argues, literary techniques and theatrical tools have a lot to offer to the historian, though they come with plenty of risks attached. Because the way we tell our stories has far-reaching implications for more fundamental personal and political questions: What is history, and what is it for?
Free admission - REGISTRATION REQUESTED
The inaugural lesson will be followed by three other lessons :
Monday 16 February, 6PM – Venue to be confirmed
When the facts change, I change my mind

Monday 23 March, 6PM - Venue to be confirmed
The people versus democracy

Monday 30 March, 6PM - Venue to be confirmed
Remember to forget

PLAN ULB - ACCÈS : Campus du SOLBOSCH
INFORMATIONS : phisoc.ulb.be
CONTACT : com.phisoc@ulb.be
Chaire organisée pour la treizième fois par la Faculté de Philosophie et Sciences sociales de l’ULB, grâce à la générosité de feu le Baron Jean-Charles VELGE, décédé le 29 mai 2010, qui tenait à honorer la mémoire de Jean Vanwelkenhuyzen, historien de la Deuxième Guerre Mondiale.