Veerle Vanden Daelen. Collection

Kazerne Dossin Research Centre This collection contains a 1939 political map of Europe, reflecting the significant territorial changes that occurred following the German annexations of Austria, Czechoslovakia, and the invasion of Poland at the outset of World War II. The map, likely used in Belgian schools, illustrates the redrawn borders in Central and Eastern Europe, including the incorporation of Austria into the German Reich (Anschluss), the disintegration of Czechoslovakia, and the partitioning of Poland between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union under the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. The map serves as a primary historical document, providing insight into how educational materials were updated to reflect the rapidly shifting geopolitical landscape of Europe in 1939. It also offers a window into how Belgian students were introduced to the growing dominance of Nazi Germany and the erasure of certain independent nations. Contact Kazerne Dossin Research Centre: archives@kazernedossin.eu In 1939, after the German invasion of Poland and the earlier annexations of Austria and Czechoslovakia, schools in Belgium, like elsewhere in Europe, were required to update their maps to reflect the new political borders. These changes included the incorporation of Austria into Germany (Anschluss) in 1938, the partitioning of Czechoslovakia, and the division of Poland between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union following the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. Maps distributed in schools now showed an expanded German Reich and the elimination of Poland as an independent state. These updates were necessary to align with the rapidly changing geopolitical realities of Europe as World War II began, with Belgium still maintaining its official neutrality at this time.