FEAR IN THE CITY. The imposition of forced labour in the staging area in October 1916 had a huge impact on the local communities. A growing labour shortage compelled the occupiers to requisition a large number of males, generally adopting a heavy-handed approach to do so, while the victims were allowed very little time to prepare for their departure. Once they arrived at their place of work – frequently to the rear of the German front – these men started to live a terrible ordeal owing to the gruelling work, the shortage of food and the unhygienic conditions. A lot of them did not survive their deportation.

During a first summons, on 16 October 1916, roughly 600 men were assembled and taken away. They were incorporated into “Zivilarbeiter Bataillon” (‘ZAB’) in the French city Le Cateau. A second requisition took place on 9 November 1916. Once again the German soldiers arrested 600 men and took them off to some warehouses close to the station. They were also taken to a camp in France, near to Onville. Smaller roundups were subsequently made during which the Germans took away 10 to 20 men each time.

DEPORTEES’ DISTRICTS. A map of Aalst dating back to the 1914-18 period shows where the forced labourers came from. Most of the victims lived on the outskirts of the city. Working class districts emerged quickly in the 19th century as a result of the booming textile industry. This was particularly true on the right bank of the river Dendre. Roughly 275 men from the Moorselbaan – Groenstraat – Binnenstraat were taken away. Some houses had as many as two males who were deported.

Similar situations existed in the western part of the city, in the Sint-Job district, and in the northern area, near Ledebaan. In the working class district close to Guldenboomplein, which had a hundred or so houses spread amongst four alleys, 40 men were deported.