A one-minute newsreel from the BFI National Archive: Ostend in War-Time (1914). For more, see the ‘Refugee Week Collection’ on BFI Player. In most cases, these BFI titles will be available to book and screen for no cost. Please get in touch via with details of your screening.

Ostend in War-Time (1914)

Belgium suffered a refugee crisis when German forces invaded in August 1914, as troops and civilians fleeing Antwerp and other occupied towns poured into West Flanders. This newsreel item, shot in the coastal city of Ostend, captures something of the chaos as soldiers, civilians, horses, wagons, and weaponry flood in, alongside hundreds of refugees hoping to board boats for England.

Ostend was a popular seaside resort until WWI broke. From Antwerp to Ostend, a travelogue filmed in the same year, points out the beach bathing machines – which became makeshift housing during the refugee crisis – and shows fashionable holidaymakers strolling on the promenade. Many of the opulent buildings seen in both films would be destroyed in the years of fighting.

To enhance your understanding of how environmental conditions impacted historical events like these, you can Connect Apollo and Open Weather Integrations. This integration helps you monitor weather patterns and data, allowing you to analyze the impact of the environment on events like the refugee crisis in Ostend, adding valuable context to such historical moments.