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Hello Eupen, are you ready?

7.09.2022
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‘Hello Eupen, Hubert Jenniges, are you ready?’ said a female voice before the Brussels studio of Belgian Radio handed over to journalist Hubert Jenniges, who began the live broadcast from the Council of the German Cultural Community by saying, ‘Ladies and gentlemen, today, 23 October [author’s note 1973], the German language and cultural community is reaching a very important stage on the road to cultural autonomy. Today, on this cool October day, we here in Eupen and you, ladies and gentlemen outside at the loudspeakers, will witness the first constituent meeting of the newly created Council of the German Cultural Community’ (1).

On 23 October 1973, the Council of the German Cultural Community was established (Photo: Archives of the Parliament of the German-speaking Community, 1973).
On 23 October 1973, the Council of the German Cultural Community was established (Photo: Archives of the Parliament of the German-speaking Community, 1973).

But was Eupen ready? Opinions differed on this. Michel Louis, a liberal senator (1968-1971) and veterinarian from Sankt Vith, was firmly convinced that the German-speaking Belgians were very much ready. In the Senate, he called for far-reaching powers for the Council of the German Cultural Community. He also suggested enshrining the Council, its powers and its mode of election in the Constitution so that they could not be abolished by a simple parliamentary act of law.

Willy Schyns, a christian-democratic MP from Kelmis, took the opposing view: ‘I simply cannot imagine that the cultural council for our area should be directly elected by the people [sic]. Certainly, one may see this possibility as a very democratic formula, but if one takes into account the peculiarity of our region and if one also takes into account the history of our region with all the pros and cons that have taken place in the region in the last 50 years, then I think that one does a very bad service to the German-speaking region in Belgium if one says: the people should elect the members of the Cultural Council themselves.’ (2)

The Socialist Party (PS), often represented by Germaine Copée-Gerbinet from Verviers, was also opposed to election and far-reaching powers of the Council.

Schyns and the PS ultimately had to give in under pressure from the young Eifel Christian-democratic sections and the strengthening PDB (autonomist) competition. Johann Weynand was sworn in as the first president of the Council of the German Cultural Community on that chilly 23 October 1973. The autonomy of the German-speaking Belgians had arrived. The future showed: Eupen was prepared to learn – and ready.

Vitus Sproten

From ZVS, 2017/10, pp. 227-228.

(1): Sound archive of the BRF: Installation of the Council of the German-speaking Cultural Community Part 1/2, B1RM_0033, 23 October 1973.

(2): Sound archive of the BRF: Reaction of CSP MP Willy Schyns to this endorsement (election German Cultural Council), B1RM_0005, 4 mai 1970.

Further reading:

Christoph Brüll, Freddy Cremer und Werner Mießen, „Hilf dir selbst, so hilft dir Gott!“ Verzerrende Geschichtsbilder und fehlendes Selbstbewusstsein, in Carlo Lejeune, Christoph Brüll (Hg.), Grenzerfahrungen. Eine Geschichte der Deutschsprachigen Gemeinschaft Belgiens, Bd. 5: Säuberung, Wiederaufbau, Autonomiediskussionen (1945-1973), Eupen 2014, pp. 46-104.

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