The Netherlands remained neutral during the First World War. However, this doesn't mean it doesn't see the effects of war. Herman Lugt shows us this in his painting The Registration of Belgian Refugees in the Amsterdam Stock Exchange, 1914. What is this painting telling us? This painting was chosen as the polyphonic object for the first edition of AMJournal on War, Conflict, and the City.  

Art brings up different feelings and ideas for everyone. That's why AMJournal asked a sociologist, a historian, and an art historian to interpret this painting, to see what it might teach us.

Dr. Anita Böcker of sociology explains: “Amsterdam and other cities in the Netherlands and Western Europe have had to accommodate war refugees repeatedly over the centuries. It will be no different in the future. We can learn from our experiences with the mass influx of Ukrainians today and the Belgian war refugees over a century ago to improve the reception of other groups of refugees now and in the future.”

“More is needed to face the challenge of such a magnitude. After the initial enthusiasm only 2,500 Belgian refugees were to stay in Amsterdam until the end of the war,” says historian dr Jan Lucassen.

Family ties and international relations may have led to this painting being commissioned. Dr Judith van Gent explains how this painting may have come about.

AMJournal is a scientific journal that is published twice yearly on the Amsterdam Museum website. Every edition researches a theme through different lenses and disciplines. The first edition looks at the effects of war and conflict on urban spaces. These stories exhibit parts of the polyphonic object.