author
Léon van der Essen
1883–1963
A Belgian historian and professor at the Catholic University of Leuven, he wrote widely on Belgian history and became known beyond academia when he testified at the Nuremberg trials about the German occupation of Belgium. His work brings together scholarship, national history, and the upheavals of twentieth-century Europe.
1 Audiobook
A short history of Belgium
by Léon van der Essen
About the author
Born in 1883, Léon van der Essen was a Belgian historian who taught at the Catholic University of Leuven. He specialized in the history of Belgium and built a reputation as a careful scholar and academic teacher.
He wrote a number of historical works, including studies intended to make Belgian history accessible to a wider audience. His career linked university scholarship with public history, helping readers place Belgium's past in a broader European setting.
Van der Essen is also remembered for his role after the Second World War: in 1946, he testified at the Nuremberg trials about the German occupation of Belgium, and sources note that he was the only Belgian witness called. He died in 1963.