Remembering the Ghent Orphan Houses: A Never-Ending Contested Space

Our study of Ghent orphanages as a closed space initially led to a (re) construction of this educational site by contextualizing it in time and space. Through oral history research we found that the history of the Ghent orphan houses is still very much alive. Now, the former orphans control and manage the passing on and remembrance of their history. This paper provides an insight into this process by analyzing two sites—a Facebook group and the former orphan league—identifying the contestation that arises in their quest for the truth and recognition about their “mutual” past and the way(s) in which their histories should be remembered.