ABSTRACT
I returned to Belgium in 1960 and again in 1961, for two more summer-long interludes of research, which were aided by the support of the Belgian American Educational Foundation (BAEF). The Special Fellowship for Study in Belgium stipend that I received from the foundation was a modest one: a lump sum of $1,000 for a stay of at least three months in Belgium each time. Its non-monetary value was much greater, however. The BAEF grew out of the Commission for Relief in Belgium, chaired by President Herbert Hoover, which had helped to rescue the Belgian population from famine during and at the close of World War I. Since 1920, its funds had made it possible for numerous young Belgian professionals to study and conduct research in the United States, and also for a smaller number of Americans to study in Belgium. The BAEF had two secretary-administrators: a Belgian in its Brussels office and an American in its New York office. It was historically and symbolically associated with strong, positive relations between Belgium and the United States, viewed as an entity that transcended the cleavages and conflicts between linguistic, philosophical, and political groups in Belgium, and it was highly regarded by the gamut of Belgian universities and academic institutions to which I sought access.
