Inside Belgium’s disgraceful ‘human zoo’ – where country’s brutal colonial past was exhibited by King Leopold II

AN HISTORIAN has revealed the disturbing horrors of “human zoos” – where human beings were treated like animals by cruel, racist keepers.

Guido Gryseels, the former boss of the Africa Museum where King Leopold II opened the disturbing exhibit, told The Sun that Belgium still needs to come to terms with its brutal colonial past.

RMCA Tervuren

RMCA Tervuren

RMCA Tervuren

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Horrific images show tourists and locals gawking at Congolese men, women and children in the fake villages from behind bamboo fences.

In 1958, Belgium opened a world fair to celebrate its post-war social, cultural and technological advances.

But one exhibit showed a live display of Congolese people in a fake village.

Images show men, women and children stood by straw huts in so-called “traditional” dress in an inhumane, animalistic setting.

One picture shows a little girl in a pen as visitors gawk through the bamboo fence to get a glimpse of her, with someone even giving her food.

Cruel onlookers laughed, heckled and even horrifically threw bananas, reports say.

This is renowned as the world’s last human zoo – and was only 66 years ago.

Prior to the world fair, in 1897 Leopold II instructed a cruel human zoo to take place on the grounds of what is now the Africa Museum.

A fake village was formed in the park of the site and resulted in the horrendous deaths of seven Congolese people.

Gryseels, who still sits on the board at the museum, said the museum has faced its brutal colonial past and changed the site for the better.

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Discussing the 1958 world fair human zoo, separate to Africa Museum, he said: “The Congolese staff felt very humiliated because people were throwing bananas, and were treating them as if they were wild people.

“So it was very humiliating, and many people who worked at the Congolese villages basically left and resigned and went back to Congo.”

He continued: “It was very much a propaganda instrument full of stereotypes about Africans, basically telling the story that the Belgians brought civilisation to Congo.”

The history of Belgium and Congo

Africa’s Democratic Republic of Congo was ruled by Belgium from 1908 to 1960.

King Leopold II took control of Congo 1885 and established a notoriously violent and cruel regime that ended in the deaths of many Congolese people and Belgians.

It is estimated that around 10 million African people were killed under the ruling of King Leopold, but historians still dispute the figure.

This saw Congolese people get taken to Belgium and put in the fake villages – or human zoos.

It’s claimed the official Belgian attitude was ‘paternalism’, where it was believed African people were to be cared for and trained like children, Britannica reports.

Belgium’s King Leopold II, who died in 1909 aged 74, is remembered for the brutal colonisation of Congo.

But experts say that from World War I, to keep morale high, Leopold II statues were erected to remember the so-called ‘successes’ of his ruling years.

It was very much a propaganda instrument full of stereotypes about Africans, basically telling the story that the Belgians brought civilisation to Congo

Guido Gryseels Honorary Director General of Africa Museum

They say this meant the dark, murderous history was washed over and not acknowledged – until the 21st century.

The Africa Museum holds a very dark history, and was once a tool to indoctrinate the Belgian population to believe colonisation was the right thing to do.

Explaining this history of Belgium’s human zoo’s, Mr Gryseels said: “King Leopold II opened the museum as a propaganda instrument.

“And he brought 236 Congolese people to Belgium, to set up the villages around the lakeside near the museum.”

In one human zoo conducted at the museum in 1897, some Congolese people horrifically died from pneumonia and influenza.

This was from standing out in the cold all day, being gawked at by visitors in the fake villages.

Who was King Leopold II?

By Henry Holloway

KING Leopold II ruled Belgium from 1865 to 1909 – and he was the owner of the so-called “Congo Free State”.

He is the country’s longest-reigning monarch to date – but his legacy is one known for atrocities and brutal oppression.

His private colonial project in the Congo saw him create a hellish nightmare for its people.

And he was driven by nothing except for unchecked greed.

The ruthless regime exploited the region’s rich resources, primarily rubber and ivory, transforming them into vast personal wealth.

Under the guise of philanthropy and civilization, Leopold unleashed an era of terror, marked by forced labour, savage punishments, and widespread atrocities.

Men, women, and children were subjected to unimaginable horrors, with millions perishing under his tyrannical rule.

Reports of widespread abuse eventually reached the international community, sparking outrage and condemnation.

He was eventually pressured to give up the Congo Free State – one year before he died in 1909.

Mr Gryseels said: “In those days, human zoos were common across Europe, across Asia, across America.

“About a million people came to visit the human zoo in 1897.”

Mr Gryseels said he’s “very proud” of changing the direction of the museum from a colonising institution to exposing the dark history.

He believes the museum can play a “major role in the battle against racism”.

Mr Gryseels said: “I think when I became the director of the museum, at that time, 95% of Belgians were convinced that the colonial system was a good thing for Congo.”

According to Statista, racism accounted for roughly three quarters of all Belgium discrimination cases in 2022.

But the Honorary Director said how the museum’s most recent research shows that less than a quarter of the population still think colonialism was a good thing.

Mr Gryseels concluded that the museum’s makeover, he believes, is now playing a major role in the “decolonisation of the minds in Belgium.”

He said: “We moved from the museum that was known for its colonial propaganda and showed the richness of African cultures.

“It also plays an important role in explaining how the colonial past came about and why it was morally wrong.”

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