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Meeting ID: 884 0615 2125        Passcode: 692100

Watch the film King Leopold’s Ghost, free on YouTube (105 min.): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tSi4EZn-Kg – on your own, prior to January 22. Then join the Mwendo Congo community for a discussion of the film. Join with others to share your reactions, insights, and responses to what you learn. Reading the book is optional, but highly recommended as well. Consider using these learning tools to prepare for and reflect on the film: Discussion Questions and Study Guide plus Study Guide Answer Key.

The film and the book

This 2006 documentary is based on Adam Hochschild’s 1998 book by the same title. Hochschild provides supporting narrative throughout the film. The film highlights key individuals, events, and facts with dramatic images, as well as interviews of Congolese and others to provide a vivid glimpse into Hochschild’s in-depth examination of history. 

Hochschild’s 400-page historical investigation, re-released in 2020, King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa, traces the history of the early Belgian colonialism in the Congo, and specifically the atrocities committed under the guidance of Belgian King Leopold II.

Hochschild’s book is extremely detailed and supported with notes and a bibliography. His research gives us a comprehensive insight into the causes and human consequences of greed upon the men, women, and children who were denied their basic dignity and economic rights to their homeland. The documentary film provides a lasting emotional message to his written work.