The magic of photography is that it takes people to places they could never go on their own—whether it’s the front lines of battle or the home of Marilyn Monroe. The power of the photograph to transport its viewers is what made LIFE magazine so popular in its early heyday, when photography was the principal means for gaining a window to the world.
Sometimes LIFE’s photographers took its readers to a places they would never have thought to go—for example, a nightclub in Brussels during the waning days of World War II, and months after German occupation of Belgium had ended. Here’s how the magazine set the scene in a story that ran in its issue of March 26, 1945:
By New York and Paris standards, most nightclubs in Brussels are drab and dingy. There is little glamor and no fancy decor. After 10 o’clock the only light is from oil lamps, and by midnight, when civilians must be home, the nightspots are empty. Still, they do a good business because liberated Belgians are in a mood to celebrate and so are the weary soldiers—British, Canadians and Poles—who go there on leave. There are champagne, friendly girls and musicians trying to earnestly play American swing.
The description of the club makes it sound like it could be the setting for a seedy film noir, or possibly even a romantic comedy. And on the particular night that LIFE photographer George Silk visited a cellar bistro called La Parisiana, which was said to have the best floor show in Brussels, the entertainment included snakes. A pair of “old-time circus performers” named Hamid and Aicha danced for customers with pythons draped around them.
During World War II Belgium was occupied by Germany from May 1940 until late 1944 and early 1945, when the Allied Forces liberated Belgium in stage. At the time of this snake show, the country had just been through years of hell. In short, the clientele of La Parisiana was truly in need of some entertainment.
A dancer named Aicha, with two pythons wrapped around her, entertained patrons at the La Parisiana nightclub in Brussels, 1945.
George Silk/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Former circus performers Hamid and Aicha, pythons draped around them, entertained patrons at the La Parisiana nightclub in Brussels, 1945.
George Silk/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
A dancer named Aicha, with two pythons wrapped around her, entertained patrons at the La Parisianna nightclub in Brussels, 1945.
George Silk/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
The floor show at the La Parisiana nightclub in Brussels, 1945.
George Silk/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
The floor show at the La Parisiana nightclub in Brussels, 1945, months after Belgium had been liberated from German occupation.
George Silk/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Patrons at the La Parisiana nightclub in Brussels, 1945.
George Silk/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
An American flier enjoyed a night at the Brussels nightclub La Parisiana, 1945.
George Silk/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
Hamid held a python aloft while Aicha, in the background, sat before crosses as part of the floor show at the Brussels nightclub La Parisiana, 1945.
George Silk/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
A dancer named Aicha, with two pythons wrapped around her, entertained patrons at the La Parisianna, Brussels, 1945.
George Silk/Life Picture Collection/Shutterstock
