Project:SPARQL/examples

SPARQL Query Examples

This page lists examples of SPARQL queries that allow for in-depth interrogation of the Resistance in Belgium data (see also this example page). Each query can be executed by clicking on the "Try it!" link, which opens a dedicated query interface.

Note: For practical reasons, the queries have been automatically translated into English, Dutch, and German. While there may be minor inaccuracies, we prioritized making these examples available in multiple languages to ensure broad access to the data for all users.

Search for resistance members by family name

# This query has been automatically translated for pragmatic reasons and due to limited resources. Please be aware that some terms may not be fully accurate.

# This query retrieves the list of people present in the database with a certain last name.

#title: Resistance fighters with a certain last name (here: Barbieux)

SELECT ?person ?personLabel ?birthDate
WHERE {
  ?person  wdt:P1  wd:Q2 .                    # Selects all elements thaat are (P1) persons (Q2)
  ?person  wdt:P3  "Barbieux" .               # Filters to take only persons whose last name (P3) is "Barbieux" (modify "Barbieux" as needed)
  ?person  wdt:P67 ?birthDate  .              # Adds the birth date (P67)
           
 SERVICE wikibase:label { bd:serviceParam wikibase:language "en,[AUTO_LANGUAGE]". }  # Retrieves the label in English
}

ORDER BY ?personLabel  # Sorts the results alphabetically by label

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Search for members of a resistance organisation

# This query has been automatically translated for pragmatic reasons and due to limited resources. Please be aware that some terms may not be fully accurate.

# This query retrieves the list of people present in the database 
# and known to be members of a certain resistance organisation (here: Tempo)

#title: Resistance fighters who are members of a resistance organisation (here: Tempo)

SELECT  ?person ?surname ?firstName ?birthDate
WHERE {
  ?person  wdt:P1  wd:Q2 .                   # Selects all elements that are (P1) persons (Q2)
  ?person wdt:P52 wd:Q4367 .                 # Filters by membership in an organisation ("member of", P52), here "Tempo" (Q4367) (replace Q4367 with the organisation of your choice using autocomplete (Control + space))
  ?person  wdt:P67 ?birthDate  .             # Adds the birth date (P67)
  ?person  wdt:P3 ?surname .                 # Retrieves the surname (P3)
  ?person  wdt:P2 ?firstName .               # Retrieves the first name (P2)
          
 SERVICE wikibase:label { bd:serviceParam wikibase:language "en,[AUTO_LANGUAGE]". }  # Retrieves the label in English
}

ORDER BY LCASE(?surname) LCASE(?firstName)  # Sorts results by surname, then first name (case-insensitive)

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Search by place of residence

# This query has been automatically translated for pragmatic reasons and due to limited resources. Please be aware that some terms may not be fully accurate.

# This query retrieves the list of people present in the database 
# and residing in a certain municipality during/after World War II

#title: Resistance fighters filtered by their residence (here: Anderlecht)

SELECT ?person ?surname ?firstName ?birthDate
WHERE {
  ?person  wdt:P1  wd:Q2 .                   # Selects all elements that are (P1) persons (Q2)
  ?person  wdt:P7  wd:Q102 .                 # Filters by residence (P7), here Anderlecht (Q102) (replace Q102 with the (section of) municipality of your choice using autocomplete (Control + space))
  ?person  wdt:P67 ?birthDate  .             # Adds the birth date (P67)
  ?person  wdt:P3 ?surname .                 # Retrieves the surname (P3)
  ?person  wdt:P2 ?firstName .               # Retrieves the first name (P2)
         
 SERVICE wikibase:label { bd:serviceParam wikibase:language "en,[AUTO_LANGUAGE]". }  # Retrieves the label in English
}

ORDER BY LCASE(?surname) LCASE(?firstName)  # Sorts results by surname, then first name (case-insensitive)

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Search by profession

# This query has been automatically translated for pragmatic reasons and due to limited resources. Please be aware that some terms may not be fully accurate.

# This query retrieves the list of people present in the database who have a certain profession (here: hairdresser / kapper).

#title: Resistance fighters with a certain profession (here: hairdresser / kapper)

SELECT ?person ?surname ?firstName ?residenceLabel ?professionLabel
WHERE {
  ?person  wdt:P1  wd:Q2 .               # Selects all people (P1) with the identifier "Person" (Q2)
  ?person  wdt:P13 ?profession .         # Selects their profession (P13)
  ?person  wdt:P3 ?surname .             # Retrieves the surname (P3)
  ?person  wdt:P2 ?firstName .           # Retrieves the first name (P2)
  
  FILTER (CONTAINS(str(?profession), 'coiffeu')

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Number of members of a resistance organisation

# This query has been automatically translated for pragmatic reasons and due to limited resources. Please be aware that some terms may not be fully accurate.

# This query retrieves the number of members per resistance organisation and displays the results as a bubble chart.
# You can click on each bubble or organisation name to access more details about the organisation in the database.

#title: Count of members per resistance organisation

#defaultView:BubbleChart  # Display as bubbles

SELECT ?organisation ?organisationLabel (COUNT(?person) AS ?numberOfMembers)
WHERE {
  ?person wdt:P1 wd:Q2 .              # Selects all elements that are (P1) persons (Q2)
  ?person wdt:P52 ?organisation .     # Filters by membership in an organisation ("member of", P52)

  FILTER EXISTS { 
   ?organisation wdt:P1/wdt:P9* wd:Q4  # Checks if the organisation is (P1) / is a subclass (P9) of a resistance organisation (Q4)
   }
   # To filter and display only resistance networks/missions, replace Q4 with Q38.
   # To filter and display only armed resistance movements, replace Q4 with Q37.

  
  SERVICE wikibase:label { bd:serviceParam wikibase:language "[AUTO_LANGUAGE],en". }  # Retrieves the labels in English
}
GROUP BY ?organisation ?organisationLabel
ORDER BY DESC(?numberOfMembers)

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Places of death during the war

# This query has been automatically translated for pragmatic reasons and due to limited resources. Please be aware that some terms may not be fully accurate.

# This query retrieves the places of death of resistance fighters up until the end of 1945 
# and displays them on a map with their names and, if available, the dates of death.

# Tip: You can click on the points on the map to view the names of the deceased individuals.
# Note: Foreign locations have been "modernised" to match the current data in the Geonames database.

#title: Places and dates of death during the war

#defaultView:Map{"hide":"?GPS"}  # Display as a map, hide the GPS coordinates

SELECT ?person ?personLabel ?placeOfDeath ?placeOfDeathLabel ?GPS ?dateOfDeath
WHERE {
  ?person wdt:P1 wd:Q2 .                      # Selects all people (P1 = Q2)
  ?person wdt:P48 ?placeOfDeath .             # Retrieves the places of death (P48)
  ?placeOfDeath wdt:P6 ?GPS .                 # Retrieves the GPS coordinates of the places of death (P6)
  OPTIONAL { ?person wdt:P68 ?dateOfDeath .   # Retrieves the date of death, if available
             FILTER(?dateOfDeath <= "1945-12-31"^^xsd:dateTime)  # Filters deaths: up until the end of 1945
  }
  
  SERVICE wikibase:label { bd:serviceParam wikibase:language "en,[AUTO_LANGUAGE]". }  # Retrieves the labels in English
}

ORDER BY ?placeOfDeathLabel

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List the women who have been detained

# This query has been automatically translated for pragmatic reasons and due to limited resources. Please be aware that some terms may not be fully accurate.

#title: Women resistance fighters who were detained
SELECT DISTINCT ?person ?surname ?firstName ?startOfDetention ?endOfDetention ?professionLabel ?recognitionStatusLabel
WHERE {

  ?person wdt:P1 wd:Q2 .                   # Selects persons (P1 = Q2)
  ?person wdt:P4 wd:Q6 .                   # Filters to select women (P4 = female Q6)
  
  ?person p:P53 ?detention_statement .     # Searches for persons who were detained (P53)
  ?detention_statement ps:P53 ?detention .
           
  OPTIONAL { ?detention_statement pq:P23 ?startOfDetention. FILTER (datatype(?startOfDetention) = xsd:edtf ) } # Retrieves the start of detention date if available (P23)
  OPTIONAL { ?detention_statement pq:P25 ?endOfDetention. FILTER (datatype(?endOfDetention) = xsd:edtf ) }     # Retrieves the end of detention date if available (P25)

  OPTIONAL { ?person wdt:P13 ?profession. }           # Retrieves the profession if available (P13)
  OPTIONAL { ?person wdt:P55 ?recognitionStatus. }    # Retrieves the national recognition status if obtained (P55)

  ?person  wdt:P3 ?surname .             # Retrieves the surname (P3)
  ?person  wdt:P2 ?firstName .           # Retrieves the first name (P2)
  
  SERVICE wikibase:label { bd:serviceParam wikibase:language "[AUTO_LANGUAGE],en". }  # Retrieves the labels in English

}

ORDER BY LCASE(?surname) LCASE(?firstName)  # Sorts case-insensitively

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Recognised ARA/FFC Members or Letter of Appreciation Recipients

# This query has been automatically translated for pragmatic reasons and due to limited resources. Please be aware that some terms may not be fully accurate.

# This query retrieves the list of resistance fighters recognised as intelligence and action agents (ARA)
# or who received a letter of thanks (LR) or FFC (Forces Françaises Combattantes) status, along with their residence and linked archive file.

#title: ARA resistance fighters (recognised or letter of thanks) or FFC

SELECT DISTINCT ?person ?surname ?firstName ?residence ?residenceLabel ?recognisedStatusLabel ?LR ?archiveCollectionLabel ?inventoryNo WHERE {

  ?person wdt:P1 wd:Q2 .                    # Selects persons (P1 = Q2)
  ?person  wdt:P3 ?surname .                # Retrieves the surname (P3)
  ?person  wdt:P2 ?firstName .              # Retrieves the first name (P2)

  { ?person wdt:P55 ?recognisedStatus. 
    FILTER(?recognisedStatus IN (wd:Q17, wd:Q4487)) }  # Filters for recognised ARA statuses (Q17) or FFC (Q4487)
  UNION                                            # OR
  { ?person p:P54 ?statement.
    ?statement ps:P54 wd:Q17; pq:P56 wd:Q6665.     # Persons who received a letter of thanks (Q6665)
    BIND("letter of thanks ARA" AS ?LR)}

  OPTIONAL { ?person wdt:P7 ?residence. }         # Retrieves the residence if available (P7)
  OPTIONAL { ?person p:P34 ?archive_statement . 
             ?archive_statement ps:P34 ?archiveCollection ;
                                pq:P35 ?inventoryNo.}  # Reference to the archives
  SERVICE wikibase:label { bd:serviceParam wikibase:language "en,[AUTO_LANGUAGE]". }  # Retrieves the labels in English
}

ORDER BY LCASE(?surname) LCASE(?firstName)  # Sorts results by surname, then first name (case-insensitive)
LIMIT 100  # Limits the results to 100 to optimise performance. You can adjust or remove this limit as needed.

Try it!

Enriching data on resistance members using external sources [federated query]

## This query has been automatically translated for pragmatic reasons and due to limited resources. Please be aware that some terms may not be fully accurate.

# This query retrieves additional information about the resistance fighters in the database, thanks to Wikidata, including Wikipedia articles and external archives (ODIS, Biographie Nationale, VIAF, SNAC, etc.).

#title: Enrichment of resistance fighter data via Wikidata

PREFIX wd_wikidata: <http://www.wikidata.org/entity/>  # Prefix for Wikidata
PREFIX wdt_wikidata: <http://www.wikidata.org/prop/direct/>  # Prefix for Wikidata direct properties

SELECT DISTINCT ?person ?surname ?firstName ?wikidata_ID ?article_en ?odisURL ?bioNationaleURL ?JusteURL ?maitronURL ?viafURL ?snacURL 
(GROUP_CONCAT(DISTINCT ?archivesLabel; SEPARATOR = ", ") AS ?archives)  # Concatenation of found archives

WHERE {
  ?person wdt:P1 wd:Q2 .                  # Selects all persons (P1 = Q2)
  ?person  wdt:P3 ?surname .              # Retrieves the surname (P3)
  ?person  wdt:P2 ?firstName .            # Retrieves the first name (P2)

  ?person wdt:P15 ?wikidataIdentifier .   # Retrieves the Wikidata identifier (P15)

  # Generates a link to the corresponding Wikidata entity
  BIND(URI(CONCAT("http://www.wikidata.org/entity/", ?wikidataIdentifier)) AS ?wikidata_ID)

  # Federated query to retrieve additional information from Wikidata
  SERVICE <https://query.wikidata.org/sparql> {
    
    # Retrieves and generates the URLs of external identifiers
    OPTIONAL { 
      ?wikidata_ID wdt_wikidata:P2372 ?odisID.  # Retrieves the ODIS ID
      BIND(URI(CONCAT("https://www.odis.be/lnk/", STR(?odisID))) AS ?odisURL)  # Generates the ODIS URL
    }
    OPTIONAL { 
      ?wikidata_ID wdt_wikidata:P6234 ?bioNationaleID.  # Biographie Nationale of Belgium ID
      BIND(URI(CONCAT("https://academieroyale.be/fr/la-biographie-nationale-personnalites-detail/personnalites/", STR(?bioNationaleID), "/Vrai/")) AS ?bioNationaleURL)  # Generates the Biographie Nationale URL
    }
    OPTIONAL { 
      ?wikidata_ID wdt_wikidata:P214 ?viafID.  # VIAF ID
      BIND(URI(CONCAT("https://viaf.org/viaf/", STR(?viafID))) AS ?viafURL)  # Generates the VIAF URL
    }
    OPTIONAL { 
      ?wikidata_ID wdt_wikidata:P3430 ?snacID.  # SNAC ID
      BIND(URI(CONCAT("https://snaccooperative.org/ark:/99166/", STR(?snacID))) AS ?snacURL)  # Generates the SNAC URL
    }
    OPTIONAL { 
      ?wikidata_ID wdt_wikidata:P4724 ?maitronID.  # Maitron ID
      BIND(URI(CONCAT("https://maitron.fr/spip.php?article", STR(?maitronID))) AS ?maitronURL)  # Generates the Maitron URL
    }
    OPTIONAL { 
      ?wikidata_ID wdt_wikidata:P1979 ?JusteID.  # Righteous Among the Nations ID
      BIND(URI(CONCAT("https://collections.yadvashem.org/en/righteous/", STR(?JusteID))) AS ?JusteURL)  # Generates the Righteous Among the Nations URL
    }
    
    # Retrieves the English Wikipedia article
    OPTIONAL {
      ?article_en schema:about ?wikidata_ID ;
                  schema:inLanguage "en" ;
                  schema:isPartOf <https://en.wikipedia.org/> .  # English Wikipedia article
    }
    
    # Retrieves archives linked to the person
    OPTIONAL {
      ?wikidata_ID wdt_wikidata:P485 ?archives.  # Retrieves archives (P485)
      ?archives rdfs:label ?archivesLabel.  # Retrieves archive labels
      FILTER(LANG(?archivesLabel) = "en")  # Filters for labels in English
    }
  }

  # Retrieves labels of persons in the defined language
  SERVICE wikibase:label { bd:serviceParam wikibase:language "[AUTO_LANGUAGE],en". }
}

GROUP BY ?person ?surname ?firstName ?wikidata_ID ?article_en ?odisURL ?JusteURL ?bioNationaleURL ?maitronURL ?viafURL ?snacURL

ORDER BY LCASE(?surname) LCASE(?firstName)  # Sorts results by surname, then first name (case-insensitive)

Try it!