Marcel Hastir was a pupil of artists Constand Montald, Emile Fabry and Jean Delville and of the sculptor Victor Rousseau.

These people included Alexandre and Youra Livchitz, and Jean Franklemon, who apart from other acts of defiance came up with a particularly bold plan – to stop a train which was deporting Jews to Auschwitz.

They provided a podium from which these artists, but also intellectuals and men of action, e.g. Lanza del Vasto, Père Dominique Pire and Abbé Pierre, could address the public.

Quartier Léopold became a target for real estate brokers and developers and – possessing only a tenancy of two floors of the building – Marcel Hastir had to battle for years with attempts to evict him from his home and studio.

RTBF broadcast a documentary by Caroline Hack entitled 51, Rue du Commerce, about Marcel Hastir’s life and work.

Also, the Belgian State, represented by Deputy Prime Minister Laurette Onkelinx, announced its decision to support Fondation Atelier Marcel Hastir in its efforts to prevent the building at 51 rue du Commerce from being purchased with speculative aims.