Belgium in World War II

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  (Redirected from History of Belgium (1939-1945))
Jump to: navigation, search
German soldiers parade past the Royal Palace in Brussels, 1940.

For Belgium and her colonial possessions, the Second World War began on 10 May 1940 with an invasion by German forces of what had been a neutral country. After 18 days of fighting, the Belgian army surrendered to German forces, beginning an occupation of the country that would endure until its liberation by Allied forces in late 1944.

Despite the surrender, many Belgians still managed to escape to the United Kingdom where they formed a government and army-in-exile. The Belgian Congo remained loyal to the Belgian government in London and contributed significant material and human resources to the allied cause. In the occupied country too, many Belgians were involved in both armed and passive resistance to German forces.

Collaboration with German forces did occur in Belgium, most notably in Flanders, but fascist political parties were most popular in Wallonia. Support from right-wing political factions and sections of the population allowed the German army to recruit two division of the Waffen SS from Belgium and also helped to facilitate the persecution of Belgian Jews in which nearly 25,000 were killed.

Most of the country was liberated by the Allies between September and October 1944, though areas to the far east of the country remained occupied until early 1945.

Contents

Background [edit]

During the 1930s, Belgium was still recovering from the destruction of the First World War. Economically, Belgium was experiencing high unemployment in the aftermath of the Great Depression of 1929, and by 1932 unemployment stood at 23.5%[1] though under the "New Deal-style" Plan de Man[2] this had been reduced to around 15% by 1937.[1]

The 1930s also saw the growth of several authoritarian and fascist political parties in both Wallonia and Flanders. In the 1936 elections, one of these, the French-speaking Rexist party, gained 11.6% of the national vote.[3] By 1939 however, extremist parties lost many of the seats that they had previously gained in new elections and political stability seemed to be returning.[4]

Neutrality [edit]

Bunkers and anti-tank defenses of the K-W Line along the River Dijle, built in late 1939.

As Belgium had suffered so much damage in the First World War, there was little appetite within the country to involve itself in any potential European conflict. In October 1936, King Leopold III announced that Belgium would remain neutral in the event of another war in Europe.[5] To this end, the Belgian government tried to steer a path away from alliances: leaving the Locarno Treaty, repudiating a defence pact with France signed in 1920[6] and receiving a guarantee of neutrality from Nazi Germany in 1937.[6]

“ The German Government considers that the inviolability and integrity of Belgium are common interests of the Western Powers. It confirms its determination that in no circumstances will it impair this inviolability and integrity and that it will at all times respect Belgian territory ... ”

—German guarantee of Neutrality, 13 October 1937[7]

During this period, the Belgian military was reorganized as an exclusively defensive force[8] and began construction and modernization of fortifications around the country, particularly around Liège near the German border.[9]

On the declaration of war between Britain, France and Germany in September 1939, the Belgian government launched a crash re-armament programme, augmenting the national defenses by creating the K-W Line linking the National Redoubt at Antwerp with the south along the River Dijle, just behind the main Fortified Position of Liège.[10]

"18 Days' Campaign" of 1940 [edit]

Belgian soldiers surrender to German paratroopers after the Battle of Fort Eben-Emael, 11 May 1940.
Main article: Battle of Belgium

With the German invasion of Poland in September 1939, though still following a policy of neutrality, the Belgian government began general mobilization.[11] By 1940, the army numbered between 600,000[12] and 650,000[13] men (nearly 20% of the male population of Belgium)[14] making it approximately 4 times larger than the British Expeditionary Force and twice as large as the Dutch army at the time.

The invasion of Belgium by Nazi Germany started on May 10, 1940 under the codename Fall Gelb ("Case Yellow") as part of the wider invasion of France, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. The Belgian Albert Canal fortifications, some of the most modern defensive networks in Europe, proved near useless. At Eben-Emael, the fort held by 1,200 Belgians was taken when the Germans deployed 500 glider-borne Fallschirmjäger against them, opening the border for "Blitzkrieg"-style warfare.[15] Almost all of the air force's modern Hurricane fighters were also destroyed by the Luftwaffe on the ground at Schaffen airfield on May 10.[16]

The German breakthrough at Sedan, which had been thought impassable, meant that defenders of the K-W Line risked being outflanked, and had to withdraw on 16 May.[17]

The government's policy of neutrality had left Belgium with an outdated and ill-equipped army and air force. Above all, the army possessed only 16 battle tanks[note 1] between its two cavalry divisions for political reasons as they had been considered too "aggressive" for the army of a neutral power.[13] The air force, hurriedly reorganised into the Territorial Air Defence (Défense Aéronautique du Territoire or DAT) in May 1940, was taken by surprise and could only field 180 serviceable aircraft out of its total of 234.[16]

The military held out against German forces for 18 days, against overwhelming odds. On 28 May, forced into a small pocket along the Leie river and after failed attempts to broker a ceasefire on the 27th, the Belgian king and military surrendered unconditionally.[18] Belgian casualties during the campaign numbered some 6,000 killed[19] and 15,850 wounded.[20][16] Some 112,500 French and Belgian troops escaped to England via Dunkirk[21] but the majority of the Belgian survivors were made prisoners of war and many were not released until the end of the war.

With the surrender of the Belgian army, the government, led by Hubert Pierlot, fled first to Paris and formed a government in exile in Bordeaux. With the Fall of France, the government transferred to Eaton Square, London.[22]

Surrender of Leopold III [edit]

A Belgian coin with the monogram of Leopold III, minted during the occupation.

Leopold III, King and commander in chief of the Belgian army, surrendered personally to German forces on 28 May, contrary to the advice of Pierlot's government, having decided the Allied cause was lost.[23] His decision was fiercely criticized by the French prime minister Paul Reynaud.[24]

The King remained in Belgium during the war as a German prisoner while the government went into exile and continued military action in the Allied cause.[25] Unlike countries like the Netherlands where the monarchy was repressed or had joined the government in exile, Leopold III remained prominent in the occupied territory, and coins and stamps produced during the occupation continued to carry his face or monogram.[26]

While imprisoned, he sent a letter to Adolf Hitler in 1942 which has been credited with saving an estimated 500,000 Belgian women and children from forced deportation to munitions factories in Germany.[27] In November 1940, Leopold visited Hitler in Berchtesgaden where he asked for Belgian prisoners of war to be freed.[24]

The king was denounced as a traitor by Pierlot in a radio broadcast on June 28, 1940 and his decision declared "an event without precedent in history".[28] Nevertheless, Leopold remained a focus for resistance, his surrender explained with the slogan "Belgium is captive! Long live Belgium! The King is captive! Long live the King!"[29]

After the war, allegations that Leopold's surrender had been an act of collaboration provoked a political crisis, known as the Royal Question, about whether he could return to the throne. After a general strike and indecisive referendum, the king resigned in favour of his son, Baudouin.

German Occupation [edit]

Life in occupied Belgium [edit]

RAF Lancaster bombers target the Belgian town of St. Vith in the Ardennes, 1944.

Belgium was run by a German military government under General Alexander von Falkenhausen and Eggert Reeder until July 1944, and then by Reichskommissar Josef Grohé until liberation.[30]

As in all occupied countries in Europe, food, fuel and clothing were strictly rationed by the German authorities. Even the with the stringent rationing, the food and materials which civilians should officially have been entitled to were not always available.[31] A significant black market also existed in the country, supplying food illegally at very high prices to those that could afford it.[32] Information and the press were strictly controlled by the German government and news was greatly restricted. Nevertheless, the sales of collaborationist newspapers like Le Soir and the newspapers of pro-collaborationist political parties like Le Pays Réel remained high.[33] Large number of underground newspapers were also published and distributed – the underground paper La Libre Belgique achieve a circulation of 30,000.[34]

Occupied Belgium was also targeted by the Allied bombers from both the British RAF and American USAAF. The policy led to high civilian casualties as bombs missed their intended targets and fell on civilian areas. In a raid on the Erla Motor Works in the Belgian town of Mortsel (near Antwerp) in April 1943, just two bombs dropped by the B-17s of the American 8th Air Force fell on the intended target.[35] The remaining 24 tons of bombs fell on civilian areas of the town, killing 936 and injuring 1,600 more in just 8 minutes.[35] The allied policy was condemned by many leading figures within Belgium, including Cardinal van Roey.[36]

200,000 Belgian military prisoners of war captured in 1940 were transported to Germany.[37] Most were used as forced labour and paid only a nominal sum.[38] About 80,000 (mainly Flemish) prisoners were returned to Belgium between late 1940 and 1941,[37] but many remained in captivity until the end of the war. They were often kept in very poor conditions and around 2,000 died.[20]

Collaboration [edit]

Recruitment poster with the slogan "Come with us!" for the 28th SS "Wallonien" Division made up of French-speaking Belgians.
See also: Rexism, Flemish National Union, Verdinaso, and DeVlag

During the period of Nazi occupation, some Belgians collaborated with their occupiers. There were pro-Nazi political organizations in both Flemish and Walloon communities before and during the war. The most significant were DeVlag, Verdinaso and Vlaamsch Nationaal Verbond (VNV) in Flanders as well as the catholic Rex movement in Wallonia. Each of these movements had subtly different ideologies, their own paramilitary forces and printed their own newspapers. These organisations were also instrumental in encouraging Belgians to enlist into the German army. Unlike the German-style National Socialist agenda of DeVlag,[39] VNV appealed directly to a Flemish separatist agenda,[40] though this message was never the main source of their popularity.[41] Infighting between the groups, particularly VNV and DeVlag, was considerable.[39]

On the whole, the Belgian administrative system was very pliant and became an instrument of collaboration. In a 2007 report by the Centre for Historical Research, a panel of historians concluded that Belgium had offered "maximum administrative collaboration" to the German forces.[42] The same report also commented on the apparently higher levels of collaboration in Flanders as part of an attempted integration into a "German-Flemish New Order".[43] The towns of Brussels and Liège, the report added, "remained [largely] patriotic-Belgian and decisively hostile to Germany".[43] The report also found that many Belgian authorities had been compliant, even active, in the deportation of Jews.

Two divisions of the Waffen SS, the Flemish 27th SS "Langemarck" Division and the Walloon 28th SS "Wallonien" Division, were recruited from Belgium during the occupation. Léon Degrelle, founder of the Rexist Party, later served as commander of the "Wallonien" Division. Both "divisions" (neither greater than brigade strength) served on the Eastern Front where the "Wallonien" Division was nearly annihilated in the Korsun–Cherkassy Pocket in 1944.[44]

After the war, many of those who had collaborated actively with the German occupiers – including the political leaders of fascist parties and the guards at Breendonk concentration camp – were tried, imprisoned or shot.

After the war, large numbers of those who had collaborated actively with the German occupiers were put on trial. Around 56,000 were prosecuted, ending up with prison sentences while several hundred were executed.[45]

Resistance [edit]

Members of the Belgian resistance with a Canadian soldier during the liberation of Bruges, 1944.
See also: Belgian Resistance

Resistance to German occupation came from all levels and from all regions of Belgium and quarters of the political spectrum, but was highly fragmented and localised.[46] The Government in Exile dealt with resistance collectively under the name of Armée Secrète, however this was just an umberella organization among the many resistance organisations which existed with different agendas or political ideologies.[46] Some organisations were very left-wing, like the Communist Partisans armés, but there was also a fascist or far-right resistance movement, like the Mouvement National Royaliste and the Légion Belge which comprised dissident Rexists. However, there were also other groups like Groupe G which had no obvious political affiliation.[46]

Resistance to the occupiers chiefly came in the form of helping allied airmen escape, and numerous lines were set up to organise this, for instance the Comet line which evacuated an estimated 14,000 allied airmen to Gibraltar.[47] The Comet Line had a series of safe houses throughout Belgium. Allied airmen were given civilian clothes and were frequently moved from house to house, staying with Belgian families who supported the resistance.[48] The resistance would aid the airmen by giving them false papers and guiding them to either neutral or Allied occupied territory.[49]

As elsewhere, sabotage was employed against enemy military and economic assets, with railway lines and bridges being common targets. The activities of Groupe G, a small resistance cell based in Brussels, alone are estimated to have cost the Nazis 20 million man-hours of labour to repair damages done.[50] Direct attacks on German troops and military installations were rarer, yet one estimate puts the number of German soldiers killed by the Belgian resistances in 1941 as higher than in all of France.[51]

The resistance were also instrumental in saving Jews and Roma from deportation to death camps, for instance the attack on the "Twentieth convoy" to Auschwitz. Many Belgians also hid Jews and political dissidents during the occupation, with one estimate putting the number at some 20,000 people hidden during the war.[note 2] There was also significant low-level resistance, for instance in June 1941, the City Council of Brussels refused to distribute Stars of David badges.[52] Certain high profile members of the Belgian establishment, including Queen Elizabeth and Cardinal van Roey, Archbishop of Malines, spoke out against the German treatment of Jews.[53] So far, 1,612 Belgians have been awarded the distinction of "Righteous Among the Nations" by the State of Israel for risking their lives to save Jews from persecution during the occupation.[54]

Nevertheless, Belgian civilians were often subject to retaliation by paramilitaries and German forces for resistance activity. In August 1944, 20 civilians were killed by Rexist paramilitaries in a reprisal for a single attack on a Rexist politician in the Courcelles Massacre.[55]

Holocaust [edit]

The gallows at Breendonk Concentration Camp, near Mechelen.
See also: The Holocaust in Belgium

In mid-1940, nearly 56,000 Jews were living in Belgium out of a population of roughly 8 million.[56] Many had fled to Belgium to escape recent persecution in Germany and elsewhere, meaning that only a minority were Belgian citizens.[56] Most of the Jewish population was focused in communities in the towns of Brussels and Antwerp.[56]

Anti-Jewish legislation (along the lines of the German Nuremberg Laws or French Statut des Juifs) was enacted in October 1940, a few months after the German occupation.[56] Several pogroms took place in 1941, notably in Antwerp,[57] and economic assets belonging to Jews were seized.[56] In May 1942, wearing of the yellow Star-of-David badge became compulsory for Jews in Belgium.[56]

From June 1942, as part of the "Final Solution", Jews living in Belgium were ordered to arrive at Mechelen transit camp.[56] Those who did not arrive voluntarily were rounded up by the police. From August 1942 until July 1944, twenty-six railway convoys left Belgium carrying 25,000 Jews and 350 Roma to eastern Europe,[58][59] most destined for the death camp at Auschwitz, though others were sent to camps at Bergen-Belsen and Vittel.[56]

Of the 25,000 deported, over 24,000 were killed and fewer than 1,000 were still alive by the time allied forces liberated the camps.[45]

The former Belgian army fort at Breendonk, near Mechelen, was requisitioned by the Nazis and used for detainment and interrogation of Jews, political prisoners and captured members of the resistance. Of the 3,500 people incarcerated in Breendonk between 1940 and 1944, 1,733 died.[60] Around 300 people were killed in the camp itself, with at least 98 of them dying from deprivation or torture.[61][62]

Belgian Army in Exile [edit]

Free Belgian soldiers fire a mortar during a training exercise in the Wales, 1941.
See also: Free Belgian Forces

After the defeat in 1940, significant numbers of Belgian soldiers and civilians escaped to Britain who, along with Belgian pre-war émigrés in Britain and Canada, formed the Belgian forces in exile.[63] The Belgian government, including ministers from Catholic, Socialist and Liberal parties under Hubert Pierlot, evacuated to London alongside other governments from occupied countries (including the Netherlands and Luxembourg) where it remained until the liberation of Belgium in 1944. The government in exile claimed the authority to speak for the whole of Belgium, leading the minister of foreign affairs Paul-Henri Spaak to comment that "all that remains of legal and free Belgium, all that is entitled to speak in her name, is in London".[64] A Belgian politician, Victor de Laveleye, is also credited with inspiring the allied "V for Victory" propaganda campaign in 1941.[65]

In a broadcast on French Radio, Pierlot called for the creation of an army in exile to continue the fight:

“ With the same youthful courage that responded to the government's call, reunited with the elements of the Belgian military in France and Great Britain, a new army will be levied and organized. It will go into the line alongside those of our allies...all the forces we have will be put at the service of the cause which has become ours...It is important to assure immediately and in a tangible way, the solidarity which continues to unite the powers which have given us their support... ”

—Pierlot's speech on French Radio, 28 May 1940[66]

By 1944, the Free Belgian forces in the United Kingdom numbered some 4,500 men.[67] Belgian soldiers formed the 1st Belgian Infantry Brigade (which also included an artillery battery of soldiers from Luxembourg) more often known as the Brigade Piron after its commanding officer, Jean-Baptiste Piron. The Brigade Piron was involved in the Normandy Invasion and the battles in France and the Netherlands until liberation.[68]

Belgians also served in British special forces units during the war, forming a troop of No.10 (Inter-Allied) Commando which was involved in the Italian Campaign and Landings on Walcheren.[69] The 5th Special Air Service (part of the élite SAS) was entirely made up of Belgians and was the first allied unit to enter Belgium in 1944.[70]

Two all-Belgian fighter units, the No. 349 and No. 350 Squadrons, were formed in the Royal Air Force with over 400 pilots between them. No. 350 Squadron alone claimed 51 "kills" between its formation in November 1941 and the end of the war.[71] In total, 1,200 Belgians served in the RAF, many in mainly British or Free Dutch squadrons.[72]

Two corvettes and a group of minesweepers were also operated by the Belgians during the Battle of the Atlantic, numbering some 350 men by 1943.[72]

Belgian Congo [edit]

Belgian-Congolese Force Publique soldiers, 1943.

A significant contribution to the allied war effort was made by the Belgian Congo. The Congo remained loyal to the government in exile and was put at the disposal of the allies.

Congolese soldiers of the Force Publique were involved in fighting with Italian forces during the East African Campaign and were instrumental to forcing Italian forces out of Abyssinia,[73] suffering 500 casualties.[74] 13,000 Congolese troops served under British command in Nigeria.[74] Detachments of Congolese soldiers also served in the Middle East and Burma.[74] The Force Publique was racially segregated meaning that blacks could not become officers. Through the war, therefore, it was commanded by white officers.[75]

Twice, in 1941 and 1944, major strikes took place in towns around the country against the extra pressure put on workers by the colonial authorities. A Force Publique garrison in Luluabourg also mutinied in 1944.[76] These were repressed by military force, often violently.

The Congo was also a vitally important economic asset to the allied powers, particularly because of its exports of rubber and uranium. The uranium used during the American Manhattan Project – including that used for the atomic bombs dropped on the Japanese towns of Hiroshima and Nagasaki – was supplied by the Belgian firm Union Minière du Haut Katanga from Katanga Province in the Belgian Congo.[77]

Liberation [edit]

Tanks of the Welsh Guards liberate Brussels, 3 September 1944.

Belgium was liberated late in 1944 by Allied forces, including British, Canadian, and American armies, including the Brigade Piron.

On 3 September 1944 the Welsh Guards liberated Brussels.[78] Just after the liberation, the inhabitants of the Marolles district held a mock funeral for Hitler.[78]

The British Second Army liberated Antwerp on 4 September, with help from the local resistance.[79] The port of Antwerp became a highly prized and heavily fought-over objective because allied supply lines were heavily stretched and needed a deep-sea port nearer the front lines.[80] All comparable ports in northern France west of Cherbourg were either under Axis control or else had been sabotaged before their capture.[80] The Battle of the Scheldt in October 1944 was mostly fought on Dutch soil, but with the objective of controlling the Scheldt estuary to allow ships to reach Antwerp safely from the sea.

South of the region between Brussels and Maastricht, liberation by General Hodges' U.S. First Army occurred in early September 1944 . While two corps of the First Army were concentrated elsewhere, the U.S. VIII Corps occupied a long stretch of the front from the area south of Liège, across the Ardennes and into Luxembourg. The length of this corps deployment meant that the front line was only sparsely-held, something that did not escape the notice of the German military.

The resistance was disarmed, and many of its members and other Belgians who had remained in the country during the occupation were mobilised into the regular Belgian army in 57 "Fusilier Battalions".[81] These battalions served in several battles on the western front.[82] 100,000 Belgians were fighting in the allied armies by VE Day.[83]

American soldiers enter the Belgian village of Wirtzfeld, late 1944.

Following a few months of relative calm in Belgium, on 16 December 1944 the Germans launched the Ardennes Offensive into Belgium and Luxembourg with over a quarter of a million soldiers.[84] Antwerp was the ultimate objective of the German offensive, but the German advance stalled before the Meuse River near Dinant and was pushed back in furious fighting over a period of six weeks in bitterly cold weather by American, British and Belgian troops.[84] Belgian towns and civilians in the Ardennes suffered during the offensive as homes were reduced to ruins, and there were instances of German troops shooting civilians.[85] Around 90% of the town of La Roche-en-Ardenne was destroyed during fighting.[86] By 4 February 1945, the country was reported to be free of German troops.[79]

In the six months following Allied liberation, Belgian towns were widely targeted by the unpiloted German V-Bombs. 2,342 of these rockets (mostly of the more advanced V-2 type) fell in the 10 miles around Antwerp alone.[87] A post-war SHAEF report estimated V-Bombs had been responsible for 5,000 killed and 21,000 injured, mostly in the cities Liège and Antwerp.[87]

In February 1945, Achille Van Acker replaced Pierlot as Prime Minister. The period after liberation also saw a wave of prosecutions of those suspected of collaboration during the war. 400,000 Belgians were investigated for collaboration of whom 56,000 were prosecuted.[45] Nearly 250 were executed.[45]

Commemoration [edit]

Plaque commemorating the Belgian victims of the Holocaust in the Marolles area of Brussels.

In the years following the Second World War, large numbers of public memorials were erected around the country in memory of Belgian soldiers who had died fighting for the allied cause during the conflict.[note 3] There are numerous streets and memorials dedicated to Allied politicians and generals, including Franklin Roosevelt and Bernard Montgomery in Brussels.[78] The large numbers of British and American cemeteries and memorials, particularly in the Ardennes region associated with the Battle of the Bulge, meant that the legacy of the war was very visible.

In common with other countries, there are numerous veterans' associations[88] (known as "Fraternelle" or "Amicale" in French) and Belgian towns, particularly Bastogne, are frequently visited by veterans from other countries.[89] There are also numerous war museums around the country, including the Royal Museum of the Army and Military History in Brussels, which aim to inform the public about the war.[90]

The Holocaust is commemorated in Belgium by both memorials and museums. The Nazi prison at Fort Breendonk, for example, has been preserved as a museum and has been open to the public since 1947.[91] Since the passing of the Holocaust denial law in 1995, it is illegal to deny the holocaust.[92]

The participation of soldiers from the Belgian Congo was, however, largely forgotten[93] following Congolese independence in 1960 and decades of subsequent war, though in recent years the profile of the veterans has been raised by exhibitions creating greater public awareness.[94][95]

See also [edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Belgium in World War II

Notes [edit]

  1. ^ 16 tanks of the French Renault ACG-1 type were in service in 1940, in addition to 270 other armoured vehicles, mostly of the lightly armoured T-13 and T-15 types.
  2. ^ The number provided by the Museum van Deportatie en Verzet puts the number at 20,000 Jews, inclding 3,000 children. The historian Eva Fogelman supplies a figure of 20,000 adults and 8,000 children in hiding.
  3. ^ For a map of all Second World War memorials in Brussels, see "Brussels Remembers". Brusselsremembers.co.uk. Retrieved 15 December 2012. 

References [edit]

  1. ^ a b "Belgium 1929–1940 – Economic Policy". World History at KMLA. Retrieved 31 December 2012. 
  2. ^ Schuermans, Willy (2006). Memo 6: Nieuwste Tijden, 20ste – 21ste eeuw. Antwerp: de Boeck. pp. 42–47. ISBN 978-9-04-551501-4. 
  3. ^ "Belgium 1929–1940 – Domestic Policy". World History at KMLA. Retrieved 31 December 2012. 
  4. ^ di Muro, Giovanni F. (2005). Léon Degrelle et l'aventure rexiste. Brussels: Éd. Luc Pire. pp. 151–3. ISBN 2-87415-519-5. 
  5. ^ Polsson, Ken. "October 1936". 2timeline.info. Retrieved 31 December 2012. 
  6. ^ a b "Belgium 1929–1940 – Foreign Policy". World History at KMLA. Retrieved 31 December 2012. 
  7. ^ TC-34 (13 October 1937). "German guarantee of Neutrality". Retrieved 31 December 2012. 
  8. ^ Churchill, Winston (25 May 1937). "Germany's Arms: Dutch and Belgian Policies". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 31 December 2012. 
  9. ^ Bond, Brian (1990). Britain, France, and Belgium, 1939–1940 (2nd ed.). London: Brassey's Riverside. p. 24. ISBN 0-08-037700-9. 
  10. ^ Vanden Bloock, Bernard. "Belgian Fortifications, May 1940: KW Line (60 km)". niehorster.orbat.com. Retrieved 26 February 2013. 
  11. ^ Balace, Francis (10 May 1990). "L'Armée Belge à l'Aube du Conflit: Nous Avions une Armée de Reservists, Un Belge sur Douze était Mobilisé". Le Soir. Retrieved 15 May 2013. 
  12. ^ Bailly, Michel (2 February 1990). "Forces et faiblesses de l'armée belge en 1940 à la veille de la guerre". Le Soir. Retrieved 17 January 2013. 
  13. ^ a b "The Campaign of the Belgian army in May 1940". home.scarlet.be/vdmeiren. Retrieved 17 January 2013. 
  14. ^ "Holland: The army and the interbellum". Waroverholland.nl. Retrieved 17 January 2013. 
  15. ^ Lucas, James (1988). Storming Eagles: German Airborne Forces in World War Two. London: Arms and Armour. pp. 21–22. ISBN 0-85368-879-6. 
  16. ^ a b c Mollo, Andrew (2001). The Armed Forces of World War II : Uniforms, Insignia & Organisation. Leicester: Silverdale Books. pp. 48–50. ISBN 1-85605-603-1. 
  17. ^ "Koningshooikt Wavre Line (KW line)". globalsecurity.org. Retrieved 27 February 2013. 
  18. ^ "Belgium surrenders unconditionally". This day in History. History Channel. 
  19. ^ Keegan, John (1989). The Second World War. New York: Penguin Books. p. 96. ISBN 0-14-303573-8. 
  20. ^ a b "Belgium, Army". ABC-CLIO. Retrieved 17 January 2013. 
  21. ^ Swanston, Alexander; Swanston, Malcolm, et al. (2007). The Historical Atlas of World War II. London: Cartographica. p. 61. ISBN 9-781845-732400. 
  22. ^ Shirer, William L. (1990). The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: a History of Nazi Germany (Rev. ed.). New York [u.a.]: Simon & Schuster. p. 729. ISBN 0-671-72868-7. 
  23. ^ Chronicle of the 20th Century (2nd ed.). London: Dorling Kindersley. 1995. pp. 529–531. ISBN 0-7513-3006-X. 
  24. ^ a b Langworth, Richard M. "Feeding the Crocodile: Was Leopold Guilty?". Churchill Centre. Retrieved 17 January 2013. 
  25. ^ Palmer, Alan (1992). The Penguin Dictionary of Twentieth-Century History 1900–1991 (4th ed.). London: Penguin. p. 42. ISBN 0-14-051264-0. 
  26. ^ Schloss, Andrew (Summer 2004). "Obituary for the Belgian Franc: Belgium's Post-War Political Landscape Reflected Through its Coinage". ANS Magazine 3 (2). Retrieved 18 January 2013. 
  27. ^ "Leopold III". Encyclopædia Britannica. 2009. 
  28. ^ "The Belgian "Royal Question": the Abdication Crisis of King Leopold III". The Royal Articles. Retrieved 21 April 2013. 
  29. ^ Dutry-Soinne, Tinou (2006). Les Méconnus de Londres: Journal de Guerre d'une Belge, 1940–1945 1. Brussels: Racine. p. 121. ISBN 2-87386-483-4. 
  30. ^ Geller, Jay Howard (January 1999). "The Role of Military Administration in German-occupied Belgium, 1940–1944". Journal of Military History 63 (1): 99. 
  31. ^ Jacquemyns, Guillaume; Struye, Paul (2002). La Belgique sous l'occupation allemande : (1940–1944). Brussels: Éd. Complexe. p. 307. ISBN 2-87027-940-X. 
  32. ^ Nefors, Patrick (2006). La collaboration industrielle en Belgique, 1940–1945. Brussels: Racine. pp. 256–257. ISBN 2-87386-479-6. 
  33. ^ "The Press under German Censorship during the Second World War". The Belgian War Press. CEGES-SOMA. Retrieved 9 February 2013. 
  34. ^ "La Libre Belgique". The Belgian War Press. CEGES-SOMA. Retrieved 9 February 2013. 
  35. ^ a b "April 5, 1943: Belgium tragedy in USAAF daylight bombing raid". Ww2today.com. Retrieved 15 April 2013. 
  36. ^ ""Stop Bombing Us": Primate's appeal to Allies reported on Belgian Radio". Catholic Herald. 26 May 1944. Retrieved 15 April 2013. 
  37. ^ a b "Les prisonniers de guerre belges". Retrieved 17 January 2013. 
  38. ^ "Les prisonniers de guerre (1e partie : 1940)". cheratte.net. Retrieved 17 January 2013. 
  39. ^ a b Vanhoof, Michael. "The History of DeVlag". Axis History. Retrieved 2 May 2013. 
  40. ^ di Muro, Giovanni F. (2005). Léon Degrelle et l'aventure rexiste. Brussels: Éd. Luc Pire. p. 45. ISBN 2-87415-519-5. 
  41. ^ Brown, Coree (January 2008). "Federalism as a Fuel for National Conflict: Belgium's Political Evolution and its Consequences". Thesis (Jagiellonian University). Centre for European Studies: 68. Retrieved 4 March 2013. 
  42. ^ "La Belgique docile" report (by CEGES-SOMA) quoted in "Extent of Belgian collaboration with Nazis revealed". Daily Mail. 14 February 2007. Retrieved 18 January 2013. 
  43. ^ a b "La Belgique docile" report summarized in Baes, Ruben. "'La Belgique docile': Les autorités belges et la persécution des Juifs". CEGES-SOMA. Retrieved 18 January 2013. 
  44. ^ Nash, Douglas E. (2009). Hell's Gate: the Battle of the Cherkassy Pocket, January–February 1944 (3rd ed.). Stamford, CT: RZM Imports. p. 27. ISBN 0-9657584-3-5. 
  45. ^ a b c d Waterfield, Bruno (17 May 2011). "Nazi hunters call on Belgium's justice minister to be sacked". The Telegraph. Retrieved 26 February 2013. 
  46. ^ a b c Conway, Martin. The sorrows of Belgium : liberation and political reconstruction, 1944–1947. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 21–23. ISBN 978-0-19-969434-1. 
  47. ^ Nichol, John; Rennell, Tony (2008). Home run : escape from Nazi Europe. London: Penguin. p. 470. ISBN 0-141-02419-4. 
  48. ^ John Clinch (2004). "Comète Line". Escape Line Research and Remembrance. Retrieved 16 October 2010. 
  49. ^ "Resistance in Belgium in World War Two". Go2War2.nl. Retrieved 5 May 2013. 
  50. ^ Miller, Russell (1978). World War II: The Resistance. Time-Life Education. ISBN 0-809-42522-X. [page needed]
  51. ^ Smith, Howard K. (1942). Last Train from Berlin. Knopf. p. 317. 
  52. ^ "Museum van Deportatie en Verzet". Retrieved 3 November 2012. 
  53. ^ Darring, Gerald. "Western European Churches and the Holocaust: Belgium". Spring Hill College. Retrieved 4 April 2013. 
  54. ^ "The "Righteous Among the Nations" ceremony in the presence of President Shimon Peres, Prince Philippe and Minister Didier Reynders". Embassy of Belgium in Ireland. 5 March 2013. Retrieved 4 April 2013. 
  55. ^ Plisnier, Flore (2009). "L'ordre nouveau et le rexisme dans la région de Charleroi". Société royale d'archéologie, d'histoire et de paléontologie de Charleroi 64: 201–202. 
  56. ^ a b c d e f g h "Belgium". European Holocaust Research Infrastructure Project. enhri-project.eu. Retrieved 4 April 2013. 
  57. ^ "Report: Belgium Collaborated With Nazis in Deporting Jews". Deutsche Welle. 14 February 2007. Retrieved 15 April 2013. 
  58. ^ Ferree, Chuck. "L'Holocauste en Belgique". Jewish Gen. Retrieved 27 February 2013. 
  59. ^ "Holocaust". Kazerne Dossin – Memorial. Retrieved 15 April 2013. 
  60. ^ "Breendonk, Le Mémorial ne changera pas de nom". Le Soir. 6 December 2007. Retrieved 26 February 2013. 
  61. ^ Van der Wilt, Olivier. "Europäische Perspektiven der Gedenkstättenpädagogik". Retrieved 3 November 2012. 
  62. ^ Van der Wilt, Olivier. Le projet pédagogique du Mémorial National du Fort de Breendonk. p. 1. 
  63. ^ "Units of the Belgian armed forces in the United Kingdom 1940–1945". be4046.eu. Retrieved 27 February 2013. 
  64. ^ "Why Belgium Fights On: Civilisation will Perish if Nazis Win". The Mercury. 13 March 1941. Retrieved 7 May 2013. 
  65. ^ "V-Campaign". Virtual Radio Museum. Retrieved 29 April 2013. 
  66. ^ Gerard, Emmanuel; Van Nieuwenhuyse, Karel (eds.) (2010). Scripta Politica: Politieke Geschiedenis van België in Documenten, 1918–2008 (2nd ed.). Leuven: Acco. pp. 164–5. ISBN 978-9-03-348039-3. 
  67. ^ "Grande-Bretagne, refuge des démocraties". KLM-MRA. Retrieved 5 May 2013. 
  68. ^ "History of the Piron Brigade". www.brigade-piron.be. Retrieved 15 December 2012. 
  69. ^ "The Belgian Commando Troops, 1942–1945". Be4046.eu. Retrieved 4 March 2013. 
  70. ^ "The Belgian SAS in WWII – A Very Short History". belgiansas.us. Retrieved 4 March 2013. 
  71. ^ Ready, J. Lee (1985). Forgotten Allies: The Military Contribution of the Colonies, Exiled Governments, and Lesser Powers to the Allied Victory in World War II. Jefferson, N.C. u.a.: McFarland. p. 254. ISBN 978-0-89950-129-1. 
  72. ^ a b Thomas, Nigel (1991). Foreign Volunteers of the Allied Forces: 1939–45. London: Osprey. p. 17. ISBN 978-1-85532-136-6. 
  73. ^ Laporte, Christian (17 June 2010). "La Force publique, une saga belge et – sur tout – congolaise". La Libre Belgique. Retrieved 27 February 2013. 
  74. ^ a b c Killingray, David (2012). Fighting for Britain: African Soldiers in the Second World War. London: James Currey Ltd. p. 7. ISBN 1-84701-047-4. 
  75. ^ Willame, Jean-Claude (1972). Patrimonialism and political change in the Congo. Stanford, Calif.: Stanford U.P. p. 62. ISBN 0-8047-0793-6. 
  76. ^ Ayimpamle, Théophile. "Les chroniques du Congo : La Colonie du Congo belge". Retrieved 27 February 2013. 
  77. ^ Fleckner, Mads; Avery, John (July 2005). "Congo Uranium and the Tragedy of Hiroshima" (PDF). 55th Pugwash Conference. University of Copenhagen: 1–2. 
  78. ^ a b c "1944: The liberation of Brussels". www.brussels.be. 
  79. ^ a b Chen, C. Peter. "Liberation of Belgium: 2 Sep 1944 – 2 Nov 1944". ww2db.com. Retrieved 28 February 2013. 
  80. ^ a b Roberts, Stephen H. (4 November 1944). "Antwerp will be a Crucial Gain: Port can Transform Allies' Supply Problems". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 28 February 2013. 
  81. ^ Thomas, Nigel (1991). Foreign volunteers of the allied forces : 1939–45. London: Osprey. p. 16. ISBN 978-1-85532-136-6. 
  82. ^ Burgaff, Eric (16 December 2004). "Les Belges à la libération". Le Soir. Retrieved 18 February 2013. 
  83. ^ "Belgian Armed Forces in the United Kingdom – Introduction". Be4046.eu. Retrieved 13 April 2013. 
  84. ^ a b "Battle of the Bulge: December 16, 1944-January 28, 1945". History Channel. Retrieved 12 May 2013. 
  85. ^ Gallaghe, Richard (1964). Malmedy Massacre. Paperback Library. pp. 110–111. 
  86. ^ "Battle of the Ardennes Museum". La Roche-en-Ardenne Attractions. Retrieved 12 May 2013. 
  87. ^ a b "V-Bomb Damage in Belgium Extensive". Canberra Times. 17 May 1945. Retrieved 15 April 2013. 
  88. ^ "History of the Institute of Veterans". Warveterans.be. Retrieved 15 December 2012. 
  89. ^ "World War: Routes to the past in French-speaking Belgium". Visitbelgium.com. Retrieved 12 May 2013. 
  90. ^ "KLM-MRA Museum Educational Programme". Klm-mra.be. Retrieved 15 December 2012. 
  91. ^ "Breendonck". Jewish Virtual Library. Retrieved 27 February 2013. 
  92. ^ "Projet de Loi tendant à réprimer la négation, la minimisation, la justification ou l'approbation du génocide commis par le régime national-socialiste allemand pendant la seconde guerre mondiale". lachambre.be. Retrieved 27 February 2013. 
  93. ^ "La Force publique du Congo belge en 1940–1945". Congoforum.be. Retrieved 27 February 2013. 
  94. ^ "Lisolo Na Bisu". Klm-mra.be. Retrieved 15 December 2012. 
  95. ^ "De Force Publique van Belgisch Kongo in de periode 1940–1945". VOX. Defence. Retrieved 15 December 2012. 

External links [edit]

Further reading [edit]

Primary sources
Military history
  • Mollo, Andrew (2001). The Armed Forces of World War II: Uniforms, Insignia & Organisation. Leicester: Silverdale Books. pp. 48–51. ISBN 1-85605-603-1. 
  • Thomas, Nigel (1991). Foreign Volunteers of the Allied Forces: 1939–45. London: Osprey. ISBN 1-85532-136-X. 
  • (French) (Dutch) Baete, Hubert (ed.) (1994). Belgian Forces in the United Kingdom. Comité 44–94. Ostend: Defence. 
  • Peeters, Natasja (2010). Lisolo na Bisu, 1885–1960: "Our History" the Congolese Soldier of the "Force Publique". Brussels: KLM-MRA. ISBN 2-87051-049-7. 
Occupation
  • (French) Van Doorslaer, Rudi (dir.) et al. (2007). La Belgique Docile. Brussels: CEGES-SOMA. 
  • (French) Jacquemyns, Guillaume; Struye, Paul (2002). La Belgique sous l'Occupation Allemande: 1940–1944 (Rev. ed.). Brussels: Éd. Complexe. ISBN 2-87027-940-X. 
  • (French) Bernard, Henri (1968). La Résistance 1940–1945. Brussels: Éd. Renaissance du livre. 
Politics
  • Conway, Martin (1993). Collaboration in Belgium: Léon Degrelle and the Rexist Movement, 1940–1944. New Haven: Yale Univ. Press. ISBN 0-300-05500-5. 
  • Conway, Martin (2012). The Sorrows of Belgium: Liberation and Political Reconstruction, 1944–1947. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-199-69434-6. 
Emblem of Germany
History of World War II by region and country
Europe
Africa
Americas
Asia
Australasia
Dependencies shown in brackets.   Italics indicate countries that became independent.
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Belgium_in_World_War_II&oldid=556145095"