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Radio Belgique

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Radio Belgique
Radio België
Broadcast areaBelgium
Programming
Language(s)French and Dutch
AffiliationsBelgian government in exile
Ownership
OwnerBBC European Service
History
First air date
28 September 1940[1]-16 September 1944

Radio Belgique (French, "Radio Belgium"), also known in Dutch as Radio België, was a radio broadcast transmitted to Nazi-occupied Belgium from London during World War II. It was broadcast with the support of the Belgian government in exile and formed part of the BBC's European Service.

Background

Main article: Battle of Belgium

On 10 May 1940, neutral Belgium was invaded by German forces. After 18 days of fighting, the Belgian army, along with King Leopold III, surrendered and the country was placed under German occupation. The Belgian government fled, first to France and then to the United Kingdom, where it formed a government in exile in London. The national Belgian radio station, the [Institut national belge de radiodiffusion] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) (INR) sabotaged its transmitters and was banned by the Germans[3] though many of INR's employees followed the government to London.[4]

Radio Belgique

[Radio Belgique] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) was established on 28 September 1940 and broadcast in French and Dutch.[5] The French service was put under the control of Victor de Laveleye (a former Liberal government minister), while Jan Moedwil was put incharge of the Dutch service.[5] A press agency, INTERBEL, was founded for the radio, as a continuation of the pre-war BELGA agency.[5]

On 14 January 1941, the former Belgian cabinet minister Victor de Laveleye, known for inventing the V for Victory campaign, became the announcer on [Radio Belgique] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) and began encouraging the use of the V Symbol in occupied Belgium.[5][6] He was responsible for inventing one of the station's most notable slogans, "Courage, on les aura, les Boches" ("Courage, we will have them, the Boches").[7] In 1942, Charles de Gaulle gave a speech on [Radio Belgique] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help), celebrating Franco-Belgian friendship.[8]

Though forbidden by the German occupiers, [Radio Belgique] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) was listened to by a majority of Belgians, far more than officially approved stations (like [Radio Bruxelles] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)) which broadcast German propaganda.[9] The journalist and former resistance member Paul Lévy also worked at [Radio Belgique] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help).

German response

Recognizing the potential effect that [Radio Belgique] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) could have on their control of information in the occupied country, the Germans rapidly created collaborationist radio stations, also aimed at a Belgian audience, using the remaining assets from the INR,[3] the Francophone [Radio Bruxelles] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) ("Radio Brussels") and Dutch language [Zender Brussel] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help).[5] The Germans brought out radio blockers to disrupt the signal and made listening to [Radio Belgique] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) illegal in December 1940.[5]

Radiodiffusion National Belge

During the later stages of World War II, the Belgian government sponsored the creation of a new radio broadcaster, [Radiodiffusion National Belge] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) (RNB), which broadcast from London and later from Léopoldville in the Belgian Congo.[5] However, it only began to be received in Belgium from September 1944 during the liberation and soon afterwards [Radio Belgique] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) was removed from the air.[5]

References

  1. ^ Dutry-Soinne, Tinou (2006). Les Méconnus de Londres: Journal de Guerre d'une Belge, 1940–1945 (vol. 1). Brussels: Racine. p. 114. ISBN 2-87386-483-4.
  2. ^ Christian, Laporte (1 September 1994). "LE V-Brevet Belge Signe Victor de Laveleye". Le Soir. Retrieved 26 August 2013.
  3. ^ a b Rase, Céline. "Les Ondes en Uniforme: La propagande radiophonique allemande en Belgique Occupée" (PDF). Cegesoma. Retrieved 26 August 2013.
  4. ^ "La radiodiffusion en Belgique avant 1955". La Pensée et les Hommes. Retrieved 26 August 2013.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Gotovitch, José; Aron, Paul, eds. (2008). Dictionnaire de la Seconde Guerre Mondiale en Belgique. Brussels: André Versaille éd. pp. 372–3. ISBN 978-2-87495-001-8.
  6. ^ Jacquemyns, Guillaume; Struye, Paul (2002). La Belgique sous l'occupation allemande: 1940–1944. Brussels: Éd. Complexe. p. 113. ISBN 2-87027-940-X.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ Lanneau, Catherine. L’inconnue française. La France et les Belges francophones 1944-1945. Brussels: P.I.E.-Peter Lang. p. 74.
  8. ^ Lanneau, Catherine. L’inconnue française. La France et les Belges francophones 1944-1945. Brussels: P.I.E.-Peter Lang. p. 69.
  9. ^ Rase, Céline. Les Ondes en Uniforme: la Propagande de Radio Bruxelles en Belgique Occupée (1940-1944). Namur: University of Namur. p. 206. ISBN 2870377088.

Bibliography

  • De Lavayele, Victor (1949). Ici Radio Belgique... Les Meilleurs Commentaires de Victor de Laveleye. Ad. Goemaere.
  • Various (1944). Voici la BBC. British Broadcasting Corporation.
  • L.R. Boogaerts (1940). Ici, Radio Belgique (Television production). Great Britain: Paramount G.B.
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