Reichskommissariat of Belgium and Northern France

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Reichskommissariat of Belgium and Northern France
Reichskommissariat
Belgien-Nordfrankreich
1944–1944
Location of Reichskommissariat of Belgium and Northern France
StatusReichskommissariat of Nazi Germany
CapitalBrussels
Common languagesGerman (administration)
Dutch
French
GovernmentCivil administration
Reichskommissar 
• 1944
Josef Grohé
Historical eraWorld War II
• Führer Decree
12 July 1944
• Allied liberation
September 1944
• Annexation to Germany
December 1944
CurrencyBelgian franc
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Military Administration in Belgium and Northern France
Kingdom of Belgium
Provisional Government of the French Republic

The Reichskommissariat of Belgium and Northern France was a German civil administration (Zivilverwaltung) which governed German-occupied Belgium during World War II. The Reichskommissariat replaced an earlier military government, the Military Administration in Belgium and Northern France, established in the same territory in 1940. On 18 July 1944, the first Gauleiter, Josef Grohé, was named the first Reichskommissar of the territory, known as the Reichskommissariat Belgien und Nordfrankreich or Reichskommissariat für die besetzten Gebiete von Belgien und Nordfrankreich.[1][2]

The territory was mostly liberated by the Allies in September 1944, in the aftermath of the Normandy landings, so the existence of the territory was short. Following the liberation, the territory was retrospectively annexed directly into Germany (although no longer under de facto German control) as three separate Reichsgaue: Reichsgau Flandern, Wallonien and the Brussels district

References

  1. ^ Rolf Jehke. "Reichskommissariat Belgien und Nordfrankreisch". Territorial.de. Retrieved 2015-03-09.
  2. ^ Kroener, Müller & Umbreit (2003) Germany and the Second World War V/II, p. 29