3.2. WORLD WAR TWO: German Occupation

Belgium was declared as neutral during World War Two. The Belgian administration thought that this position of neutrality would be less damaging for Belgian citizens. In order to prove that neutrality, Belgium left some international treaties which it had ratified in the context of World War One.

However, in the year 1940 the Belgian army surrendered to the German army. This led to the start of German occupation and the Belgian government considered that having limited cooperation with the Germans was the best option. It was thought to be the best choice within the seriousness of the situation, so it could be interpreted as an action of survival. Besides, Leopold III, who was Belgium’s king in that period, had always been seen as someone with authoritarian ideas.

Nonetheless, the limited cooperation turned into active supporting by some groups in Belgian regions such as Flanders or Wallonia, where fascists parties had been created before the war: The Walloon Rexist Party and the Flemish National Union.

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            Flemish National Union                                                   Walloon Rexist Party

(Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, 2018)

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German occupation in Belgium was not as intense as in other European States. In 1940 a resistance movement, ‘The Belgian Resistance’, was created. In the first years of occupation that organization was not really active, but its activity expanded in 1944, when some resistance members killed 1000 Flemish and Walloon fascist collaborators. As a result of that, there was a civil war in Belgium and many reprisals were taken against the resistants.

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Picture of the Belgian resistance during German occupation

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In 1942, repression by fascist Germans increased and Jews who lived in Belgium were persecuted and taken to concentration camps. This also contributed to the increase in the activity of the Resistant Members.

Belgium was liberated in 1944 by the Allied forces: British, Canadian and American, and by the Brigade Piron, which was a unitary army formed by soldiers from Belgium and Luxembourg who joined together in order to fight against the Nazi’s regime. 

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Brigade Piron

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Once the war finished in 1945, the Belgian Resistance managed the surrender of 20000 German soldiers. Finally, the resistants came back to the civil plane after a victory parade in Brussels.

It is necessary to point out that in this period, in 1948, women obtained the right to vote.

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(This video reproduces the liberation of the Belgian population)

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IMAGES

1. D-Day and Battle of Normandy Encyclopedia. (s.f.). PIRON BRIGADE – 1ST BELGIAN INDEPENDENT GROUP. Obtenido de D-Day and Battle of Normandy Encyclopedia.

WEBGRAPHY

1. D-Day and Battle of Normandy Encyclopedia. (s.f.). PIRON BRIGADE – 1ST BELGIAN INDEPENDENT GROUP. Obtenido de D-Day and Battle of Normandy Encyclopedia.
2. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (2018, September 30). Retrieved from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vlaams_Nationaal_Verbond
3. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (14 de November de 2018). Bélgica en la Segunda Guerra Mundial. Obtenido de Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%A9lgica_en_la_Segunda_Guerra_Mundial
4. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (14 de November de 2018). Ocupación alemana de Bélgica durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial. Obtenido de Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocupaci%C3%B3n_alemana_de_B%C3%A9lgica_durante_la_Segunda_Guerra_Mundial
5. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (19 de March de 2018). Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Obtenido de https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rexist_Party: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rexist_Party

6. Women Suffrage and Beyond. (s.f.). Belgium. Obtenido de Women Suffrage and Beyond: http://womensuffrage.org/?page_id=97