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Reichskommissariat of Belgium and Northern France

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(Redirected fromReichsgau Wallonien)
Reichskommissariat
Belgien-Nordfrankreich
1944
Anthem:Horst-Wessel-Lied
Location of Belgium
StatusReichskommissariatofNazi Germany
CapitalBrussels
Common languagesGerman(administration)
Dutch
French
GovernmentCivil administration
Reichskommissar
• 1944
Josef Grohé
Historical eraWorld War II
• Grohé appointed
13 July 1944
• Allied liberation of Brussels
3 September 1944
CurrencyBelgian franc
ISO 3166 codeBE
Preceded by		 Succeeded by
Military Administration in Belgium and Northern France
Kingdom of Belgium
Provisional Government of the French Republic
Today part ofBelgium
France

TheReichskommissariat of Belgium and Northern France(German:Reichskommissariat Belgien-Nordfrankreich) was aNazi Germancivil administration (Zivilverwaltung) which governed most ofoccupied Belgiumand northern parts ofoccupied Francein the second half of 1944 duringWorld War II.

TheReichskommissariatwas established on 13 July 1944 by Hitler's"Erlaß des Führers über die Errichtung einer Zivilverwaltung in den besetzten Gebieten von Belgien und Nordfrankreich vom 13. Juli 1944".[1]

TheReichskommissariatreplaced an earlier military government, theMilitary Administration in Belgium and Northern France,established in the same territory in 1940.[2][3]

History

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Establishment

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Afterits invasionby Germany in May 1940,Belgiumwas initially placed under a "temporary" military government, in spite of more radical factions within the German government, such as theSS,urging for the installation of anotherNazi civil government,as had been done inNorwayandthe Netherlands.[4]On 15 June it was joined with the two FrenchdépartementsofNordandPas-de-Calais(included on the grounds thatpart of this territorybelonged to GermanicFlanders,as well as the fact that the entire region formed an integral economic unit[5]) as theMilitary Administration in Belgium and North France(Militärverwaltung in Belgien und Nordfrankreich).[citation needed]

In spite of this uncompromising attitude at the time, it was decided that the entire area should someday be assimilated into the Third Reich[6]and divided into three new Reichsgaue of aGreater Germanic Reich:FlandernandBrabantfor the Flemish territories, andWallonienfor the Walloon parts.[7]Reichsgau Brabant was to be headed by Gauleiter U. van Brusselen. On 13 July 1944, aReichskommissariat Belgien-Nordfrankreichwas established to accomplish precisely this goal, derived from the previous military administration.[1][8]

On 13 July 1944, theGauleiterofGau Cologne-Aachen,Josef Grohé,was namedReichskommissarof the territory, known as theReichskommissariat Belgien und NordfrankreichorReichskommissariat für die besetzte Gebiete von Belgien und Nordfrankreich.[2][9]It covered theNord-Pas-de-Calaisregion of France, as well as Belgium except forEupen-Malmedywhich were reincorporated directly into the German Reich.[citation needed]

TheWehrmachttroops in the area were commanded byWehrmachtbefehlshaberBelgien-NordfrankreichMartin Grase(13 July 1944 – 16 September 1944).[citation needed]

The territory was mostly liberated by theAlliesin September 1944, in the aftermath of theNormandy landings,so the existence of the territory was short.[citation needed]

Plans for the future

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Although most of Belgium and Northern France were no longer underde factoGerman control by the end of September 1944, the Nazi German leadership and its Flemish and Walloon collaborators continued making plans for the future political division and administration of the territories. Most versions of these plans included the future establishment of three separate territories: aReichsgau Flandern,aReichsgau Wallonien,and aDistrictorFree Cityof Brussels, which were supposed to be annexed by the German Reich.[10][11][12]On 8 December 1944, German Foreign MinisterJoachim Von RibbentropappointedLéon Degrelleas the "Head of the Walloon Liberation Committee", followed by the appointment ofJef van de Wieleon 15 December 1944 to "Head of the Flemish Liberation Committee".[13]When the German military launched theArdennes Offensiveon 16 December 1944, the Nazi collaborators had renewed hopes of carrying out their ideals.[14]In a 20 December 1944 interview with a pro-Nazi newspaper, Degrelle said no decision had yet been taken about the future of Belgium: 'The issue of the transformation of the States of the West is not current. The war must be won first...'[14]Degrelle's "Walloon Liberation Committee" was based in Bonn.[15]Meanwhile, van de Wiele'sVlaamsche Landsleiding,a self-proclaimed Flemish collaborator government-in-exile which had fled toÚstí nad Labem(German:Aussig) in November 1944[16]and had been designing statutes for a futureReichsland Flandern,[17]in late December 1944 moved to Wahn nearCologneto prepare for the 'liberation' of Flanders as it was building a combat group of Flemish collaborators to join the Ardennes Offensive.[18]In January 1945, Van de Wiele was negotiating with Foreign Ministry representative Diehl about the future establishment of separate subdivisions for Flanders and Wallonia; he did not care whether Flanders was to be called aReichsgauorReichsmark,as long as the 'artificial' Belgian state was split, and the 'unnatural union' of Flemings and Walloons was brought to an end.[19]The Ardennes Offensive was a disaster, and after the German troops were ordered to retreat on 13 January 1945, any further talks on the political future of Belgium were discontinued, as the German leadership was no longer interested in discussing plans with Van de Wiele.[20]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ab"Reichskommissariat Belgien und Nordfrankreich".territorial.de.Retrieved2022-10-09.
  2. ^abRolf Jehke."Reichskommissariat Belgien und Nordfrankreisch".Territorial.de.Retrieved2015-03-09.
  3. ^Kroener, Müller & Umbreit (2003)Germany and the Second World War V/II,p. 29
  4. ^Rich, Norman:Hitler's War Aims: The Establishment of the New Order,p. 173. W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1974.
  5. ^Rich, Norman, p. 172.
  6. ^Rich, Norman, pp. 171, 196.
  7. ^Bernhard Kroener, Rolf-Dieter Müller, Hans Umbreit (2003).Germany and the Second World War: Volume V/II.Oxford University Press,p. 26[1]
  8. ^Rich, Norman, p. 195.
  9. ^Kroener, Müller & Umbreit (2003)Germany and the Second World War V/II,p. 29
  10. ^Lipgens, Walter.Documents on the History of European integration: Volume 1 – Continental Plans for European Integration 1939–1945,p. 45. Walter de Gruyter & Co., 1974.
  11. ^Meyers, Willem C.M. (1972)."Le" Vlaamse Landsleiding ""(PDF).journalbelgianhistory.be.Retrieved6 October2022.
  12. ^Albert de Jonghe (1970)."L'etablissement d'une administration civile en Belgique et dans le Nord de la France: La discussion finale au quartier générale du Führer, le 12 juillet 1944"(PDF).journalbelgianhistory.be.Retrieved6 October2022.
  13. ^Meyers 1972,p. 250–251.
  14. ^abMeyers 1972,p. 251.
  15. ^Meyers 1972,p. 262.
  16. ^Meyers 1972,p. 249.
  17. ^Meyers 1972,p. 252.
  18. ^Meyers 1972,p. 261.
  19. ^Meyers 1972,p. 263.
  20. ^Meyers 1972,p. 265.

Further reading

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  • De Jonghe, Albert (1972).Hitler en het politieke lot van België, 1940-1944. De vestiging van een Zivilverwaltung in België en Noord-Frankrijk.Antwerp: Uitgeverij De Nederlandssche Boekhandel.
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