Witte Brigade

De Geuzengroep (1940-1944) Witte Brigade-Fidelio (1944)
Insignia of the Witte Brigade-Fidelio, displaying both the group's initials, but also aV for Victory
Leaders	Marcel Louette Edward Gierek
Dates of operation	1940-September 1944
Active regions	Focused onAntwerpregion,Belgium
Opponents	German Occupying Forces

TheWhite Brigade(Dutch:Witte Brigade,French:Brigade blanche) was aBelgian resistancegroup founded on 23 July 1940inAntwerpbyMarcel Louette,who was nicknamed "Fidelio". The group was originally known as "De Geuzengroep"and changed its name again after theLiberation of BelgiumtoWitte Brigade-Fidelioas the term "white brigade" had emerged as a generic term to describe the resistance.

The name was chosen in opposition to the "Black Brigade",a collaborator group led by SS-UntersturmführerReimond Tollenaere,who was responsible for the propaganda of pro-GermanFlemish National League.The Witte Brigade was based inAntwerpbut had smaller branches inGent,Lier,Aalst,Brussels,Waasland,Walloniaand in the coastal region.

Activities

During the Second World War Belgium was occupied by Germany. While the fascist group known as the Black Brigade were collaborators with the Germans, they were opposed by the undergroundWitte Brigade.Important activities of theWitte Brigadewere distributing anti-German propaganda, the creation of lists of collaborators and organizing patriotic demonstrations on key Belgian holidays, such as 21 July (National Day) and 11 November (Anniversary of the German surrender in theFirst World War). The resistance group published its own propaganda newspaper calledSteeds Verenigd-Unis Toujours(lit. 'Always United') which published some 80 editions and became one of the largest underground publications in Flanders. In addition, the group was concerned with obtaining military information about thePort of Antwerpand thepossible German invasion of Britain.TheWitte Brigadealso aided theComet line,helping shot-down Allied pilots to return to Britain, helping the Allies replace valuable flight crews. They protested an anti-Jewish pogrom while stressing, they are not "pro-Jewish."The Brigade protected Jewish families,using their network of informants and saboteurs to evade the German occupiers. TheWitte Brigadehad connections with various intelligence networks, code-namedLuc,BraveryandGroup Zero.It was also the only resistance group early in the War with contact with theBelgian government in exile,along with the British.

Members and arrests

Many members of theWitte Brigadewere military veteransand policemen. Members of theDeurnepolice were particularly represented. During Nazi Germany's repression of Belgium in 1943-1944, 700 members of the resistance were arrested. This, in addition to other losses, reduced the group's strength to where it played a minor role in the later liberation of Belgium.When a prominent member was captured in possession of a list of other members, 58 members were arrested and sent to German camps. In Deurne in a raid in January 1944, 62 members were arrested and, on May 9 of that same year, the founderMarcel Louettewas arrested and deported toSachsenhausen concentration camp.Louette would eventually return from Germany and died in Antwerp in 1978.In total, theWitte Brigadesuffered 400 losses of the 3,750 recognized members.

Additionally, around 300 men fromLuxembourg(which was annexed to Germany), many of whom had refused to serve in, or who had deserted from the German Wehrmacht, left their country to fight in the Ardennes section of the Witte Brigade, where they formed the so-calledRed Lion Brigade.

Jews were also active in the organization. Many of them were arrested because they were already known as Jews.

Achievements

Despite their heavy losses, theWitte Brigade,along with theArmée secrète,theFront de l'Indépendance,theMouvement National RoyalisteandGroupe G,helped allied forces capture theport of Antwerpintact in 1944. TheWitte Brigadeprevented the Germans, who had attached explosives to docks and cranes, from scuttling the facilities’ infrastructure, allowing the port to be opened once the Scheldt was cleared of sea mines. Additionally, theWitte Brigadeacted as a scouting and intelligence network for the Canadian 4th, 5th and 6th brigades in September 1944. TheWitte Brigadeprovided reports on the Germans' strength, defences, and numbers. Additionally, resistance members pinpointed the location of German minefields.The influence of theWitte Brigadewas considerable. The organization had been known popularly as the "White Brigade" so, after liberation, the group changed its name, adding the word "Fidelio", the pseudonym of Louette.

See also

• Marcel Louette
• Eugene Colson
• Monique de Bissy

External links

• "De Witte Brigade"(in Dutch). Archived fromthe originalon 2008-09-28.Retrieved31 December2012.