Belgian resistance
Encyclopedia
Belgian resistance during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

to the occupation of Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

 by Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...

 took different forms. "The Belgian Resistance" was the common name for the Netwerk van de weerstand - Réseau de Résistance or Resistance Network (RR), a group of partisans
Partisan (military)
A partisan is a member of an irregular military force formed to oppose control of an area by a foreign power or by an army of occupation by some kind of insurgent activity...

 fighting the Nazis. Belgian resistance fighters performed various roles, including sabotaging Nazi installations and helping rescue downed Allied
Allies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...

 fliers. As much of the rail traffic between northern Germany and France passes through Belgium, another role played by networks with radios was to provide the Allies with intelligence on movements of troops and materiel
Materiel
Materiel is a term used in English to refer to the equipment and supplies in military and commercial supply chain management....

.

Andrée de Jongh
Andrée de Jongh
Countess Andrée de Jongh was a member of the Belgian Resistance during World War II. She organized the Comet Line for escaped Allied soldiers...

 organized the Comet Line
Comet line
The Comet line was a World War II resistance group in Belgium/France which helped Allied soldiers and airmen return to Britain. The line started in Brussels, where the men were fed, clothed and given false identity papers before being hidden in attics and cellars of houses...

 (Komeet Lijn - Le Reseau Comète) for escaped Allied soldiers. Albert Guérisse
Albert Guérisse
Major-General Comte Albert-Marie Edmond Guérisse, GC, KBE, DSO was a Belgian Resistance member who organized escape routes for downed Allied pilots during World War II under the alias of Patrick Albert "Pat" O'Leary, the name of a Canadian friend...

 organized escape routes for downed Allied pilots under the alias of Patrick Albert "Pat" O'Leary; his escape line was dubbed the Pat Line.

Andree Antoine Dumon helped rescue 27 Allied fliers and worked as a courier
Courier
A courier is a person or a company who delivers messages, packages, and mail. Couriers are distinguished from ordinary mail services by features such as speed, security, tracking, signature, specialization and individualization of express services, and swift delivery times, which are optional for...

 for the resistance. Baron Georges Schnek, operating mainly in France and who was Jewish, helped provide false ID
Identity document
An identity document is any document which may be used to verify aspects of a person's personal identity. If issued in the form of a small, mostly standard-sized card, it is usually called an identity card...

 papers and ration coupons to fleeing Jewish families.

Georges Schoeters
Georges Schoeters
George Schoeters was one of the founders and a leader of the Front de libération du Québec terrorist group in 1963. During World War II, Schoeter worked as a courier for the Belgian Resistance, thus beginning his clandestine career....

, co-founder and member of the FLQ, worked as a courier towards the end of the war until he was captured by the Nazis.

Background

Belgium was a neutral country but by November 1939 intelligence reports of an impending German attack reached a peak. The Germans had invaded Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

 and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 had declared war on Germany. The Germans wanted to remove potential aggressors to their west to avoid fighting on two fronts, a strategy which crippled their abilities in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

. The German Army needed to push through neutral Belgium in order to attack France. The French and British sent soldiers to aid in the fight against the Germans but despite their efforts, the Germans secured the unconditional surrender of Belgium after 18 days of fighting. The King of Belgium, King Leopold III, went against his cabinet by deciding to surrender the country. King Leopold III was taken as a prisoner of war and was later accused by his countrymen of collaborating with the Germans. Despite this, while imprisoned, in 1942 he sent a letter to Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...

 which has been credited with saving an estimated 500,000 Belgian women and children from deportation to munitions factories in Germany. The members of the cabinet retreated to England, where they set up government. Immediately after the surrender, resistance groups were formed to harass the German Army. Due to Germany's failure to sway the Belgian citizens during the German occupation in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, the invading army sought to establish itself as a liberating force from British imperialism. However, many citizens were quick to aid in the fight against the Germans. The situation in Belgium is documented in Roger Motz
Roger Motz
Roger Jean Henri Motz was a Belgian liberal and politician. Motz was a mine-engineer and governor of companies...

's book Belgium Unvanquished in which Motz describes the atmosphere of resistance as being "relentless". Due to the large number of Belgian citizens who were willing to aid the resistance fighters, supply lines were established and evasion routes were charted. The Belgian resistance fighters were determined to aid the Allies in any way they could.

Unusually the Belgian resistance would also come to include the Légion Belge, a far right resistance movement led by dissident Rexists
Rexism
Rexism was a fascist political movement in the first half of the 20th century in Belgium.It was the ideology of the Rexist Party , officially called Rex, founded in 1930 by Léon Degrelle, a Walloon...

 who opposed occupation and the National Legion of Paul Hoornaert
Paul Hoornaert
Paul Hoornaert was a Belgian far right political activist. Although a pioneer of fascism in the country he was an opponent of Nazism and died in a Nazi concentration camp....

.

The Independence Front
Front de l'Indépendance
The Front de l'indépendance was a Belgian resistance movement during World War II, founded in March 1941 by Dr. Albert Marteaux of the Communist Party of Belgium, Father André Roland, and Fernand Demany, another communist...

, a mostly communist-led resistance network, was one of the most important in Belgium. It included a specific Austrian communist network, the Österreichische Freiheitsfront
Österreichische Freiheitsfront
The Österreichische Freiheitsfront was an antifascist organization created by Austrian and German communist refugees in Brussels during the Second World War occupation of Belgium by Nazi Germany...

.

The Belgian resistance effort was fragmented between various groups and never really became a unified organization during the German occupation. The Belgian government in exile referred collectively to the Belgian resistance groups as the Armée Secrete, but the government in exile had independent liaison with the various groups.

Downed Airmen

The Germans sent out patrols of men with dogs and motorcycles to search for any Allied airman who was shot down. The resistance groups were quick to beat the Germans to the downed flyers. Parachutes needed to be immediately buried and pilots were hidden from the Germans. The Comet Line
Comet line
The Comet line was a World War II resistance group in Belgium/France which helped Allied soldiers and airmen return to Britain. The line started in Brussels, where the men were fed, clothed and given false identity papers before being hidden in attics and cellars of houses...

 had a series of safe houses throughout Belgium. Allied airmen were given civilian clothes and frequently moved from house to house, staying with Belgian families who supported the resistance. The resistance would aid the airmen by giving them false papers and guiding them to either neutral or Allied occupied territory. German soldiers would fail to recognize that some of the men passing through their checkpoints were actually allied pilots who were being transported out of Belgium. One incident was captured on film where a German soldier was shown lighting the cigarette of an American Navigator who was disguised as a Belgian civilian. Though many airmen were able to escape successfully, many others were caught by the Germans, sometimes after months of successful evasion. Captured airmen were interrogated by the Gestapo before being imprisoned in Belgium or transported back to German POW camps.

Bridge over the Ambleve River

German troops were moved by train from stations in Belgium. The resistance network monitored these transport trains to determine the patterns of German troop movement. Herman Bodson was a Belgian chemist before the war broke out in Europe. Bodson was heavily involved with the Comet line
Comet line
The Comet line was a World War II resistance group in Belgium/France which helped Allied soldiers and airmen return to Britain. The line started in Brussels, where the men were fed, clothed and given false identity papers before being hidden in attics and cellars of houses...

 and worked with allied Special Forces
Special forces
Special forces, or special operations forces are terms used to describe elite military tactical teams trained to perform high-risk dangerous missions that conventional units cannot perform...

 during the war. He also served as a medic during the Battle of the Bulge
Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge was a major German offensive , launched toward the end of World War II through the densely forested Ardennes mountain region of Wallonia in Belgium, hence its French name , and France and...

 He worked with several resistance units in and around Brussels. Allied commanders passed on targets to the men, who would carry out the sabotage missions. Bodson had received reports that the German Army was constantly sending trains full of German soldiers throughout Belgium. The resistance network quickly identified when and where troop trains would be traveling. The plan was to destroy a vital bridge between the towns of La Gleize
La Gleize
La Gleize is a village and section of the Belgian Municipality of Stoumont, situated in the Walloon Region in the province of Liège.Common before the full merger of Commons in 1977, La Gleize is located on a rocky outcrop overlooking the valley of Amblève in the Ardennes region.-Hamlets:Moulin du...

 and Stoumont
Stoumont
Stoumont is a municipality of Belgium. It lies in the country's Walloon Region and Province of Liege. On January 1, 2006 Stoumont had a total population of 3,006. The total area is 108.45 km² which gives a population density of 28 inhabitants per km²....

. A group of nearly 40 members of the Belgian Resistance assembled at the bridge and quickly began placing explosives on the bridge's center arch. As a German troop train approached the bridge, the explosives were detonated. The train, unable to stop in time, crashed into the river killing all 600 German soldiers aboard.
Belgian saboteurs received much of their supplies, including explosives and arms by stealing them from German munitions dumps and during skirmishes with the German Army. One faction of the resistance, known as Group G carried out numerous successful sabotage missions. The Germans were continuously tested by the resistance groups. Throughout the war Group G caused the Germans to expend 20 million man-hours of labor to repair damages done by the underground.

Casualties

Resistance fighters were constantly working to overthrow the occupying Germans. Their missions often went unseen but any resistance fighters captured by the Germans would either be imprisoned or shot. Losses were felt hard in the resistance community. Members were always at risk of being captured or betrayed. The Germans had special agents working against the resistance forces. The agents were told to make connections within the underground communities in order to gather intelligence. Escape routes were sometimes traps and many downed airmen, as well as resistance fighters, were captured this way. German soldiers, working within the resistance groups were responsible for the arrests of hundreds of Belgian citizens, Allied soldiers and resistance fighters.

Achievements

One of the objectives of the resistance was to provide an evasion route for Allied pilots who had been shot down over areas occupied by the Germans. Many of the resistance fighters sought to harass the German Army into withdrawing from Belgian territories.

Resistance fighters were also credited with stopping a train which was transporting Jewish prisoners to Auschwitz. This train was labeled the Twentieth convoy
Twentieth convoy
Transport 20 was a Jewish prisoner transport in Belgium organized by the Nazi Germany during World War II. Members of the Belgian Resistance freed Jewish and Gypsy civilians who were being transported by train from the Dossin Barracks located in Mechelen, Belgium to the Auschwitz concentration camp...

.

The use of sabotage as an effective weapon was not heavily utilized until World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. The German Army lost thousands of trains during the war due to acts of sabotage
Sabotage
Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening another entity through subversion, obstruction, disruption, or destruction. In a workplace setting, sabotage is the conscious withdrawal of efficiency generally directed at causing some change in workplace conditions. One who engages in sabotage is...

. German units were spread throughout Europe and many smaller units were targeted by resistance fighters. Ambushes were a common tactic used. Rail lines were very often targeted to disrupt the flow of materials and men for the German Army. Stretches of track were rigged with explosive charges and would be set to explode as the train passes over them. The resistance groups cost the German Army millions of dollars worth of equipment and had a large psychological effect on the German soldiers. By stalling and delaying the German forces, the Belgian Resistance group prevented the Axis from ever establishing a stable base of operations in occupied Belgium.

Popular culture

  • A 1977 film, Secret Agents, dealt with the Belgian Resistance.
  • A BBC series, Secret Army, was filmed during the late 1970s based on Comète Line
  • An American documentary in 2006 called "Last Best Hope" premiered in Brussels for Prince Phillipe, the Belgian Army, and diplomats from five countries. Film makers David Grosvenor, Mat Hames
    Mat Hames
    Mat Hames is an American independent filmmaker known for his documentaries When I Rise, Last Best Hope, Fighting Goliath, and other film and television productions. He is a principal of production company Alpheus Media. In addition to productions for PBS, Sundance, and Discovery Channel, Alpheus...

    , Ramona Kelly, and Walter Verstraeten presented the film to surviving Belgian Resistance members Andrée de Jongh
    Andrée de Jongh
    Countess Andrée de Jongh was a member of the Belgian Resistance during World War II. She organized the Comet Line for escaped Allied soldiers...

    , Raymond Itterbeek, Michou and Nadine Dumon and others. An edited version aired in the U.S. on PBS in 2006 and 2007 and on European television in 2007.
  • A History Channel documentary called Nazi Ghost Train
    Nazi Ghost Train
    What seems to have become known as the Nazi Ghost Train was a train that, at the beginning of September 1944, was intended to transport the 'political' prisoners and Allied airmen held at Saint-Gilles prison in Brussels, to camps in Germany...

     was released in 2000 and interviews members of the Belgian Resistance at a reunion. Surviving Allied pilots also attend to pay respect to the men and women who risked their lives to keep them from falling into German hands.

See also

  • Free Belgian Forces
    Free Belgian Forces
    The Free Belgian Forces were members of the Belgian armed forces in World War II who continued fighting against the Axis after the surrender of Belgium and its subsequent occupation by the Germans...

  • Albert Guérisse
    Albert Guérisse
    Major-General Comte Albert-Marie Edmond Guérisse, GC, KBE, DSO was a Belgian Resistance member who organized escape routes for downed Allied pilots during World War II under the alias of Patrick Albert "Pat" O'Leary, the name of a Canadian friend...

  • Resistance during World War II
    Resistance during World War II
    Resistance movements during World War II occurred in every occupied country by a variety of means, ranging from non-cooperation, disinformation and propaganda to hiding crashed pilots and even to outright warfare and the recapturing of towns...

  • Twentieth convoy
    Twentieth convoy
    Transport 20 was a Jewish prisoner transport in Belgium organized by the Nazi Germany during World War II. Members of the Belgian Resistance freed Jewish and Gypsy civilians who were being transported by train from the Dossin Barracks located in Mechelen, Belgium to the Auschwitz concentration camp...

  • Marcel Verhamme
    Marcel Verhamme
    Marcel Verhamme was a Belgian Resistance fighter during World War II. A radio telegrapher by profession, he was recruited in 1941 by Walthère Dewé for the resistance network known as Clarence. Before his eventual arrest on 29 July 1943 Verhamme transmitted some 200 radio messages to London and...


External links

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