Belgian government in exile
The Belgian Government in London (
Despite no longer having authority in its own country, the government administered the Belgian Congo and held negotiations with other Allied powers about post-war reconstruction. Agreements made by the government in exile during the war included the foundation of the Benelux Customs Union and Belgium's admission into the United Nations. The government also exercised influence within the Belgian army-in-exile and attempted to maintain links with the underground resistance.
Background
Politically, Belgian politics had been dominated in the interwar period by the
Despite this policy, Belgium was invaded without warning by German forces on 10 May 1940. After
Unlike the Netherlands or Luxembourg, whose monarchies went into exile alongside the government, King Leopold III surrendered to the Germans alongside his army – contrary to the advice of his government. In the days before his surrender, he allegedly attempted to form a new government under the pro-Nazi socialist Henri de Man though this was never realized.[5] He remained a prisoner of the Germans, under house arrest, for the rest of the war.[5] Although the government briefly attempted to negotiate with the German authorities from exile in France, the German authorities passed a decree forbidding members of the Belgian government returning to the country and the talks were abandoned.[6]
Establishment in London
Refuge in France
The Belgian government in France had been intending to follow the French government of Paul Reynaud to France's overseas empire to continue the fight.[6] Meanwhile, Germany appointed General Alexander von Falkenhausen, an aristocrat and career soldier, as military governor of Belgium.[7] The government was briefly established in Limoges where, under pressure from the French government, they denounced Leopold's surrender.[8] However, when Reynaud was replaced by the pro-German Philippe Pétain, this plan was abandoned.[6] Despite hostility from the new Vichy regime, the Pierlot government remained in France. On 16 September 1940, Vichy demanded the disbandment of the Belgian government, still at that time in Bordeaux:
The Belgian government, whose activity in France has been, for some time now, purely theoretical, will decide to dissolve itself. Some of its members will remain in France as private individuals, while others will go abroad. This decision is part of the suppression of diplomatic missions of countries occupied by Germany, the necessity of which has been pointed out to the French government by the Reich.
— Letter from the Vichy French government, 16 September 1940.[9]
Move to London
While the government under Pierlot was still in France, the Belgian Minister of Health,
"The present Belgian government is a rump, but it is, as I understand it, a rump of unquestioned lineage, so to speak."
The challenge to the Pierlot government's authority spurred it into action.
The bulk of the Belgian government was installed in
By December 1940, the British recognized the "government of four" as the legal representation of Belgium, with the same status as the other governments in exile:
His Majesty's Government do regard the four Belgian ministers composing the Belgian Government in London as the legitimate and constitutional Government of Belgium and competent to exercise full authority in the name of the Sovereign State of Belgium.[16]
Composition
Initially numbering just four ministers, the government was soon joined by numerous others. The government in exile comprised both politicians and civil servants in a number of government departments. Most were focused in the Ministries of the Colonies, Finance, Foreign Affairs and Defence, but with skeleton staff in a number of others.[17] By May 1941, there were nearly 750 people working in the government in London in all capacities.[17]
"Government of Four"
[5] | Portfolio | Name | Party | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Prime Minister – Public Education and Defence | Hubert Pierlot | Catholic | ||
Foreign Affairs, Information and Propaganda | Paul-Henri Spaak | POB-BWP | ||
Financial and Economic Affairs | Camille Gutt | None (technical expert) | ||
Colonies and Justice | Albert de Vleeschauwer
|
Catholic |
Ministers without Portfolio
[citation needed] | Name | Party | Name | Party | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Henri Denis | None (technical expert) | Charles d'Aspremont Lynden | Catholic | ||||
Paul-Émile Janson † (until 1943) |
Liberal | Arthur Vanderpoorten † (until January 1943) |
Liberal | ||||
Léon Matagne | POB-BWP | August de Schryver (until 3 May 1943) |
Catholic | ||||
Eugène Soudan | POB-BWP |
Changes
- 19 February 1942
- Julius Hoste (Liberal) becomes Undersecretary for Public Education.[18]
- Henri Rolin (POB-BWP) becomes Undersecretary for Defence.[19]
- Gustave Joassart (technical expert) becomes Undersecretary for Aid to Refugees, Labour and Social Welfare.[18]
- 2 October 1942
- Antoine Delfosse (Catholic) becomes Minister for Justice, National Information and Propaganda.[18]
- Henri Rolin (POB-BWP) resigns as Undersecretary for Defence, in the aftermath of a minor mutiny in the Free Belgian forces.[19] His role is assumed by Hubert Pierlot, who becomes Minister for National Defence in addition to his existing titles.[19]
- January 1943
- Arthur Vanderpoorten (Liberal), who had refused to follow the government to London, is apprehended by the Germans in France.[18] He would later die in Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.
- 3 May 1943
- August de Schryver (Catholic) becomes Minister for Interior Affairs and Agriculture, after having served as Minister without Portfolio.[18]
- 6 April 1943
- August Balthazar (POB-BWP) becomes Minister for Public Works and Transport.[18]
- 16 July 1943
- Gustave Joassart (technical expert) resigns as Undersecretary for Aid to Refugees, Labour and Social Welfare.[18]
- 3 September 1943
- Joseph Bondas (POB-BWP) becomes Undersecretary for Aid to Refugees, Labour and Social Welfare.[18]
- Raoul Richard (technical expert) becomes Undersecretary for Supplies.[18]
- 30 March 1943
- Paul Tschoffen (Catholic) becomes Minister of State.[18]
- 6 June 1944
- Civil Affairs.[18]
Role
The government in exile was expected to fulfill the functions of a national government, but also represent Belgian interest to the Allied powers, leading Paul-Henri Spaak to comment that "all that remains of legal and free Belgium, all that is entitled to speak in her name, is in London".[20]
The British diplomatic mission to Belgium, under Ambassador
Belgian refugees
One of the most pressing concerns facing the government in exile in 1940 was the situation of Belgian refugees in the United Kingdom. By 1940, at least 15,000 Belgian civilians had arrived in the United Kingdom, many of them without their possessions.[22] The refugees had originally been dealt with by the British government, however in September 1940, the government established a Central Service of Refugees to provide material assistance and employment for Belgians in Britain.[23]
The British public was exceptionally hostile to Belgian refugees in 1940, because of the belief that Belgium had betrayed the Allies in 1940.
The government was also involved in the provision of social, educational and cultural institutions to Belgian refugees. In 1942, the government sponsored the creation of the Belgian Institute in London to entertain the Belgian refugee community in London.[17] By 1943, there were also four Belgian schools in Britain with 330 pupils between them, in Penrith, Braemar, Kingston and Buxton.[27]
Free Belgian forces
In a broadcast on French Radio, shortly after the Belgian surrender, Pierlot called for the creation of an army-in-exile to continue the fight:
With the same youthful courage that responded to the government's call, reunited with the elements of the Belgian military in France and Great Britain, a new army will be levied and organized. It will go into the line alongside those of our allies ... all the forces we have will be put at the service of the cause which has become ours ... It is important to assure immediately and in a tangible way, the solidarity which continues to unite the powers which have given us their support ...
— Hubert Pierlot, Speech on French Radio, 28 May 1940[28]
With some Belgian troops rescued from
For the first years of the war, a degree of tension existed between the government and the army, which divided its allegiance between government and King. The Free Belgian forces, particular the infantry who had been training since 1940, held the government responsible for not being allowed to fight. In November 1942, 12 Belgian soldiers mutinied, complaining about their inactivity.[19] By 1943, the army's royalist stance had been moderated, allowing the government to re-gain the support of the military.[33]
Treaties and negotiations
In September 1941, the Belgian government signed the Atlantic Charter in London alongside other governments in exile, presenting the common goals which the Allies sought to achieve after the war.[34] A year later, the government signed the Declaration by United Nations in January 1942, with 26 other nations, which would set a precedent for the foundation of the United Nations Organisation in 1945.[35]
From 1944, the Allies became increasingly concerned with laying the framework of post-war Europe. These were formalized through numerous treaties and agreements from 1944. In July 1944, Camille Gutt attended the
In September 1944, the Belgian, the Netherlands and Luxembourgish governments in exile began formulating an agreement over the creation of a Benelux Customs Union.[38] The agreement was signed in the London Customs Convention on 5 September 1944, just days before the Belgian government returned to Brussels after the liberation.[39] The Benelux Customs Union was a major extension of a pre-war union between Belgium and Luxembourg, and would later form the basis of the Benelux Economic Union after 1958.[38]
Authority
Unlike many other governments in exile, which were forced to rely exclusively on financial support from the Allies, the Belgian government in exile could fund itself independently. In large part, this was due to the fact that the government in exile retained control of most of the Belgian national gold reserves. These had been moved secretly to Britain in May 1940 aboard the naval trawler A4, and provided an important asset.[40] The Belgian government was also in control of the Belgian Congo, which exported large amounts of raw materials (including rubber, gold and uranium) which the Allies relied on for the war effort.[40]
The Belgian government published its own official journal, the Moniteur Belge (Official Government), from London.[41]
Stances
Relations with Leopold III
Despite being a constitutional monarch, the King of the Belgians had occupied an important political role within Belgium before the war. The decision of Leopold III to surrender to the Germans – without consulting his own ministers – outraged the Belgian cabinet.[5] The King's apparent opposition to it undermined its credibility and legitimacy. For the first years of the war, the King was viewed as an alternative source of "government" by many, including figures in the Free Belgian military, which served to further undermine the official government in London. Later in the war, the government changed its position to be less belligerent towards the king.[5] Belgian propaganda of the time instead emphasized the King's position as "martyr" and prisoner-of-war and presented him as sharing the same sufferings as the occupied country.[5] In a radio speech on 10 May 1941 (the first anniversary of the German invasion), Pierlot called for Belgians to "rally around the prisoner-King. He personifies our murdered country. Be as loyal to him as we are here."[42]
According to the Constitution of 1831, the Belgian government was allowed to override the wishes of the King if he had been declared incompetent to reign.[43] On 28 May 1940, under pressure from the French government, the Pierlot government in France declared the King to be under the power of the invaders and unfit to reign according to article 82, providing strong legal foundations and making itself the only official source of government.[8][43] The government, however, refused to declare a republic.[8] Although the King technically remained the only person able to receive diplomatic legations and conclude treaties, the government in exile was able to do both during the war independently.[16]
On the return to Belgium, the issue of the monarch remained contentious and on 20 September 1944, shortly after the liberation, Leopold's brother Charles, Duke of Flanders was declared prince regent.[44]
Relations with the Resistance
"We trust fully in the power of Britain to deliver us from German bondage ... We claim the right to share in the burden and honour of this fight in the measure of our modest, but not altogether negligible, resources. We are not defeatists ..."
Camille Huysmans in a radio broadcast of 23 June 1940.[5]
The government of Jaspar-Huysmans called for the creation of organized resistance in occupied Belgium from London, even before the French surrender in 1940.
The official government, after arriving in London, managed to obtain control over the French and Dutch language radio broadcasts to occupied Belgium, broadcast by the BBC's Radio Belgique. The radio station was essential for keeping the resistance and public alike informed, and was placed under the control of the journalist Paul Lévy.[45] Amongst those working in the radio was Victor de Laveleye, a former government minister who worked as a newsreader, who is credited for inventing the "V for Victory" campaign.[46]
During the early years of the war, the government found it difficult to get into contact with the resistance in occupied Belgium. In May 1941, the
The apparent isolation of the government in exile from events in Belgium meant that many resistance groups, particularly those whose politics differed from the established government, viewed it with suspicion. The government, for its part, was afraid that resistance groups would turn into ungovernable political
The government in exile attempted to rebuild its relationship with the resistance in May 1944 by establishing a "Coordination Committee" of representatives of the major groups, including the Légion Belge, Mouvement National Belge, Groupe G and the Front de l'Indépendance.[49] However, the committee was rendered redundant by the liberation in September.
Return to Belgium
"Nobody had been warned of our arrival. The cars, which took us into town, were preceded by a jeep. One of our colleagues stood in it, shouting to the few citizens we passed: 'Here is your Government'. I must confess that this produced no reaction at all, neither hostility nor enthusiasm, just total indifference"
Paul-Henri Spaak, on the government's return to Brussels[5]
Allied troops entered Belgium on 2 September 1944.[50] On 3 September, the Guards Armoured Division liberated the capital, Brussels.[51] The government in exile returned to Brussels on 8 September 1944.[22] "Operation Gutt", a plan devised by Camille Gutt to avoid rampant inflation in liberated Belgium by limiting the money supply, was put into action with great success.[52]
On 26 September, Pierlot formed a new government of national unity (Pierlot V) in Brussels. The new government included many of the ministers (including all of the "four") from London, but for the first time also including the Communists.[53] In December 1944, a new triparate government was formed, with Pierlot still as Prime Minister. In 1945, having been Prime Minister since 1939, Pierlot was finally replaced by the Socialist, Achille Van Acker.[54]
The government in exile was one of the last governments in which the traditional parties which had dominated Belgium since its creation were still present. In 1945, the POB-BWP changed its name to the
See also
- Belgian Congo in World War II
- Belgium in World War II
- Free French Forces
- German occupation of Belgium during World War II
- Politics of Belgium
References
- ISBN 978-3-03911-904-2.
- )
- ^ Bailly, Michel (2 February 1990). "Forces et faiblesses de l'armée belge en 1940 à la veille de la guerre". Le Soir. Retrieved 17 January 2013.
- ^ a b Various authors (1941). Belgium: The Official Account of What Happened, 1939–40. London: Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. p. 99.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Yapou, Eliezer (2006). "Belgium: Disintegration and Resurrection". Governments in Exile, 1939–1945. Jerusalem.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ OCLC 004156520.
- JSTOR 120335.
- ^ S2CID 144164673.
- OCLC 004156520.
- ISBN 9789058677594.
- ISBN 978-80-246-3701-3.
- ^ Laporte, Christian (1 September 1994). "Quatre ans à Londres: Eaton Square, Petite Belgique". Le Soir. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
- ^ "Welcome". Embassy of Luxembourg in London. Archived from the original on 27 August 2019. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
- ^ "Plaque: Netherlands Government in exile". London Remembers. Retrieved 6 May 2013.
- ^ "Back To Normal". News From Belgium. Vol. IV, no. 39. 7 October 1944.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-19-924839-1.
- ^ ISBN 1-57181-503-1.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Le gouvernement Pierlot IV (1940–1944)". Histoire-des-belges.be. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
- ^ ISBN 1-57181-503-1.
- ^ "Why Belgium Fights On: Civilisation will Perish if Nazis Win". The Mercury. 13 March 1941. Retrieved 7 May 2013.
- ^ OCLC 004156520.
- ^ ISBN 1-57181-503-1.
- ISBN 1-57181-503-1.
- ^ Langworth, Richard M. "Feeding the Crocodile: Was Leopold Guilty?". Churchill Centre. Archived from the original on 21 May 2013. Retrieved 17 January 2013.
- ISBN 978-0-09-954874-4.)
{{cite book}}
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- ISBN 1-57181-503-1.
- ISBN 978-90-334-8039-3.
- ^ a b "La Brigade Piron: Création en Grande-Bretagne". Brigade-piron.be. Retrieved 1 July 2013.
- ISBN 978-1-85532-136-6.
- ISBN 978-2-87386-472-9.
- ^ "Royal Navy Section Belge". KLM-MRA. Retrieved 24 July 2013.
- ISBN 1-57181-503-1.
- ^ "Inter-Allied Council Statement on the Principles of the Atlantic Charter: September 24, 1941 [Text]". Yale University. Retrieved 13 July 2013.
- ^ "Declaration by the United Nations, January 1, 1942 [Text]". Yale University. Retrieved 13 July 2013.
- ISBN 978-1-84893-058-2.
- ^ "The Bretton Woods Institutions" (PDF). National Bank of Belgium. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 December 2013. Retrieved 13 July 2013.
- ^ a b Walsh, Jeremy. "Benelux Economic Union – A New Role for the 21st Century" (PDF). Lehigh University. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 13 July 2013.
- ^ "Treaty Establishing the Benelux Economic Union (1958)" (PDF). United Nations University. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 September 2011. Retrieved 13 July 2013.
- ^ a b Buyst, Erik (November 2011). "Camille Gutt and Postwar International Finance". EH.Net. Retrieved 13 July 2013.
- S2CID 144164673.
- OCLC 004156520.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-19-924839-1.
- S2CID 143710727.
- ISBN 2-87386-485-0.
- ISBN 978-2-87495-001-8.
- ^ a b c d De Vidts, Kim (2004). "Belgium: A Small but Significant Resistance Force during World War II" (PDF). MA Thesis. Hawaii Pacific University: 89–90. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 May 2012. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
- ISBN 1-85973-274-7.
- ISBN 1-85973-274-7.
- ^ "La Glanerie commémore la libération du 2 septembre 1944". www.notele.be (in French). Retrieved 14 September 2023.
- ^ "1944: the Liberation of Brussels". Brussels.be. Archived from the original on 7 March 2015. Retrieved 13 July 2013.
- ^ Marc, Metdepenningen (10 September 1994). "L'Opération Gutt était prête en 1943". Le Soir. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
- ^ "Le gouvernement Pierlot V (1944)". Histoire-des-belges.be. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
- ^ "Achille Van Acker". DiRupo.be. Archived from the original on 24 December 2013. Retrieved 20 July 2013.
- ^ "PSB: Sigle de Parti Socialiste Belge". Larousse Online. Retrieved 20 July 2013.
- ^ "PSC: Sigle de Parti Sociale Chrétien". Larousse Online. Retrieved 20 July 2013.
Further reading
Overviews
- Conway, Martin; Gotovitch, José, eds. (2001). Europe in Exile: European Exile Communities in Britain 1940–45 (1st ed.). New York: Berghahn. ISBN 1-57181-503-1.
- Laureys, Veronique (2007). "The Belgian Government in Exile in London and the Jewish Question during the Second World War". Historical Research. 67 (132): 212–23. .
- Grosbois, Thierry (2002). "Les relations diplomatiques entre le gouvernement Belge de Londres et les Etats-Unis (1940–1944)". Guerres Mondiales et Conflits Contemporains (in French). 2–3 (202–3): 167–87. .
- Laporte, Christian (31 May 2008). "Ici Londres, capitale de la Belgique libre ..." La Libre Belgique (in French). Retrieved 7 July 2013.
- Laporte, Christian (1 September 1994). "Quatre ans à Londres: Eaton Square, Petite Belgique". Le Soir (in French). Retrieved 7 July 2013.
- .
- Yapou, Eliezer (2006). "Belgium: Disintegration and Resurrection". Governments in Exile, 1939–1945. Jerusalem.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
Primary sources
- ISBN 90-209-2971-2.
- Dutry-Soinne, Tinou (2006). Les Méconnus de Londres: Journal de Guerre d'une Belge, 1940–1945 (vol. 1) (in French). Brussels: Racine. ISBN 2-87386-483-4.
- Dutry-Soinne, Tinou (2008). Les Méconnus de Londres: Journal de Guerre d'une Belge, 1940–1945 (vol. 2) (in French). Brussels: Racine. ISBN 978-2-87386-504-7.
- Gutt, Camille (1971). La Belgique au Carrefour, 1940–1944 (in French). Fayard.
External links
- Media related to Belgian government in exile at Wikimedia Commons