Luxembourg government in exile

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Luxembourg government-in-exile
Lëtzebuerger Exil Regierung
1940–1944
Status
Government in exile
CapitalLuxembourg
Capital-in-exileLondon
Grand Duchess 
• 1940–1945
Charlotte
Prime Minister 
• 1940
Pierre Dupong
Historical eraWorld War II
10 May 1940
10 September 1944
Preceded by		 Succeeded by
Luxembourg
Luxembourg
Wilton Crescent in London, where the government was based during the war. The exact building, number 27, can be seen to the centre-right, flying the Luxembourgish flag.

The Luxembourgish government in exile (

was occupied by Nazi Germany. It was led by Pierre Dupong, and also included three other Ministers. The head of state, Grand Duchess Charlotte, also escaped from Luxembourg after the occupation. The government was bipartite, including two members from both the Party of the Right (PD) and the Socialist Workers' Party
(LSAP).

The government was located in 27 Wilton Crescent in Belgravia, London which now serves as the Luxembourgish Embassy in London.[1] It was located only a few hundred metres from the Belgian government in exile in Eaton Square.

Background

On 10 May 1940, neutral

invaded by German troops as part of a wider attack on France. The same day, the Luxembourgish government, then under the Dupong-Krier Ministry, fled the country.[2]

The outbreak of World War II on 1 September 1939 and the ensuing

Nicolas Margue, was captured by the invaders. So as not to compromise the action of his colleagues, he informed the Chamber of Deputies
that due to his circumstances, he felt obliged to provisionally renounce the exercise of his functions as minister. The government established itself first in Paris, then when a French defeat was imminent, fled to Portugal.

In the meantime, in Luxembourg, an Administrative Commission composed of government counsellors and headed by Albert Wehrer started operating. It tried to fill the vacuum left by the departure of the executive, and tried to come to an arrangement with the German military authorities. The Administrative Commission and the Chamber of Deputies even appealed to the Grand Duchess, asking her to return to Luxembourg. The Luxembourgish authorities remaining in the country had not yet abandoned the hope that in the new European order dominated by Nazi Germany, the Grand Duchy could retain its independence. In Lisbon, the month of July passed in uncertainty. While Dupong and the Grand Duchess leaned towards returning, Bech was reluctant. Germany's de facto annexation of Luxembourg put an end to hesitations. On 29 July 1940,

Grand Ducal family, Pierre Dupong and for a time, Victor Bodson, established themselves in Montréal
, Canada, a Francophone city close to the United States. Joseph Bech and Pierre Krier remained in London, which was the seat of several other governments in exile, such as those of Belgium and the Netherlands.

Exile to London

The government first fled to Paris,

BBC radio.[4] The government encouraged the foundation of the Luxembourg Society in London in 1942.[5]

Policies

In 1944, the government in exile signed the London Customs Convention with the Belgian and Dutch governments, laying the foundation for the Benelux Economic Union and also signed into the Bretton Woods system of currency controls.[6]

The Luxembourg Grey Book (1942) published on behalf of the government to inform the Allied public about Luxembourg's role in the conflict.

The first reaction of the government in exile was to protest against the German violation of its independence and neutrality and appealing for French and British help. In choosing to go into exile, first in France and later in Britain and Canada, the Luxembourgish government abandoned its traditional policy of neutrality and joined the camp of those fighting the Axis powers. Despite its small size, Luxembourg was a party to the great agreements which brought together the Allied war effort and laid foundations for the post-war period. Thus, Luxembourg signed the Declaration of St James's Palace (12 June 1941) and the Declaration by United Nations (Washington, 1 January 1942), adhered to the Atlantic Charter (14 August 1941) and participated in the Bretton Woods Conference (July 1944) which put in place a new international monetary system.

The government had drawn lessons from the

Brigade Piron. During the course of the war, the government developed a policy of very active communication intended to make the Luxembourgish voice heard within the United Nations and to support the morale of the Luxembourgish population. It published The Luxembourg Grey Book, placed articles in the English-speaking press, and obtained Luxembourgish-language broadcasts from the BBC. Luxembourg's cause also benefited greatly from the Grand Duchess's prestige with US President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The Grand Ducal family was invited to the White House
several times during their exile.

The war brought Belgium and Luxembourg closer together. The

Luxembourgish franc. The two partners even aimed to increase their ties by signing the Benelux
Treaty with the Netherlands, on 5 September 1944.

Signature of the Benelux Monetary Convention of 21 October 1943

A major problem for the government-in-exile was the influx of Luxembourgish refugees who had managed to reach Britain. After the war was over, there were numerous critics who accused the government of not having done enough to rescue them or help them reach the British Isles, such as those who remained trapped in the South of France or in camps in Spain.

The exile was the government's chance to reflect on the future of Luxembourgish society. It was mostly the two socialist ministers, who felt left out from the foreign policy led by Bech and Dupong, who tried to find solutions for the domestic problems of the post-war period. Victor Bodson prepared judicial reforms with a view to prosecuting and punishing collaborators. Pierre Krier made numerous contacts among British trade unionists and

inter-war period
, all its members wanted to avoid another social and political crisis like that which had followed the First World War.

Free Luxembourgish forces

Diorama showing Free Luxembourgish soldiers with a Bren Carrier during World War II

Luxembourgish military involvement could play only a "symbolic role" for the Allied cause.

Battle of Normandy and was involved in the Liberation of Brussels on 4 September 1944.[8]

Numerous Luxembourgers fought in other Allied armies, many individually within other Allied units such as the

Free French section of No. 4 Commando. Prince Jean, son of the Grand Duchess and future Grand Duke, served in the Irish Guards
from 1942.

Major

Luxembourg Army once the country was liberated.[9]

Composition

[10][11] Name Ministerial Portfolios Political party Wartime location
Pierre Dupong
Leader of the Government
(Prime Minister)
Minister of State. Minister of Finance, and of the Armed Forces. 		Party of the Right Montreal
Joseph Bech Minister of Foreign Affairs, Viticulture, Arts and Sciences, the Interior, and Public Education. Party of the Right London
Pierre Krier Minister of Work, and of Social Security Socialist Workers' Party London
Victor Bodson Minister of Justice, Public Works, and Transport. Socialist Workers' Party Montreal

Criticism

The exile government was heavily criticised by members of the Resistance and others for its lack of help towards Luxembourgers attempting to flee their occupied country during the war.[12] Its inactivity persuaded two of its critics, the resistance members Henri Koch-Kent and Mac Schleich, the presenter of the Luxembourgish BBC programme, to found the Association des Luxembourgeois en Grande-Bretagne ("Association of Luxembourgers in Great Britain") in London, which counted 300 refugees from Luxembourg and men who had been forcibly conscripted into the German armed forces but had defected to the Allies. The Association was a bitter critic of the exile government, accusing it of treason. The government, for its part, attempted to intimidate the Association, by trying to remove Schleich as its secretary and as BBC presenter, in which it failed.[citation needed] Criticism was also forthcoming from the rest of the community of Luxembourgish refugees in London and in the Allied armed forces.[6] These included Émile Krieps and Robert Winter, both officers in the Allied armed forces, and Albert Wingert, leader of the Luxembourgish Alweraje resistance group.

When the London-based government returned to Luxembourg in September 1944, the resistance organisations were highly sceptical about its legitimacy, in spite of which, it refused to resign, with the justification that it wished to wait for the return of the Grand Duchess. While these same organisations approved of the nomination of Pierre Frieden to the government in November 1944, they were vehemently against its enlargement by a further two ministers in February 1945, which lacked the approval of any legislative body.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Welcome". Embassy of Luxembourg in London. Archived from the original on 27 August 2019. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
  2. Paris-Soir
    . p. 1.
  3. ^
    ISBN 978-2-87999-212-9. Archived from the original
    (PDF) on 16 October 2011. Retrieved 23 September 2013.
  4. ISBN 978-2-87999-212-9. Archived from the original
    (PDF) on 11 January 2017. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
  5. ^ "Luxembourg Society". Embassy of Luxembourg in London. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
  6. ^ a b c Yapou, Eliezer (1998). "Luxembourg: The Smallest Ally". Governments in Exile, 1939–1945. Jerusalem.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  7. ^ "The 1st Belgian Field Artillery Battery, 1941–1944". Be4046.eu. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
  8. ^ a b Gaul, Roland. "The Luxembourg Army". MNHM. Archived from the original on 22 August 2006. Retrieved 11 May 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  9. United States Government Printing Office
    . p. 811.
  10. ^ "Du 10 mai 1940 au 23 novembre 1944". Government.lu. Archived from the original on 12 May 2013. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
  11. ISBN 9781490733869
    .
  12. ^ Roemen, Rob. "Als die Regierung ihre Kritiker einsperren ließ." In: forum, No. 251, November 2005, p. 29.

Bibliography

External links

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