Witte Brigade

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
De Geuzengroep (1940-1944)
Witte Brigade-Fidelio (1944)
LeadersMarcel Louette Edward Gierek
Dates of operation1940-September 1944
Active regionsFocused on Antwerp region, Belgium
OpponentsNazi Germany German Occupying Forces

The White Brigade (

Belgian resistance group founded on 23 July 1940[1] in Antwerp by Marcel Louette,[2] who was nicknamed "Fidelio". The group was originally known as "De Geuzengroep" and changed its name again after the Liberation of Belgium to Witte Brigade-Fidelio[3]
as the term "white brigade" had emerged as a generic term to describe the resistance.

The name was chosen in opposition to the "Black Brigade",

Flemish National League. The Witte Brigade was based in Antwerp[3] but had smaller branches in Gent, Lier, Aalst, Brussels, Waasland, Wallonia
and 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 underground Witte Brigade.

Belgian government in exile
, along with the British.

Members and arrests

Many members of the Witte Brigade were military veterans[5] and policemen. Members of the Deurne police 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.[7] 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 founder Marcel Louette was arrested and deported to Sachsenhausen concentration camp. Louette would eventually return from Germany and died in Antwerp in 1978.[2] In total, the Witte Brigade suffered 400 losses of the 3,750 recognized members.[8]

Additionally, around 500 men from Luxembourg (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-called Red Lion Brigade.[9] 74 of them died.[10]

Jews were also active in the organization. Many of them were arrested because they were already known as Jews.[11]

Achievements

Despite their heavy losses, the Witte Brigade, along with the

Mouvement National Royaliste and Groupe G, helped allied forces capture the port of Antwerp intact in 1944. The Witte Brigade prevented 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, the Witte Brigade acted as a scouting and intelligence network for the Canadian 4th, 5th and 6th brigades in September 1944. The Witte Brigade provided reports on the Germans' strength, defences, and numbers. Additionally, resistance members pinpointed the location of German minefields.[12]
The influence of the Witte Brigade was 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

References

  1. ^ "The Witte Brigade archives | Cegesoma". www.cegesoma.be. Retrieved 2023-02-22.
  2. ^ a b "Breendonk - Memorial". www.breendonk.be. Archived from the original on 21 July 2009. Retrieved 31 December 2012.
  3. ^
    ISBN 978-90-5487-517-8
    .
  4. ^
    ISBN 978-0-7864-9497-2
    .
  5. ^ a b Division, Air University (U. S.) Aerospace Studies Institute Concepts (1962). The Role of Airpower in Guerrilla Warfare (World War II). p. 50.
  6. ISBN 978-965-308-068-3
    .
  7. ^ cegesoma.be. "ACQUISITION – Archives of the Witte Brigade (Archive)". CEGESOMA. Archived from the original on 2018-10-09. Retrieved 2018-10-09.
  8. ^ "Getuigen". www.getuigen.be (in Dutch). Retrieved 2023-02-22.
  9. ^ Weber, Paul (1948). Geschichte Luxemburgs im zweiten Weltkrieg (in German). Victor Buck. pp. 121–124.
  10. ^ Die Stadt Luxemburg unter der Naziherrschaft 1940-1945, André Hohengarten, 1994, page 25
  11. ^ Arnolds, A.  De communicatiesystemen van een weerstandsbeweging : de Witte Brigade (Fidelio), Antwerpen 1940-1944, Brussel: VUB, 1991, pp. 38-45. Van Herck W. Ontstaan en groei van een verzetsbeweging, Ghent, 2002, pp. 119-121.
  12. ISBN 978-1-5144-1405-7
    .
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