German occupation of Luxembourg during World War II

The German occupation of Luxembourg in World War II began in May 1940 after the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg was invaded by Nazi Germany. Although Luxembourg was officially neutral, it was situated at a strategic point at the end of the French Maginot Line. On 10 May 1940, the German ''Wehrmacht'' invaded Luxembourg, Belgium and the Netherlands. Luxembourg was initially placed under a military administration, but later became a civilly administrated territory and finally was annexed directly into Germany. The Germans believed Luxembourg to be a Germanic state, and attempted to suppress what they perceived as alien French language and cultural influences. Although some Luxembourgers joined the resistance or collaborated with the Germans, both constituted a minority of the population. As German nationals, from 1942, many Luxembourgers were conscripted into the German military. Nearly 3,500 Luxembourgish Jews were murdered during the Holocaust. The liberation of the country by the Allies began in September 1944, but due to the Ardennes Offensive it was not completed until early 1945.

Eve of the invasion

The outbreak of World War II on 1 September 1939 put Luxembourg's government in a delicate situation. On the one hand, the population's sympathy lay with Belgium and France; on the other hand, due to the country's policy of neutrality since 1867's Treaty of London, the government adopted a careful non-belligerent stance towards its neighbours. As of 1 September, Radio Luxembourg stopped broadcasting. In spring 1940, fortifications were erected along the borders with Germany and France. The so-called Schuster Line, named after its constructor, consisted of massive concrete roadblocks with steel doors. The official aim of these road blocks was to slow down the progress of any invading army and give time for the guarantors of Luxembourg's neutrality to take counteractions against the invaders. However, compared to the massive power of the German forces, it had only symbolic character and helped to calm down the population. Except for its small '' Corps des Gendarmes et Volontaires'', Luxembourg did not possess an army, due to the treaty's restrictions.

After several false alarms in the spring of 1940, the probability of a military conflict between Germany and France grew. Germany stopped the export of coke for the Luxembourgish steel industry.

Invasion

The steel doors of the Schuster Line were ordered closed on 10 May 1940 at 03:15, following movements of German troops on the east side of the border rivers Our, Sauer and Mosel. In the meantime, German special forces dressed as civilians and supported by Germans living in Luxembourg - the so-called ''Stoßtrupp Lützelburg'' - tried to sabotage radio broadcasting and the barricades along the German-Luxembourgish border but their attempt failed. The Royal Family was evacuated from its residence in Colmar-Berg to the Grand Ducal palace in Luxembourg City.

The German invasion, made up of the 1st, 2nd, and 10th Panzer Divisions began at 04:35. They encountered no significant resistance save for some bridges destroyed and some land mines, since the majority of the Luxembourgish Volunteer Corps stayed in their barracks. Luxembourgish police resisted the German troops, however, to little avail; the capital city being occupied before noon. Total Luxembourgish casualties amounted to 75 police and soldiers captured, six police wounded, and one soldier wounded. At 08:00, elements of the of General Robert Petiet, supported by the 1st Spahi Brigade of Colonel Jouffault and the 2nd company of the 5th Armoured Battalion, crossed the southern border to conduct a probe of German forces; these units later retreated behind the Maginot Line. By the evening of 10 May 1940, most of the country, with the exception of the south, was occupied by German forces. More than 90,000 civilians evacuated from the canton of Esch-sur-Alzette as a consequence of the advance. 47,000 fled to France, 45,000 fled into the central and northern part of Luxembourg.

Grand Duchess Charlotte and the government of prime minister Pierre Dupong fled to France, Portugal and the United Kingdom, before finally settling in Canada for the duration of the war. Charlotte, exiled in London, became an important symbol of national unity. Her eldest son and heir, Jean, volunteered for the British Army in 1942. The only official representative left behind was , head of a governmental commission, as well as the 41 members of the Chamber of Deputies.

Governance

Military administration

Early on 10 May 1940, the German diplomat Von Radowitz handed the general secretary of the Luxembourgish government a memorandum from the German government, stating that Germany had no intention of changing the territorial integrity or political independence of the Grand Duchy. The following day, a military administration for Luxembourg was set up. Luxembourgish interests were represented by a governmental commission under Albert Wehrer, which consisted of senior civil servants and had been legitimated by the Chamber of Deputies. There was a good relationship between this commission and the military authorities, as Colonel Schumacher showed a broad-minded attitude towards the country's problems and a willingness to solve these in consultation with the government commission.

On 13 July 1940, the '' Volksdeutsche Bewegung'' (VdB) was founded in Luxembourg City under the leadership of Damian Kratzenberg, a German teacher at the Athénée de Luxembourg. Its main goal was to push the population towards a German-friendly position by means of propaganda, and it was this organisation that used the phrase ''Heim ins Reich''.

Several Deputies and high-ranking civil servants were of the opinion that Luxembourg could retain a measure of autonomy under the military administration, as had occurred in World War I, and attempts were made to come to some sort of arrangement with Germany. However, it was soon made clear by the authorities in Berlin that Luxembourg's fate would be very different this time. The Nazis considered the Luxembourgish people as just another Germanic ethnic group and the Grand Duchy a German territory. The military authorities were withdrawn from Luxembourg by 31 July 1940, to be replaced by a civil administration under Gustav Simon.

Civil administration and annexation

Gustav Simon was appointed '' Chef der Zivilverwaltung'' (''CdZ''; "Chief of the Civil Administration") by the ''Oberkommando des Heeres'' on 21 July 1940. Luxembourg was then included into the ''CdZ-Gebiet Luxemburg'' on 29 July. While initially subordinate to the military commands in Belgium and northern France, Simon was confirmed in his appointment on 2 August by Adolf Hitler himself, indicating that he reported directly to the ''Führer'' and no one else. This granted him a wide degree of autonomy with regards to the military and civil authorities of Nazi Germany.

Simon, who was also the ''Gauleiter'' of the neighbouring ''Gau Trier-Koblenz,'' later '' Moselland ''(''Gauleiter ''being a title denoting the leader of a regional branch of the Nazi party), led a propaganda and later terror campaign, known as ''Heim ins Reich'', to convince the population that they were ethnic Germans and a natural part of the Third Reich. His objective was "to win Luxembourg back over to the German nation as soon as possible." He was convinced that Luxembourgers only needed a level of education and enlightenment in order to voluntarily declare their loyalty to Germany. He deduced this from his belief that they were, in fact, German "by blood and by descent". To the ''Gauleiter'', Luxembourgish independence was an "absurd idea," which existed only because the monarchy and government had nurtured it: if the Luxembourgers were shown evidence of their belonging to the German nation, the will to be independent must disappear.

Life in occupied Luxembourg

The general public were slow to react at first, still feeling shock from the invasion of 1914–1918. Furthermore, the royal family and the government had silently fled into exile. The majority of the population kept their heads low to avoid any conflict with the authorities; others participated in acts of passive resistance.

Germanification

The administration of Simon arrived in Luxembourg fully persuaded that the "German-ness" of the Luxembourgers merely lay under a thin external layer of French influence. This in turn meant that, with a bit of determined "unraveling" by his administration, the German character of the population would essentially reveal itself.

Simon had two clear goals:
* The Nazification and Germanisation of Luxembourg, i.e., the extinction of everything that was not of German source, like French names and words of French origin or a French way of life
* The destruction and dismemberment of the Luxembourgish state institutions, and the country's incorporation into the Third Reich

His very first series of decrees made this policy very clear:

* 6 August 1940: German became the only official language, and the usage of the French language was banned. The ban applied to official and administrative usage as well as everyday life. French expressions of courtesy such as "Bonjour", "Merci", "Monsieur", "Madame", etc. were included; people greeting each other had to say "Heil Hitler".
* Autumn 1940. The political parties and independent labour unions, the Parliament and the Conseil d'État were dissolved. All civil society organisations and the press were subjected to Nazi control.
* Till end 1940. German law was introduced including the '' Sondergerichte'' and the Nuremberg Laws.
* 31 January 1941: French-sounding family names, first names, and the names of streets, towns, shops and companies were Germanised, that is, translated into their German counterpart or simply replaced by something more Germanic. Henri became Heinrich, Dupont became Brückner.
* 18 February 1941: Wearing a beret (a traditional cap from the Northern Basque Country) was forbidden.
* From May 1941 many Luxembourgish youth were ordered to participate in the Reichsarbeitsdienst.

A massive propaganda campaign was launched to influence the population, while not only dissidents and critics but also teachers, officials and leading business figures were threatened with losing their jobs unless they joined Nazi organisations, which led to much increased recruitment from all professions. A central registry documented the personal opinion regarding the Nazi regime of almost every citizen. People who were openly opposed to the regime lost their jobs or were deported, mainly to eastern Germany and in the worst cases sent to the death camps where many of them were murdered.

The occupation authorities attempted to cover Luxembourg with a net of political, social and cultural organisations, such as also existed in Germany, including the Hitler Youth, the League of German Girls, the '' Winterhilfswerk'', the ''NS-Frauenschaft'' and the '' Deutsche Arbeitsfront''.

Catholic Church

The Catholic Church in Luxembourg was relatively silent during the war, and took no public stance regarding the fate of the Jews or the Nazi regime. On the one hand, the Bishop, Joseph Laurent Philippe

HOME


Content is Copyleft
Website design, code, and AI is Copyrighted (c) 2014-2017 by Stephen Payne


Consider donating to Wikimedia



As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases