The Military Administration in Belgium and Northern France (german: Militärverwaltung in Belgien und Nordfrankreich) was an interim occupation authority established during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

that included present-day

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

and the French departments of

Nord Nord, a word meaning "north" in several European languages, may refer to: Acronyms * National Organization for Rare Disorders, an American nonprofit organization * New Orleans Recreation Department, New Orleans, Louisiana, US Film and televisi ...

and

Pas-de-Calais Pas-de-Calais (, "strait of Calais"; pcd, Pas-Calés; also nl, Nauw van Kales) is a department in northern France named after the French designation of the Strait of Dover, which it borders. It has the most communes of all the departments of ...

. The administration was also responsible for governing the '' zone interdite'', a narrow strip of territory running along the French northern and eastern borders. It remained in existence until July 1944. Plans to transfer Belgium from the military administration to a civilian administration were promoted by the SS, and Hitler had been ready to do so until Autumn 1942, when he put off the plans for what was intended to be temporary but ended up being permanent until the end of German occupation. The SS had suggested either

Josef Terboven Josef Terboven (23 May 1898 – 8 May 1945) was a Nazi Party official and politician who was the long-serving '' Gauleiter'' of Gau Essen and the ''Reichskommissar'' for Norway during the German occupation. Early life Terboven was born in E ...

Ernst Kaltenbrunner Ernst Kaltenbrunner (4 October 190316 October 1946) was a high-ranking Austrian SS official during the Nazi era and a major perpetrator of the Holocaust. After the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich in 1942, and a brief period under Heinrich Hi ...

as the Reich Commissioner of the civilian administration.

''Reichskommissariat''

On 18 July 1944, the Military Administration was replaced by a civil one, led by the

Gauleiter A ''Gauleiter'' () was a regional leader of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) who served as the head of a '' Gau'' or '' Reichsgau''. ''Gauleiter'' was the third-highest rank in the Nazi political leadership, subordinate only to '' Reichsleiter'' and to ...

, Josef Grohé, who was named the

Reichskommissar (, rendered as "Commissioner of the Empire", "Reich Commissioner" or "Imperial Commissioner"), in German history, was an official gubernatorial title used for various public offices during the period of the German Empire and Nazi Germany. Ger ...

of the ''Reichskommissariat'' of Belgium and Northern France (''Reichskommissariat Belgien und Nordfrankreich'')

Role of collaborationist groups

The Nazi administration was assisted by fascist Flemish, Walloon, and French collaborationists. In binational Belgian territory, the predominantly French region of Wallonia, the collaborationist Rexists provided aid to the Nazis while in Flemish-populated Flanders, the Flemish National Union supported the Nazis. In Northern France, Flemish separatist tendencies were stirred by the pro-Nazi '' Vlaamsch Verbond van Frankrijk'' led by priest Jean-Marie Gantois. The attachment of the departments Nord and Pas-de-Calais to the military administration in Brussels was initially made on military considerations, and was supposedly done in preparation for the planned

invasion of Britain The term Invasion of England may refer to the following planned or actual invasions of what is now modern England, successful or otherwise. Pre-English Settlement of parts of Britain * The 55 and 54 BC Caesar's invasions of Britain. * The 43 A ...

. Ultimately, the attachment was based on Hitler's intention to move the Reich's border westward, and was also used to maintain pressure on the

Vichy regime Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its ter ...

– which protested the curtailment of its authority in what was still ''de jure'' national French territory – to ensure its good behavior.Kroener et al. (2000), p. 84

Command structure

The Military Administration formed the core of a wider command structure which allowed the governance of occupied Belgium. It could rely on both military and civilian components:

References

External links

*
Militärbefehlshaber Belgien/Nordfrankreich: Gliederung
(administrative structure) at Lexikon der Wehrmacht {{DEFAULTSORT:Military Administration In Belgium And North France World War II occupied territories Belgium and Northern France 1944 disestablishments in Belgium 1944 disestablishments in France German occupation of Belgium during World War II German occupation of France during World War II

''Reichskommissariat''

Role of collaborationist groups

Command structure

See also

References

Further reading

External links