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Radio Belgique (
French) and Radio België (
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
) were
radio
Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmi ...
broadcasts transmitted to
German-occupied Belgium from
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
during
World War II
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 opposing ...
. It was produced with the support of the
Belgian government in exile
The Belgian Government in London (french: Gouvernement belge à Londres, nl, Belgische regering in Londen), also known as the Pierlot IV Government, was the government in exile of Belgium between October 1940 and September 1944 during World W ...
and formed part of the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
's
European Service.
Background
On 10 May 1940, neutral Belgium was invaded by German forces. After 18 days of fighting, the Belgian army, along with
King Leopold III
Leopold III (3 November 1901 – 25 September 1983) was King of the Belgians from 23 February 1934 until his abdication on 16 July 1951. At the outbreak of World War II, Leopold tried to maintain Belgian neutrality, but after the German invasi ...
, surrendered and the country was placed under German occupation. The
Belgian government
The Federal Government of Belgium ( nl, Federale regering, french: Gouvernement fédéral, german: Föderalregierung) exercises executive power in the Kingdom of Belgium. It consists of ministers and secretary of state ("junior", or deputy-mini ...
fled, first to
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
and then to the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
, where it formed a government in exile in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
. The national Belgian radio station, the (INR) sabotaged its transmitters and was banned by the Germans
though many of INR's employees followed the government to London.
Radio Belgique
was established on 28 September 1940 and broadcast in French and Dutch.
The French service was put under the control of
Victor de Laveleye (a former
Liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
government minister), while
Jan Moedwil was put in charge of the Dutch service.
[ A press agency, INTERBEL, was founded for the radio, as a continuation of the pre-war BELGA agency.][
On 14 January 1941, the former Belgian cabinet minister Victor de Laveleye, known for inventing the ]V for Victory
''V for Victory'', or ''V4V'' for short, is a series of turn-based strategy games set during World War II. They were the first releases for Atomic Games who went on to have a long career in the wargame industry.
Like earlier computer adaptions ...
campaign, became the announcer on and began encouraging the use of the V Symbol in occupied Belgium.[ De Laveleye was also responsible for inventing one of the station's most notable slogans: "We will get them, the Boches" ("''Krijgen we ze wel, de moffen''" in Dutch; "''On les aura, les Boches''" in French). In 1942, Charles de Gaulle gave a speech on , celebrating Franco-Belgian friendship.
Though forbidden by the German occupiers, was listened to by a majority of Belgians, far more than officially approved stations (like ) which broadcast German propaganda.]
German response
Recognizing the potential effect that could have on their control of information in the occupied country, the Germans rapidly created collaborationist radio stations, also aimed at a Belgian audience, using the remaining assets from the INR,[ the Francophone ("Radio Brussels") and Dutch language .][ The Germans brought out radio blockers to disrupt the signal and made listening to illegal in December 1940.][
]
Radiodiffusion National Belge
During the later stages of World War II, the Belgian government sponsored the creation of a new radio broadcaster, (RNB), which broadcast from London, New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
, and later from Léopoldville
Kinshasa (; ; ln, Kinsásá), formerly Léopoldville ( nl, Leopoldstad), is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Once a site of fishing and trading villages situated along the Congo River, Kinshasa is now one of ...
in the Belgian Congo
The Belgian Congo (french: Congo belge, ; nl, Belgisch-Congo) was a Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960. The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), in 1964.
Colo ...
.[ However, it only began to be received in Belgium from September 1944 during the liberation and soon afterwards was removed from the air.][
]
See also
* Radio Londres
*Radio Oranje
''Radio Oranje'' (; Dutch: "Radio Orange") was a Dutch radio programme on the BBC European Service broadcast to the German-occupied Netherlands during World War II. It was transmitted from London and broadcast programmes of approximately 15 min ...
* Radio Congo Belge
Notes
References
Further reading
*
*
*
*
*
External links
We krijgen ze wel, de moffen
(program extract) at VRT
Homepage
at La Guerre de Ondes.
{{Authority control
Belgium in World War II
Defunct radio stations in the United Kingdom
BBC World Service foreign language
Belgian Resistance
Radio stations established in 1940
1940 establishments in Belgium
1940 establishments in England
German occupation of Belgium during World War II
Radio in Belgium
1944 disestablishments in Belgium
1944 disestablishments in England
Radio during World War II
Belgium–United Kingdom relations
Radio stations disestablished in 1944
Defunct mass media in Belgium
Dutch-language radio stations in Belgium
French-language radio stations in Belgium