Service D was a small group of the

Belgian resistance The Belgian Resistance (, ) collectively refers to the resistance movements opposed to the German occupation of Belgium during World War II, German occupation of Belgium during World War II. Within Belgium, resistance was fragmented between many ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

which operated chiefly in the provinces of

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

Liège Liège ( ; ; ; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the Liège Province, province of Liège, Belgium. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east o ...

and

Limburg Limburg or Limbourg may refer to: Regions * Limburg (Belgium), a province since 1839 in the Flanders region of Belgium * Limburg (Netherlands), a province since 1839 in the south of the Netherlands * Diocese of Limburg, Roman Catholic Diocese in ...

. The "D" in the group's name is said to have stood for the activities which the group was involved in: the fight against "Defeatism" and "Denunciation" as well as the "Demoralization" of the Germans.

History

''Service D'' was founded in July 1940 in

by Joseph Joset. From 1941, the group specialized in the diversion of letters of denouncement to the police and the warning of those threatened who were threatened by them. This was possible because of the group's agents in the

Postal Service The mail or post is a system for physically transporting postcards, letters, and parcels. A postal service can be private or public, though many governments place restrictions on private systems. Since the mid-19th century, national postal sy ...

. One of the group's members even served as a telephonist at a

Gestapo The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, abbreviated Gestapo (), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of F ...

headquarters. It also attempted to identify the informers. A subsection of the group, known as ''Équipe Z'' was involved in sabotage. Between April and May 1944, 80 members of the group were arrested in a series of attacks by the Germans, including much of the group's leadership.

References

{{Belgian resistance groups Belgian resistance groups Military units and formations established in 1940