The (, "Flemish National Union" or "Flemish National League"), widely known by its acronym VNV, was a

Flemish nationalist The Flemish Movement (, ) is an umbrella term which encompasses various political groups in the Belgian region of Flanders and, less commonly, in French Flanders. Ideologically, it encompasses groups which have sought to promote Flemish cultu ...

political party active in

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

between 1933 and 1945.Kinderen van de collaboratie. Ervaringen en getuigenissen van nakomelingen van collaborateurs in de Tweede Wereldoorlog
University of Ghent, 2010, Master thesis history It became the leading force of political collaboration in

Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...

during the German occupation of Belgium in

World War II 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 ...

Authoritarian Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political ''status quo'', and reductions in democracy, separation of powers, civil liberties, and ...

by inclination, the party advocated the creation of a "

Greater Netherlands Greater Netherlands (, ) is an irredentist concept which unites the Netherlands, Flanders, and sometimes Brussels. Additionally, a Greater Netherlands state may include the annexation of the French Westhoek, Suriname, formerly Dutch-speaking a ...

" (''Dietsland'') combining Flanders and the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

Origins

The (VNV) was founded on 8 October 1933. Its origins were in the long-established Frontpartij, a moderate Flemish patriotic party which was taken over by Staf Declercq and moved to the right in 1932. From the start, the VNV was authoritarian and anti-democratic, being influenced by

fascist Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural soci ...

ideas from elsewhere in Europe.B. De Wever
Vlaams Nationaal Verbond (VNV)
at Belgium-WWII However, it initially included both moderate and radical wings. It was not a genuinely fascist organisation ''per se''. Ideologically, the party rejected Belgium and supported the creation of a new polity known as the

(''Dietsland''), through the fusion of Belgian Flanders and the Netherlands, which would be linguistically and ethnically homogeneous. The party's slogan was: "Authority, discipline, ''Dietsland''". It shared many ideological elements with Verdinaso, a rival party founded two years earlier but slightly less radical. Unlike Verdinaso, the VNV took part in elections and included a relatively moderate wing. Initially, it also differed from Verdinaso in not being an

anti-Semitic Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

movement. Still, it increasingly embraced anti-Semitic elements after 1935, out of political calculation rather than ideological conviction. In the

1936 Belgian general election General elections were held in Belgium on 24 May 1936. The result was a victory for the Belgian Labour Party, which won 70 of the 202 seats in the Belgian Chamber of Representatives, Chamber of Representatives and 39 of the 101 seats in the Belg ...

, the VNV received 13.6% of the Flemish vote, corresponding to 7.1% nationwide. After the election, in which the far-right nationalist and Catholic Rexist Party also performed strongly, the two parties concluded an alliance intended to create a corporatist Belgian state with great autonomy for Flanders. The VNV revoked this agreement after just one year. In the 1939 elections, the VNV moderately increased its share of the Flemish vote to 15% (8.4% nationally) while the Rexist vote collapsed. Despite cooperating with the Flemish section of the mainstream centre-right Catholic Party on the local level, De Clercq realised that his movement would not be able to take power by democratic means. Instead, he contacted

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

, hoping his project could be realised with German help. He contacted the

Abwehr The (German language, German for ''resistance'' or ''defence'', though the word usually means ''counterintelligence'' in a military context) ) was the German military intelligence , military-intelligence service for the ''Reichswehr'' and the ...

, Germany's military intelligence service, informing them that a part of the Belgian military supported his movement and could be controlled by him if Germany declared war. The Belgian state security gained knowledge of these contacts and arrested some VNV supporters.

Collaboration

When Nazi Germany invaded Belgium in 1940, De Clercq immediately chose to orient the VNV towards

collaborationism Wartime collaboration is cooperation with the enemy against one's country of citizenship in wartime. As historian Gerhard Hirschfeld says, it "is as old as war and the occupation of foreign territory". The term ''collaborator'' dates to the 19th c ...

, despite his previous declarations that he would not do so.

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

did not install a civilian government (as in the Netherlands), but instead installed a

military administration Military administration identifies both the techniques and systems used by military departments, agencies, and armed services involved in managing the armed forces. It describes the processes that take place within military organisations outs ...

headed by General Alexander von Falkenhausen of the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...

. This, along with the departure of Ward Hermans and René Lagrou to form the Algemeene-SS Vlaanderen, led the VNV out of focus, forcing it to intensify its collaboration to gain influence. Hitler and SS leader

Heinrich Himmler Heinrich Luitpold Himmler (; 7 October 1900 – 23 May 1945) was a German Nazism, Nazi politician and military leader who was the 4th of the (Protection Squadron; SS), a leading member of the Nazi Party, and one of the most powerful p ...

profited from the situation and increased competition between various groups by founding some more extreme collaborationist groups like the 6th SS Volunteer Sturmbrigade Langemarck and DeVlag ("German-Flemish Working Group"). Nevertheless, VNV politicians were given the mayor's office in several Flemish towns. VNV-led local administrations participated in the organisation of the deportation of Belgian Jews to Eastern Europe as part of

the Holocaust in Belgium The Holocaust saw the systematic dispossession, deportation, and murder of Jews and Romani people, Roma in German occupation of Belgium during World War II, German-occupied Belgium during World War II. Out of about 66,000 Jews in the country in ...

. They willingly implemented Nazi policies like the obligation of Jews to wear the

yellow badge The yellow badge, also known as the yellow patch, the Jewish badge, or the yellow star (, ), was an accessory that Jews were required to wear in certain non-Jewish societies throughout history. A Jew's ethno-religious identity, which would be d ...

. VNV activists led in the Antwerp pogrom of April 1941. Declercq died suddenly in October 1942 and was succeeded by Hendrik Elias, a member of the more moderate side. Elias continued collaborating with the Nazis but tried to come to terms with the military government to prevent the installation of a civilian government composed of Nazis. Elias failed, as Hitler installed the new body and declared the annexation of Flanders by Germany in 1944; seven weeks later, Belgium was liberated by the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are calle ...

. The VNV was outlawed after the liberation of Belgium. Elias fled to Germany but was tried after the war and imprisoned until 1959.

Electoral performance

Footnotes

References

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External links

Footage of the first four VNV party congresses
{{Authority control Political parties established in 1933 Political parties disestablished in 1945 Fascist parties in Belgium Flemish Movement 1933 establishments in Belgium 1945 disestablishments in Belgium Belgian collaboration during World War II Defunct political parties in Belgium The Holocaust in Belgium Anti-communist parties Banned far-right parties