* World War II -- post-war Belgium








World War II: Post-War Belgium

post-World War II Belgium
Figure 1.-- Much of Belgium was liberated by the First Brirish army with both British and Canadian soldiers. These Belgian boys wear the helmets the British liberators wore. The country was much less damaged than many of the European countries. Most of the major cities were largely in tact.

As the Allies neared Belgium, the Germans did not seriously contest their advance. Fighting only intensified as the Allies approached the Rhine. The retreating Germans troops took King Leopold and his family with him. King Leopold was finally liberated by American forcers in Austria. War damage in Belgium was limited compared to many other European countries. The most damage was done in the subsequent Bulge campaign which was fought in Wallonia wgere the Ardennes is located. Belgium was regonized as a member of the Allied coalition that fought the NAZIS. It was one of the founding members of the United Nations. He was a controversial figure in Belgium. The public was sharply split on his war time role. Many Belgians condidered him a colaborator as well as some Allied officials. This is unfair, but his abrupt decesion to surrender put the BEF and the French First Army in great danger, almost making the Dunkirk evacuation impossible. His decesion to remain in Belgium was also iladvised. Bad decesions and poor leadership, however, are not the same as colaboration. The most pressing issue after the War, was the royal question. As a result, of the public feeling, the King went into exile in Switzerland rather than return to Belgium. His brother Charles oversaw a regency (1945�1950). A plebiscite approved his return to Belgium (1950), but because of the controversies surrounded him, Leopold abdicated and his son Badouin I became king. With the liberation of Belgium, the Franc was reintroduced (1944). The Belgian Government adopted Keynesian economic policies to revive the badly damaged economy. The government cancelled Belgium's national debts. A major highway building program was initiated. Most of the war damage was in Wllonia where the Battle of the Bulge was fought out. Belgium stringly supported the steps toward European integration.

Liberation (September 1944-January 1945)

Most of Belgium was liberated as the Allies moved north from France (September 1944). Belgians joyously greeted the Allies as they moved through the towns and villages of Flanders and Wallonia as liberators. Much of the country was liberated by General Montgomery's First British Army which included Canadian Divisions. Americans moved into eastern Belgium. The real strategic prize in Belgium was Antwerp--a port of enormous importance given that the Allies landed in Normandy and had a a result very long supply lines. Antwerp was liberated and the Allies worked hard to open it to shipping--a key goal because the offensive on into the Reich would require huge quantities of supplies. The damage done by the Germans to disable the port was rapidly repaired, but German forts proved hard to dislodge. The Germans Bulge Offensive in the Ardennes (December 1944) aimed at Antwerp. German Panzers raced into Belgium to secured Allied supply dumps and finally Antwerp. The Germans retook many towns and villages in Wallonia When the skies cleared , the Allies began bombing German positions. The battle was fought out in terrible cold winter weather. American tanks and artillery also plastered the Germans which set up defensive positions in the towns they had retaken. As a result of the Bulge, parts of Wallonia had to be liberated twice. Civilians suffered terribly in the fighting and serious food shortages developed.

War Damage

As the Allies neared Belgium, the Germans did not seriously contest their advance. Fighting only intensified as the Allies approached the Rhine. War damage in Belgium was limited compared to many other European countries. The most damage was done in the subsequent Bulge campaign which was fought primarily in Wallonia where the Ardennes is located. Many villages such as Bastogne were destroyed. The beautiful Flemish towns like Bruges, Antwerp and Ghent fortunately were relatively untouched by the war. Antwerp was targeted by the Germans in the Ardennes offensive, but the Allies managed to stop the Panzers short of the Meuse River. The Germans no longer able to hit London with their V-2s, did fore some at Antwerp in an effort to close the port. Studies suggest that war damage ammounted to aboyt 8 percent of narional wealth. While substantial, it was much less than many other countries experienced.

Food Situation

Belgium was a heavily industrialized country and as in World War I, was not self-suffucient in food before the War. This in World War II was a very dangerous sutiation. German policy was to require each occupied country to make do on their on which mean that countries dependent on imports were in serious trouble. The Germans set the rations low, but not genocidally low as they did for Jews and others in East, bit serious omadeqiate if not supplemented. There was not the same racuoal aniumus toward the Belgians, especially the Flemish. Ethnicity was a major factor in how the occupied people were treated. This the Belgians went hungry, but for the most part did not starve, like the Dutch. Most of the country was liberated (September 1944). Food shortaes continued as there were shortages of everything, includung farm equipment and supplies. There was also shortage of farm livestock, both work animals and livestock broodstiovk. This affected productioin. And it woulof take time to return to normal levels. Unlike the East, the Germans did not wreck the farm economy. The immediate post-war tears were difficullt, but he recovery was fairly rapid after the War. As the Eureopean economy began to recover, people returned to work and once noire had money to buy food. The realtively limited wae damage (perhaps 8 percent of national wealth) was low by World War II standards. And despite the political instability, the Belgians implemented an enligtened and vgirous national economic policy. Monetary reform and liberalization of the economy resulted in vigiorous economic recovery and the revival of markert mechanisms. This was in sharp contrast to the policies the British Labour (Soicialit) Party adopted resulting in a slow recovery and failure to active an ecinmib mnitacle like the Germansand other continental partners. This greatly benefited Belgian farmers. The first few years after the War as in the rest of Western Europe were difficult, but donmeestic harvests were supplemented by energency relief agengecies like UNRAA abd private charities like CARE.

Royal Question

The retreating Germans troops took King Leopold and his family with him. King Leopold was finally liberated by American forcers in Austria. He was a controversial figure in Belgium. The public was sharply split on his war time role. Many Belgians condidered him a colaborator as well as some Allied officials. This is unfair, but his abrupt decesion to surrender put the BEF and the French First Army in great danger, almost making the Dunkirk evacuation impossible. His decesion to remain in Belgium was also iladvised. Bad decesions and poor leadership, however, are not the same as colaboration. The most pressing issue after the War, was the royal question. As a result, of the public feeling, the King went into exile in Switzerland rather than return to Belgium. His brother Charles oversaw a regency (1945�1950). King L�opold III's attempt to return to Belgium resulted in civil uprisings (1950). The issues concerning his conduct during the War still engendered string emotions. Belgium held a national referendum on the royal question. The vote in Flanders was in favor of the King. The vote in Wallonia went against the King. Li�ge and Hainaut were strongly against. Namur and Luxembourg split relatively evenly. The King narrowly prevailed in the vote. Left wing groups, especially the Communists, in Li�ge, Hainaut and other urban centres were strongly opposed to his return. Major protest demonstrations and strikes occurred. The King fearing that the demonstrations could escalate decided to abdicated in favor of his son (July 16, 1951). Baudouin was 20-years old at the time.

Allied Member

Belgium was regonized as a member of the Allied coalition that fought the NAZIS. It was one of the founding members of the United Nations.

Belgian Government


Collaboration

The Begians like other occupied countries investigated coillaboration with the NAZI occupation. The investigators looked into both economic and political collaboration. The political collaboration was especially senstive. Many civil servants were dismissed and there were arrests of suspected collaborators.

Political Developments

There was aolitical shift. The right-wing parties that cooperated with the NAZIs were descredited and disappeared from the political spectrum. The Communist Party which was an important part of the resistance achieved a popularity beyond what it had before the War. The Communists were included in coalition governments (1944-47). Soviet behavior and the advent of the Cold war subsequently affected the popularity of the Communist Party which Belgian voters began to see as under cintrolmfrom Moscow.

The Economy

With the liberation of Belgium, the Franc was reintroduced (1944). Sensible monetary reform kept inflation within reasonable limits. The Belgian Government adopted aggresive Keynesian economic policies to revive the damaged economy. The government cancelled Belgium's national debts. A major highway building program was initiated. Most of the war damage was in Wllonia where the Battle of the Bulge was fought out. Belgium stringly supported the steps toward European integration. These policies and the limited war danage meant that Belgium achieved an impressive remarkable economic resurgence afyer the War. The adoption of liberal free-market policies had very quick positive impacts on the domestic economy. Economic growth meant that the Belgian Governments could afford important social reforms which prived widely popular, undermining support for the Communists. Flanders thus benefited most from the U.S. Marshall Plan (1948). It was at the end of the War less badly damaged athan Wallonia. It was, however, an economically backward agricultural region. American aid and European integration helped to modernize the economy, especially in Flanders. Wallonia in contrast experienced a slow relative as its cosal mines declined in importance. The economic balance in Belgium between Flanders and Wallonia shifted during the post-War era.







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Created: 5:02 AM 5/12/2009
Last updated: 10:16 PM 7/18/2020