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Belgian government in exile

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Hubert Pierlot and Robert Sturges

Hubert Pierlot (left), Prime Minister of the government in exile, April 1944.

The Belgian Government in London (French, Dutch language: Belgische regering in Londen ), also known as the Pierlot IV Government, was the government in exile of Belgium between October 1940 and September 1944. After the invasion of Belgium by Nazi Germany in May 1940, the Belgian government, under Prime Minister Hubert Pierlot, fled first to Bordeaux in France and then to London, where it established itself as the only legitimate representation of Belgium to the Allies. Despite no longer having official authority in its own country, the government administered the Belgian Congo and held negotiations with other Allied powers about post-war reconstruction. It also exercised influence within the Belgian army-in-exile and attempted to maintain links with the resistance in the occupied country. The government was tripartite, involving ministers from the Catholic, Liberal and Labour Parties.

Background[]

Main article: Battle of Belgium

Politically, Belgian politics had been dominated in the interwar period by the Catholic Party, usually in coalition with the Belgian Labour Party (POB-BWP) or the Liberal Party. The 1930s also saw the rise in popularity of Fascist parties within Belgium; most notably Rex which peaked at the 1936 election with 11% of the vote.[1] From the early 1930s, Belgian foreign and domestic policy had been dominated by the policy of neutrality; leaving international treaties and alliances and attempting to maintain good diplomatic relations with both Britain, France and Germany.[2]

Despite this policy, Belgium was invaded without warning by German forces on 10 May 1940. After 18 days of fighting, the Belgian military surrendered on 28 May and the country was placed under the control of a German military government. Between 600,000[3] and 650,000[4] Belgian men (nearly 20% of the country's male population)[4] had been mobilized to fight.

Unlike the Netherlands or Luxembourg, whose monarchies went into exile alongside the government, King Leopold III surrendered to the Germans alongside his army – contrary to the advice of his government. In the days before his surrender, he allegedly attempted to form a new government under the pro-Nazi socialist Henri De Man though this was never realized.[5] He remained a prisoner of the Germans, under house arrest, for the rest of the war.[5] Though the government briefly attempted to negotiate with the German authorities from exile in France, however the German authorities passed a decree forbidding members of the Belgian government returning to the country and the talks were abandoned.[6]

Establishment in London[]

Eaton Square, London SW1W - geograph.org

The north side of Eaton Square in London where the government was established in 1940 and remained until September 1944.

The Belgian government in France had been intending to follow the French government of Paul Reynaud to the French empire to continue the fight.[6] However, when Reynaud was replaced by the pro-German German Philippe Pétain, this plan was abandoned.[6] Despite hostility from the new Vichy regime, the Pierlot government remained in France. In a letter of the 16 September 1940, Petain's government demanded the disbandment of the Belgian government, still at that time in Bordeaux:

“ The Belgian government, whose activity in France has, for some time now, been purely theoretical, will decide to dissolve itself. Some of its members will remain in France as private individuals, while others will go abroad. This decision is part of the suppression of diplomatic missions of countries occupied by Germany, the necessity of which has been pointed out to the French government by the Reich. ”

—Letter from the Vichy French government, 16 September 1940.[7]

While the government under Pierlot was still in France, the Belgian Minister of Health, Marcel-Henri Jaspar, arrived in London on 21 June. Jaspar believed that the Pierlot government intended to surrender to the Germans, and was determined to prevent it. Jaspar held talks with Charles De Gaulle, and on 23 June gave a speech on British Broadcasting radio, in which he stated that he was personally forming an alternative government to continue the fight.[5] His stance was condemned by the Pierlot government in Bordeaux, and he was received coldly by the Belgian ambassador in London, Emile de Cartier de Marchienne.[5] Jaspar, joined by the Socialist burgomaster of Antwerp Camille Huysmans, along with other so-called "London Rebels" formed their own government on 5 July 1940.[5] The British, however, were reluctant to recognize the Jaspar-Huysmans Government.[5]

The challenge to the Pierlot government's authority spurred it into action.[5] Albert de Vleeschauwer, Pierlot's Minister of the Colonies, arrived in London on the same day as the Jaspar-Huysmans government was formed.[5] As the only Belgian minister with legal power outside Belgium itself, De Vleeschauwer, together with Camille Gutt who arrived soon after, on his own initiative, was able to form a temporary "Government of Two" with British approval in London. The two waited for Paul-Henri Spaak and Pierlot, who had been detained in Francoist Spain en route from France, to join them.[5] Pierlot and Spaak reached London on 22 October 1940, marking the start of the period of the "Government of Four", providing the "official" government with the legitimacy of Belgium's last elected Prime Minister.[5]

The British were distrustful of many of the Belgian ministers, as well as the size and legitimacy of the government itself. However, with the arrival of the Prime Minister, it was reluctantly accepted:

“ The present Belgian government is a rump, but it is, as I understand it, a rump of unquestioned lineage, so to speak. ”

—Alexander Cadogan, Permanent Under-Secretary at the British Foreign Office, December 1940[8]

The bulk of the Belgian government was installed in Eaton Square in the Belgravia area of London, which before the war had been the location of the Belgian Embassy. Other government departments were installed in nearby Hobart Place, Belgrave Square and Knightsbridge.[9] The offices of the Belgian government were situated close to other governments-in-exile, including Luxembourg, in Wilton Crescent,[10] and the Netherlands in Picadilly.[11]

By December 1940, the British recognized the "government of four" as the legal representation of Belgium, with the same status as the other governments in exile:

“ His Majesty's Government do regard the four Belgian ministers composing the Belgian Government in London as the legitimate and constitutional Government of Belgium and competent to exercise full authority in the name of the Sovereign State of Belgium.[12] ”

Composition[]

Initially numbering just four ministers, the government was soon joined by numerous others. The government in exile comprised both politicians and civil servants in a number of government departments. Most were focused in the Ministries of the Colonies, Finance, Foreign Affairs and Defence, but with skeleton staff in a number of others.[13] By May 1941, there were nearly 750 people working in the government in London in all capacities.[13]

"Government of Four"[]

76 Als polítics belgues H. Pierlot i P.H. Spaak, pg

Plaque in Barcelona commemorating Pierlot and Spaak's escape from the Spanish police to Britain in the autumn of 1940.

[5] Minister Name Party
Pierlot sturges (cropped) Prime Minister – Public Education and Defence Hubert Pierlot Catholic
Bundesarchiv Bild 183-39998-0427, Paul-Henri Spaak Foreign Affairs, Information and Propaganda Paul-Henri Spaak POB-BWP
Camille Gutt Financial and Economic Affairs Camille Gutt None (technical expert)
Albert de Vleeschauwer 1942 Colonies and Justice Albert de Vleeschauwer Catholic

Ministers without Portfolio[]

Frans Van Cauwelaert-1940-Limoges

Frans Van Cauwelaert, President of the Chamber in France, June 1940. He would spend the war away from the rest of the government, in New York.

[14] Name Party Name Party
State Coat of Arms of Belgium Henri J. Denis None (technical expert) State Coat of Arms of Belgium Charles d'Aspremont Lynden Catholic
State Coat of Arms of Belgium Paul-Émile Janson †
(until 1943) 		Liberal File:Vanderpoorten Arthur 070428.jpg Arthur Vanderpoorten †
(until January 1943) 		Liberal
State Coat of Arms of Belgium Léon Matagne POB-BWP State Coat of Arms of Belgium Auguste Deschryver
(until 3 May 1943) 		Catholic
State Coat of Arms of Belgium Eugène Soudan POB-BWP

Changes[]

  • 19 February 1942
    • Julius Hoste (Liberal) becomes Undersecretary for Public Education.[14]
    • Henri Rolin (POB-BWP) becomes Undersecretary for Defence.[15]
    • Gustave Joassart (technical expert) becomes Undersecretary for Aid to Refugees, Labour and Social Welfare.[14]
  • 2 October 1942
    • Antoine Delfosse (Catholic) becomes Minister for Justice, National Information and Propaganda.[14]
    • Henri Rolin (POB-BWP) resigns as Undersecretary for Defence, in the aftermath of a minor mutiny in the Free Belgian forces.[15] His role is assumed by Hubert Pierlot, who becomes Minister for National Defence in addition to his existing titles.[15]
  • January 1943
    • Arthur Vanderpoorten (Liberal), who had refused to follow the government to London, is apprehended by the Germans in France.[14] He would later die in Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.
  • 3 May 1943
    • August De Schryver (Catholic) becomes Minister for Interior Affairs and Agriculture, after having served as Minister without Portfolio.[14]
  • 6 April 1943
    • August Balthazar (POB-BWP) becomes Minister for Public Works and Transport.[14]
  • 16 July 1943
    • Gustave Joassart (technical expert) resigns as Undersecretary for Aid to Refugees, Labour and Social Welfare.[14]
  • 3 September 1943
    • Joseph Bondas (POB-BWP) becomes Undersecretary for Aid to Refugees, Labour and Social Welfare.[14]
    • Raoul Richard (technical expert) becomes Undersecretary for Supplies.[14]
  • 30 March 1943
    • Paul Tschoffen (Catholic) becomes Minister of State.[14]
  • 6 June 1944
    • Paul Tschoffen (Catholic) becomes Head of the Mission for Civil Affairs.[14]

Role[]

The Government in Exile was expected to fulfill the functions of a national government, but also represent Belgian interest to the Allied powers, leading Paul-Henri Spaak to comment that "all that remains of legal and free Belgium, all that is entitled to speak in her name, is in London".[16]

The British diplomatic mission to Belgium, under Ambassador Lancelot Oliphant, was attached to the government in exile.[17] In March 1941, the Americans also sent an Ambassador, Anthony Biddle Jr., to represent the United States to the governments in exile of Belgium, the Netherlands, Poland and Norway.[17] The Soviet Union, which had broken off diplomatic relations with Belgium in May 1941 (heavily influenced by the then-in force Nazi-Soviet Pact), re-established its legation to the government in exile in the aftermath of the German invasion and eventually expanded it to the rank of Embassy in 1943.[17]

Belgian refugees[]

One of the most pressing concerns facing the government in exile in 1940 was the situation of Belgian refugees in the United Kingdom. By 1940, at least 15,000 Belgian civilians had arrived in the United Kingdom, many of them without their possessions.[18] The refugees had originally been dealt with by the British government, however in September 1940, the government established a Central Service of Refugees to provide material assistance and employment for Belgians in Britain.[19]

The British public was exceptionally hostile to Belgian refugees in 1940, because of the belief that Belgium had betrayed the Allies in 1940.[20] A British Mass Observation report noted a "growing feeling against Belgian refugees" in the United Kingdom,[21] closely linked to Leopold III's decision to surrender.[22]

The government was also involved in the provision of social, educational and cultural institutions to Belgian refugees. In 1942, the government sponsored the creation of the Belgian Institute in London to entertain the Belgian refugee community in London.[13] By 1943, there were also four Belgian schools in Britain with 330 pupils between them, in Penrith, Braemar, Kingston and Buxton.[23]

Free Belgian forces[]

United Nations Day Parade, London, 14 June 1943 TR1113

Victor van Strydonck de Burkel in London, 1943. Van Strydonck had been made Baron for leading a cavalry charge in 1918.

Main article: Free Belgian Forces

In a broadcast on French Radio, shortly after the Belgian surrender, Pierlot called for the creation of an army-in-exile to continue the fight:

“ With the same youthful courage that responded to the government's call, reunited with the elements of the Belgian military in France and Great Britain, a new army will be levied and organized. It will go into the line alongside those of our allies ... all the forces we have will be put at the service of the cause which has become ours ... It is important to assure immediately and in a tangible way, the solidarity which continues to unite the powers which have given us their support ... ”

—Pierlot's speech on French Radio, 28 May 1940[24]

With some Belgian troops rescued from Dunkirk during Operation Dynamo, as well as Belgian émigrés already living in England, the government in exile approved the creation of an Camp Militaire Belge de Regroupement (CMBR; "Belgian Military Camp for Regrouping") in Tenby, Wales.[25] By July 1940, the camp numbered 462 Belgians, rising to nearly 700 by August 1940.[25] These soldiers were organized into the 1st Fusilier Battalion in August, and the government appointed Lieutenant-Generals Raoul Daufresne de la Chevalerie as commander, and Victor van Strydonck de Burkel as inspector-general of the new force.[26] The government was later able to successfully lobby for the creation of a Belgian Section within the Royal Navy,[27] as well as the creation of two all-Belgian squadrons within the Royal Air Force.[28]

For the first years of the war, a degree of tension existed between the government and the army, which divided its allegiance between government and King. The Free Belgian forces, particular the infantry who had been training since 1940, held the government responsible for not being allowed to fight. In November 1942, 12 Belgian soldiers mutinied, complaining about their inactivity.[15] By 1943, the army's royalist stance had been moderated, allowing the government to re-gain the support of the military.[29]

Treaties and negotiations[]

Original United Nations

Poster depicting the flags of the "United Nations", including Belgium, that signed the Declaration of 1942.

In September 1941, the Belgian government signed the Atlantic Charter in London alongside other governments in exile, presenting the common goals which the Allies sought to achieve after the war.[30] A year later, the government signed the Declaration by United Nations in January 1942, with 26 other nations, which would set a precedent for the foundation of the United Nations Organisation in 1945.[31]

From 1944, the Allies became increasingly concerned with laying the framework of post-war Europe. These were formalized through numerous treaties and agreements from 1944. In July 1944, Camille Gutt attended the Bretton Woods Conference in the United States on behalf of the Belgian government, establishing the Bretton Woods System of currency controls. During the negotiations, Gutt served as an important intermediary between the delegates of the major Allied powers.[32] Through the agreements, the Belgian Franc's exchange rate would be tied to the US$ after the war, while he conference also established the International Monetary Fund (IMF) of which Gutt would serve as the first director.[33]

In September 1944, the Belgian, the Netherlands and Luxembourgish governments in exile began formulating an agreement over the creation of a Benelux Customs Union.[34] The agreement was signed in the London Customs Convention on 5 September 1944, just days before the Belgian government returned to Brussels after the liberation.[35] The Benelux Customs Union was a major extension of a pre-war union between Belgium and Luxembourg, and would later form the basis of the Benelux Economic Union from 1958.[34]

Authority[]

Unlike many other governments in exile, which were forced to rely exclusively on financial support from the Allies, the Belgian government in exile could fund itself independently. In large part, this was due to the Belgian national gold reserves, which had been moved to Britain, and provided an important asset.[36] The Belgian government was also in control of the Belgian Congo, which exported large amounts of raw materials (including rubber, gold and uranium) which the Allies relied on for the war effort.[36]

Stances[]

Relations with Leopold III[]

See also: Leopold III of Belgium

Despite being a constitutional monarch, the King of the Belgians had occupied an important political role within Belgium before the war. The decision of Leopold III to surrender to the Germans – without consulting his own ministers – outraged the Belgian cabinet.[5] The King's apparent opposition to it undermined its credibility and legitimacy. For the first years of the war, the King was viewed as an alternative source of "government" by many, including figures in the Free Belgian military, which served to further undermine the official government in London. Later in the war, the government changed its position to be less belligerent towards the king.[5] Belgian propaganda of the time instead emphasized the King's position as "martyr" and prisoner-of-war and presented him as sharing the same sufferings as the occupied country.[5] In a radio speech on 10 May 1941 (the first anniversary of the German invasion), Pierlot called for Belgians to "rally around the prisoner-King. He personifies our murdered country. Be as loyal to him as we are here."[37]

According to the Constitution of 1831, the Belgian government was allowed to override the wishes of the King if he had been declared incompetent to reign.[38] On 28 May 1940, the Pierlot government in France had declared the King to be under the power of the invaders and unfit to reign, providing strong legal foundations and making itself the only official source of government.[38] Although the King was technically the only person able to receive diplomatic legations and conclude treaties, the government in exile was able to do both during the war independently.[12]

Relations with the Resistance[]

Royal Air Force Bomber Command, 1942-1945

Supplies for the Resistance dropped by British aircraft in the countryside north of Brussels.

See also: Belgian Resistance

The Belgian government of Jaspar-Huysmans called for the creation of organized resistance in occupied Belgium from London, even before the French surrender:

“ We trust fully in the power of Britain to deliver us from German bondage ... We claim the right to share in the burden and honour of this fight in the measure of our modest, but not altogether negligible, resources. We are not defeatists ... ”

—Huysmans in radio broadcast, 23 June 1940[5]

The government succeeded in obtaining control over French and Dutch language radio broadcasts to occupied Belgium, broadcast by the BBC's Radio Belgique. The radio station was essential for keeping the resistance and public alike informed, and was placed under the control of the journalist Paul Lévy.[39] Amongst those working in the radio was Victor de Laveleye, a former government minister who worked as a newsreader, who is credited for inventing the "V for Victory" campaign.[40]

Nevertheless, the apparent isolation of the government in exile from the day-to-day situation in Belgium meant that it was viewed with suspicion by many resistance groups, particularly those whose politics different from the established government. The government, for its part, was afraid that resistance groups would turn into ungovernable political militias after liberation, challenging the government's position and threatening political stability.[41] The resistance, however, was frequently reliant on finance and drops of equipment and supplies which both the government in exile and the British Special Operations Executive (SOE) were able to provide.[42] During the course of the war, the government in exile delivered between 124–245 million francs, dropped by parachute or transferred via bank accounts in neutral Portugal, to the Armée Secrète group alone, with smaller sums also distributed to other organisations.[42]

In the early years of the war, contact with the government exile was difficult to establish. The Légion Belge dispatched a member to try to establish contact in May 1941, it took a full year to reach London.[42] Radio contact was briefly established in late 1941, however, the contact was extremely intermittent between 1942 and 1943, with a permanent radio connection to the Armée Secrète (codenamed "Stanley") only established in 1944.[42]

In May 1944, the government in exile attempted to rebuild its relationship with the resistance by establishing a "Coordination Committee" of representatives of the major groups, including the Légion Belge, Mouvement National Belge, Groupe G and the Front de l'Indépendance.[43] However, the committee was rendered redundant by the liberation in September.

Return to Belgium[]

Allied troops entered Belgium on 1 September 1944.[44] On 6 September, the Welsh Guards liberated the capital, Brussels.[44] The government in exile returned to Brussels on 8 September 1944.[18] "Operation Gutt", a plan devised by Camille Gutt to avoid rampant inflation in liberated Belgium by limiting the money supply, was put into action with great success.[45]

On 26 September, Pierlot formed a new government of national unity (Pierlot V) in Brussels. The new government included many of the ministers (including all of the "four") from London, but for the first time also including the Communists.[46] In December 1944, a new triparate government was formed, with Pierlot still as Prime Minister. In 1945, having been Prime Minister since 1939, Pierlot was finally replaced by the Socialist, Achille Van Acker.[47]

The government in exile was one of the last governments in which the traditional parties which had dominated Belgium since its creation were still present. In 1945, the POB-BWP changed its name to the Belgian Socialist Party (PSB-BSP) and the Catholic Party became the Christian Social Party (PSC-CVP).[48][49]

See also[]

Commons-Logo Wikimedia Commons has media related to Belgian government in exile.

References[]

  1. ↑ Bonney, Richard (2009). Confronting the Nazi war on Christianity: the Kulturkampf Newsletters, 1936–1939. Oxford: Peter Lang. pp. 175–6. ISBN 978-3-03911-904-2. 
  2. ↑ Amersfoort, Herman; Klinkert, Wim (eds.) (2011). Small Powers in the Age of Total War, 1900–1940. Leiden: Brill. pp. 243–4. ISBN 90-04-20321-4. 
  3. ↑ Bailly, Michel (2 February 1990). "Forces et faiblesses de l'armée belge en 1940 à la veille de la guerre". http://archives.lesoir.be/forces-et-faiblesses-de-l-armee-belge-en-1940-a-la-veil_t-19900202-Z02C79.html. Retrieved 17 January 2013. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Various authors (1941). Belgium: The Official Account of What Happened, 1939–40. London: Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. p. 99. http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/UN/Belgium/Belgium_1939-40/. 
  5. ↑ 5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 5.10 5.11 5.12 5.13 5.14 Yapou, Eliezer (2006). "Belgium: Disintegration and Resurrection". Governments in Exile, 1939–1945. Jerusalem. http://governmentsinexile.com/yapoubelgium.html.  Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "Yapou1" defined multiple times with different content
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Wullus-Rudiger, Jacques-Armand (1945). La Belgique et la Crise Européene, 1914–1945. II: 1940–1945. Éd. Berger-Levrault. p. 36. OCLC 004156520. 
  7. ↑ Wullus-Rudiger, Jacques-Armand (1945). La Belgique et la Crise Européene, 1914–1945. II: 1940–1945. Éd. Berger-Levrault. p. 37. OCLC 004156520. 
  8. ↑ FO 371/24277–C13459, Cadogan minute, December 18, 1940
  9. ↑ Laporte, Christian (1 September 1994). "Quatre ans à Londres: Eaton Square, Petite Belgique". http://archives.lesoir.be/quatre-ans-a-londres-eaton-square-petite-belgique_t-19940901-Z08GC1.html. Retrieved 7 July 2013. 
  10. ↑ "Welcome". Embassy of Luxembourg in London. http://londres.mae.lu/en/Welcome. Retrieved 11 May 2013. 
  11. ↑ "Plaque: Netherlands Government in exile". London Remembers. http://www.londonremembers.com/memorials/netherlands-government-in-exile. Retrieved 6 May 2013. 
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Talmon, Stefan (2001). Recognition of Governments in International Law, with particular reference to Governments in Exile (Reprint. ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 130. ISBN 978-0-19-924839-1. 
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 Conway, Martin; Gotovitch, José (eds.) (2001). Europe in Exile: European Exile Communities in Britain 1940–45 (1st ed.). New York: Berghahn. pp. 55–6. ISBN 1-57181-503-1. 
  14. ↑ 14.00 14.01 14.02 14.03 14.04 14.05 14.06 14.07 14.08 14.09 14.10 14.11 "Le gouvernement Pierlot IV (1940–1944)". Histoire-des-belges.be. http://www.histoire-des-belges.be/listes/les-gouvernements-de-la-belgique-unitaire/gouvernement-pierlot-iv-1940-1944. Retrieved 14 July 2013. 
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 Conway, Martin; Gotovitch, José (eds.) (2001). Europe in Exile: European Exile Communities in Britain 1940–45 (1st ed.). New York: Berghahn. p. 92. ISBN 1-57181-503-1. 
  16. ↑ "Why Belgium Fights On: Civilisation will Perish if Nazis Win". 13 March 1941. http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/25851926. Retrieved 7 May 2013. 
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 Wullus-Rudiger, Jacques-Armand (1945). La Belgique et la Crise Européene, 1914–1945. II: 1940–1945. Éd. Berger-Levrault. p. 40. OCLC 004156520. 
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Conway, Martin; Gotovitch, José (eds.) (2001). Europe in Exile: European Exile Communities in Britain 1940–45 (1st ed.). New York: Berghahn. p. 61. ISBN 1-57181-503-1. 
  19. ↑ Conway, Martin; Gotovitch, José (eds.) (2001). Europe in Exile: European Exile Communities in Britain 1940–45 (1st ed.). New York: Berghahn. pp. 57–8. ISBN 1-57181-503-1. 
  20. ↑ Langworth, Richard M.. "Feeding the Crocodile: Was Leopold Guilty?". Churchill Centre. http://www.winstonchurchill.org/support/the-churchill-centre/publications/finest-hour/issues-109-to-144/no-138/898-feeding-the-crocodile-was-leopold-guilty. Retrieved 17 January 2013. 
  21. ↑ Crang, Jeremy A., Addison, Paul (2011). Listening to Britain: Home Intelligence Reports on Britain's Finest Hour, May–September 1940. London: Vintage. pp. 71; 56. ISBN 0-09-954874-7. 
  22. ↑ Conway, Martin; Gotovitch, José (eds.) (2001). Europe in Exile: European Exile Communities in Britain 1940–45 (1st ed.). New York: Berghahn. p. 54. ISBN 1-57181-503-1. 
  23. ↑ Conway, Martin; Gotovitch, José (eds.) (2001). Europe in Exile: European Exile Communities in Britain 1940–45 (1st ed.). New York: Berghahn. p. 60. ISBN 1-57181-503-1. 
  24. ↑ Gerard, Emmanuel; Van Nieuwenhuyse, Karel (eds.) (2010). Scripta Politica: Politieke Geschiedenis van België in Documenten, 1918–2008 (2nd ed.). Leuven: Acco. pp. 164–5. ISBN 978-90-334-8039-3. 
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 "La Brigade Piron: Création en Grande-Bretagne". Brigade-piron.be. http://www.brigade-piron.be/creation_fr.html. Retrieved 1 July 2013. 
  26. ↑ Thomas, Nigel (1991). Foreign Volunteers of the Allied Forces, 1939–45. London: Osprey. pp. 15–6. ISBN 978-1-85532-136-6. 
  27. ↑ "Royal Navy Section Belge". KLM-MRA. http://www.marine-mra-klm.be/royal_navy_section_belge_047.htm. Retrieved 24 July 2013. 
  28. ↑ Donnet, Michel (2006). Les Aviateurs Belges dans la Royal Air Force. Brussels: Racine. pp. 104–5. ISBN 978-2-87386-472-9. 
  29. ↑ Conway, Martin; Gotovitch, José (eds.) (2001). Europe in Exile: European Exile Communities in Britain 1940–45 (1st ed.). New York: Berghahn. p. 94. ISBN 1-57181-503-1. 
  30. ↑ "Inter-Allied Council Statement on the Principles of the Atlantic Charter: September 24, 1941 [Text"]. Yale University. http://avalon.law.yale.edu/wwii/interall.asp. Retrieved 13 July 2013. 
  31. ↑ "Declaration by the United Nations, January 1, 1942 [Text"]. Yale University. http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/decade03.asp. Retrieved 13 July 2013. 
  32. ↑ Crombois, Jean F. (2011). Camille Gutt and Postwar International Finance. London: Pickering & Chatto. p. 107. ISBN 978-1-84893-058-2. 
  33. ↑ "The Bretton Woods Institutions" (PDF). National Bank of Belgium. http://www.nbbmuseum.be/doc/infosheets/fiche_information_EN_19.pdf. Retrieved 13 July 2013. 
  34. ↑ 34.0 34.1 Walsh, Jeremy. "Benelux Economic Union – A New Role for the 21st Century". http://martindale.cc.lehigh.edu/sites/martindale.cc.lehigh.edu/files/BeneluxEconomy.pdf. Retrieved 13 July 2013. 
  35. ↑ "Treaty Establishing the Benelux Economic Union (1958)". United Nations University. http://www.cris.unu.edu/riks/web/treaties/Benelux.pdf. Retrieved 13 July 2013. 
  36. ↑ 36.0 36.1 Erik, Buyst (November 2011). "Camille Gutt and Postwar International Finance". http://eh.net/book_reviews/camille-gutt-and-postwar-international-finance. Retrieved 13 July 2013. 
  37. ↑ Wullus-Rudiger, Jacques-Armand (1945). La Belgique et la Crise Européene, 1914–1945. II: 1940–1945. Éd. Berger-Levrault. p. 43. OCLC 004156520. 
  38. ↑ 38.0 38.1 Talmon, Stefan (2001). Recognition of Governments in International Law, with particular reference to Governments in Exile (Reprinted ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 150–1. ISBN 978-0-19-924839-1. 
  39. ↑ Grosbois, Thierry (1998). Pierlot, 1930–1950. Brussels: Racine. pp. 184–7. ISBN 2-87386-485-0. 
  40. ↑ Gotovitch, José; Aron, Paul, eds (2008). Dictionnaire de la Seconde Guerre Mondiale en Belgique. Brussels: André Versaille éd.. pp. 372–3. ISBN 978-2-87495-001-8. 
  41. ↑ Moore, Bob (ed.) (2000). Resistance in Western Europe (1st ed.). Oxford: Berg. p. 54. ISBN 1-85973-274-7. 
  42. ↑ 42.0 42.1 42.2 42.3 De Vidts, Kim (2004). "Belgium: A Small but Significant Resistance Force during World War II" (PDF). Hawaii Pacific University. pp. 89–90. http://www.hpu.edu/CHSS/History/GraduateDegree/MADMSTheses/files/2004KimdeVidts.pdf. 
  43. ↑ Moore, Bob (ed.) (2000). Resistance in Western Europe (1st ed.). Oxford: Berg. p. 53. ISBN 1-85973-274-7. 
  44. ↑ 44.0 44.1 "1944: the Liberation of Brussels". Brussels.be. http://www.brussels.be/artdet.cfm/5562. Retrieved 13 July 2013. 
  45. ↑ Marc, Metdepenningen (10 September 1994). "L'Opération Gutt était prête en 1943". http://archives.lesoir.be/l-operation-gutt-etait-pretre-en-1943_t-19940910-Z08HG2.html. Retrieved 14 July 2013. 
  46. ↑ "Le gouvernement Pierlot V (1944)". Histoire-des-belges.be. http://www.histoire-des-belges.be/listes/les-gouvernements-de-la-belgique-unitaire/gouvernement-pierlot-v-1944. Retrieved 14 July 2013. 
  47. ↑ "Achille Van Acker". DiRupo.be. http://archive.dirupo.belgium.be/fr/biographie/achille-van-acker. Retrieved 20 July 2013. 
  48. ↑ "PSB: Sigle de Parti Socialiste Belge". Larousse Online. http://www.larousse.fr/encyclopedie/divers/PSB/140410. Retrieved 20 July 2013. 
  49. ↑ "PSC: Sigle de Parti Sociale Chrétien". Larousse Online. http://www.larousse.fr/encyclopedie/divers/PSC/144643. Retrieved 20 July 2013. 

Bibliography[]

Overviews
Primary sources
  • (French) Dutry-Soinne, Tinou (2006). Les Méconnus de Londres: Journal de Guerre d'une Belge, 1940–1945 (vol. 1). Brussels: Racine. ISBN 2-87386-483-4. 
  • (French) Dutry-Soinne, Tinou (2008). Les Méconnus de Londres: Journal de Guerre d'une Belge, 1940–1945 (vol. 2). Brussels: Racine. ISBN 2-87386-504-0. 
  • (French) Gutt, Camille (1971). La Belgique au Carrefour, 1940–1944. Fayard. 
  • (Dutch) De Schryver, August (1998). Oorlogsdagboeken, 1940–1942. Tielt: Lannoo. ISBN 90-209-2971-2. 
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