Reichskommissariat of Belgium and Northern France
Reichskommissariat Belgien-Nordfrankreich | |||||||||||
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1944–1944 | |||||||||||
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Emblem
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Status | Reichskommissariat of Nazi Germany | ||||||||||
Capital | Brussels | ||||||||||
Common languages | German (administration) Dutch French | ||||||||||
Government | Civil administration | ||||||||||
Reichskommissar | |||||||||||
• 1944 | Josef Grohé | ||||||||||
Historical era | World War II | ||||||||||
• Grohé appointed | 18 July 1944 | ||||||||||
• Allied liberation | September 1944 | ||||||||||
• Annexation to Germany | 15 December 1944 | ||||||||||
Currency | Belgian franc | ||||||||||
ISO 3166 code | BE | ||||||||||
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Today part of | Belgium France |
The Reichskommissariat of Belgium and Northern France (German: Reichskommissariat Belgien-Nordfrankreich) was a Nazi German civil administration (Zivilverwaltung) which governed most of occupied Belgium and northern parts of occupied France in the second half of 1944 during World War II.
The Reichskommissariat replaced an earlier military government, the Military Administration in Belgium and Northern France, established in the same territory in 1940.
On 18 July 1944, the Gauleiter of Gau Cologne-Aachen, Josef Grohé, was named Reichskommissar of the territory, known as the Reichskommissariat Belgien und Nordfrankreich or Reichskommissariat für die besetzte Gebiete von Belgien und Nordfrankreich.[1][2] It covered the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France, as well as Belgium except for Eupen-Malmedy which were incorporated directly into the German Reich.
The Wehrmacht troops in the area were commanded by Wehrmachtbefehlshaber Belgien-Nordfrankreich Martin Grase (18 July 1944 - 16 September 1944).
The territory was mostly liberated by the Allies in September 1944, in the aftermath of the Normandy landings, so the existence of the territory was short. Following the liberation, the territory was retrospectively annexed directly into Germany (although no longer under de facto German control) as three separate Reichsgaue: Reichsgau Flandern, Wallonien and the Brussels district.
See also[]
- Other occupation zones of Nazi-occupied France:
- Occupied Alsace-Lorraine
- The zone interdite
- The zone occupée
- Vichy France
- Other Reichskommissariate in Western Europe:
References[]
- ^ Rolf Jehke. "Reichskommissariat Belgien und Nordfrankreisch". Territorial.de. Retrieved 2015-03-09.
- ^ Kroener, Müller & Umbreit (2003) Germany and the Second World War V/II, p. 29
Further reading[]
- De Jonghe, Albert (1972). Hitler en het politieke lot van België, 1940-1944. De vestiging van een Zivilverwaltung in België en Noord-Frankrijk. Antwerp: Uitgeverij De Nederlandssche Boekhandel.
- German occupation of Belgium during World War II
- German occupation of France during World War II
- Subdivisions of Nazi Germany
- World War II occupied territories
- 1944 in Belgium
- 1944 in France
- 1944 establishments in Belgium
- 1944 disestablishments in Belgium
- 1944 establishments in France
- 1944 disestablishments in France