Belgium

D

World War I

On August 4, 1914, one week after World War I began, German troops crossed the frontier into Belgium, ignoring its neutral status. The government resisted invasion and appealed to France, Britain, and Russia for aid. The Belgian army put up a heroic defense against overpowering forces; for four years its troops held on to a sliver of Belgian territory between the Yser River and the French border. The Germans, meanwhile, carried on a ruthless occupation of Belgium, confiscating property and deporting civilians. Although they attempted to capitalize on language divisions by establishing separate Flemish and Walloon administrations, only a small minority of Flemings collaborated with the invaders. A million Belgians fled the country. As the war dragged on, more than 80,000 soldiers and civilians died.

The major Allied offensive that began on September 28, 1918, liberated the entire Belgian coast and led the Germans to agree to an armistice and to withdrawal on the Allies’ terms. The shooting war was finally over. Under the Treaty of Versailles, Germany ceded Eupen-et-Malmédy, and Moresnet to Belgium, adding 989.3 sq km (382 sq mi) and some 64,500 inhabitants to the kingdom.

After the war Belgium was faced with the task of rebuilding the devastated areas. Although the damage was enormous, the country made a remarkable recovery. Another consequence of World War I for Belgium was the discrediting of the policy of neutrality. Belgium effectively renounced its neutrality in 1920 by signing a military alliance with France. In 1925 it became a party to the Locarno treaties, in which Britain, France, Germany, and Italy guaranteed the boundaries of Belgium and affirmed its right to form defensive treaties. Ruanda-Urundi was created from part of a former German colony in East Africa in 1923 and placed under Belgian control by the League of Nations.

E

World War II

In 1936, after France failed to oppose German remilitarization of the Rhineland, Belgium again returned to neutrality with the understanding that Britain and France would assist in its defense against foreign aggression. Nevertheless, Belgium was attacked for a second time by Germany on May 10, 1940, early in World War II. Without warning or ultimatum, Belgian airfields, railroad stations, and communications centers were bombed by German planes, and German armored units rolled across the border. The army and the French and British troops that came to Belgium’s aid were overwhelmed by the superior might of the invading forces.

---

---

By May 26, 1940, the Allies had been pushed into a narrow beachhead around Dunkerque, France, near the Belgian border. King Leopold III surrendered his remaining forces unconditionally on May 28 and was taken prisoner. The Belgian cabinet, which had fled to Paris, refused to acknowledge defeat, declaring the king’s surrender “illegal and unconstitutional.” On May 30 the ministers voted to divest the king of all powers and of the right to rule, a decision supported by the Belgian parliament. After the fall of France, the Belgian government moved to London; it returned to Brussels on September 8, 1944. Later that month parliament elected Leopold’s brother, Prince Charles, as regent.

F

Postwar Belgium

Although Belgium was in better economic condition after World War II than after World War I, it was politically disorganized because of a conflict between the Christian Democrat parties and a coalition of Liberals, Socialists, and Communists. Intensifying the political struggle was the question concerning King Leopold, who had remained in Austria awaiting determination of his future. Despite pressure from the Christian Democrat parties (now strengthened by the enfranchisement of women), which favored the return of the king, the Belgian parliament in the summer of 1945 extended indefinitely the regency of Prince Charles, virtually exiling the king because of his alleged defeatism in 1940.

While the struggle for political control continued, Belgium regained much of its former position as one of the world’s great trading nations. Industrial areas in the south were modernized, and Antwerp’s port facilities were expanded. Rich uranium deposits from the Congo, which were of particular value in the nuclear age, added to Belgium’s postwar prosperity.

G

Royal Controversy

On March 12, 1950, after more than a year of successive governmental crises brought on by the controversy over the king, the Belgian electorate went to the polls in an advisory plebiscite on the question of Leopold’s return. A slight majority of the voters favored the return of the king from exile, but his attempt to resume power led to strikes, demonstrations, and riots. Leopold agreed to abdicate in 1951, when his son reached the age of 21. Baudouin was proclaimed king the day after Leopold’s abdication.

H

European Cooperation

The 1950s were marked by the concentrated effort of European leaders to effect a political and economic union of the Western European nations. Taking an active role in this movement, Belgium, along with France, West Germany, Luxembourg, Italy, and Netherlands, became a charter member of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) in 1952. The efforts of Belgian Foreign Minister Paul Henri Spaak were instrumental in the founding in 1957 of the European Economic Community (EEC). Brussels became the seat of its governing commission and much of its bureaucracy, reflecting the key role that Spaak played in shaping the new European order. In 1967 the ECSC, the EEC, and Euratom merged to form the European Community, now called the European Union.

	More from Encarta
	•  Presidential Myths Quiz •  Coffee break: Recharge your brain