Traces of Nazi Occupation and World War II in Brussels, Belgium
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 1 окт 2024
- During most of World War II, Brussels was the capital of Nazi Occupied Belgium and Northern France. While there was not a lot of active battle during World War II in Belgium, more than four years of occupation left a big mark on the city. The German military, Nazis, Gestapo, and SS were all present in Brussels, headquartered in one of the many requisitioned public and private buildings. But, as in other occupied countries during World War II, there was also a strong Belgian resistance movement and, unfortunately, an equally strong collaboration with the Nazis.
Nowadays, there are still many reminders and traces of these dark years in Brussels, but you really have to know where to look. This video will take you to five of these World War II sites right in the center of Brussels. You might have walked right by them without knowing their dark World War II past.
Subscribe to the Alternative Belgium channel for more videos on World War II in Belgium, but also on World War I, Waterloo and much more videos on the history of Belgium.
🇧🇪 Links:
If you're planning to come to Belgium and want a flexible and affordable way to get a private expert guide? Check out our audio-tours:
alternativebel...
Follow us on:
alternativebelgium
alternativebelgiumtours
![NOSFERATU - Official Trailer [HD] - Only In Theaters December 25](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/nulvWqYUM8k/mqdefault.jpg)
That's wonderful! and interesting!!
Interesting you won't hear much about the Nazi occupation in Belgium. We still sit stuck on 'de grooten oorlog'. The only thing I know about WWII is what my parents experienced in Flanders. These stones are very interesting too. Next time I'll watch for them.
Never knew about those stones, thank you for that.
Absolutely brilliant. Thank you for sharing. I really enjoyed that.
I knew a guy who has been set prisoner by the Nazis in Breendonk. They put him on a special diet of kicks, uppercuts and beans....
A guy in my town 'zotte Jan' had been sent to the Eastern Front. He came back and was totally nuts.
My late dad had to do with the Nazis in his hometown and he always told me 'Boy, the Germans are ein Herrenvolk'. What did he mean by that?
Interesting but perhaps gruelling addition: the Gestapo had different “levels” of torture. “verschärfte Vernehmung” (literally: intense questioning) meant that the prisoner would be subjected to more painful torture. In The Brussels Gestapo headquarters, this meant that you would be taken to a higher level. Literally. The higher you ended up in the building, the more intense the questioning and the torture became. This is nothing original: even in the Berlin headquarters, the harshest torture took place in the attic, just under the roof of the building.
for your information: there were no gestapo in Belgium, instead there was the "Sicherheitsdienst" known as SD. They were the torturers.
@@erwinromer8918 For your information: Gestapo was an integral part of the SD (Sicherheitsdienst, Amt IV) and they HAD headquarters in Brussels (avenue Louise) AND Aussendienststellen and Nebenstellen (local offices) in Leuven, Antwerp, Liége, Charleroi, Arlon, Dînant and Hasselt. They made use of Belgian collaborators and infiltrators (V-Männer). One of them was the infamous Emiel Van Thielen. Head Judenreferent (Jew hunter, if you will) was Kurt Asche. Head of the Belgian Gestapo was Franz Straub. What you are pretending, is historically incorrect. True, Sipo-SD was as active as the Gestapo in Belgium, perhaps even better represented, but there WAS Gestapo in our country during the nazi occupation and they did wreak havoc under the Belgian resistance.
@@erwinromer8918 for your information: Gestapo was an integral part of the Sipo-SD, being the Amt 4 (4th department) of the SD. Their headquarters were located in the avenue Louise numbers 542 and 427. They had Nebenstellen in at least 5 other Belgian cities, including Antwerp, Leuven, Charleroi, Liége, Hasselt. The head of the Belgian Gestapo branch was Franz Straub. Responsible for hunting down the Belgian Jews was Judenreferent Kurt Asche. So yes, there wás Gestapo present and active in Belgium.
@@wisecoonie OK, thank you for the information. Some time ago, I read a text written by a German prisoner just after the war, in which he said there was no Gestapo in Belgium. He was wrong.
To add: In the Dwarsstraat 6 (Saint Josse) was the GFP of the Abwehr/Wehrmacht located, specialized in tracking escape lines for allied pilots and agents as in tracking resistance members. They also made use of the SIPO torture methods in this building.
Macaber detail about the same building: Vincent Van Gogh used to frequent the same adress while he was residing in Brussels.
Still today the result of the German occupation is huge in Belgium. When we speak of German people we still see them as modern Nazis. In French they call them the 'Boches'. Nonetheless that the German language is constitutionally garanteed by the Belgian constitution it is not done to speak German except for in the Ostkantons. A couple of communities that are mentally supporters of Germany, that declared themselves in the press independant from Belgian politics in Brussels and are willing to join Germany. Take care most citizens in the Belagian Ostkantons speak fluently Dutch, French and German. So they care about our constitution. So the German occupation still is an issue today. On the other hand European economy stands and falls with the German economy. We can't do without the Germans in the Berlaymont building. Also we hear very little about the 'Kriegentschädigung' the Germans had to pay after the war to the Russians and to the Allied forces. We also hear very little about the capital Germany invested to get the Euro afloat. The currency befor the introduction of the Euro was 1DDMark against 20 Belgian Francs. So that has cost the Germans a fortune. I have the impression that whatever the Germans will do and undertake they will not be accepted on short notice in Europe. Les Boches...
I am Belgian, Walloon from Namur with family from Liège, Marche-en-famenne and Malmedy and I must say that I don't really agree with you.
Yes we still call sometimes German speaking people "Les boches" but it is done in a funny way. Most of the time, the people from the ostkantons are well received and people take interest in them since we know that german is one of our Language but we don't see german speaking belgians that often.
Bei Motos Kaiser bin ich in DE being der Nazis uhu
Normalerweise bieten die Ostkantons die Lösung für alle Sprachproblen in België. Aber die Leute in Brussel versteken das nicht
@@batagnam das Scenario…der König galmt zum Opfer eine segregatie bedonderen Geisteskrankheit und deswege kann er nur noch Deutsch reden. Die Mathilde hat verdicht das zu heulen aber nicht hilft…tssss
A very interesting chapter too is that of the king 'in exile' returning to his country and the plebiscite that was organized after. My mother always said that it was thanks to the Flemish population that the outcome was in favour for the king (52%). You will always observe that if the outcome of a plebiscite lays so close to another , they messed with it. However that outcome did not translate in jobs and representation of Flemish in higher administration in the country. On the contrary.. au contraire. Today Brussels is French speaking for a 100 %. We must thank our royal family for that.
Cry me a river . The best jobs are given to the flemings because of their so called ability to speak french and english (LOL)
@@jme104 Belgium is a meaningless country economically and socially. It has a very weak Gross National Product. It is heavily in debt. Still it proclaims itself as an important nation worldwide. Since WW2 it has been standing still and has been concentrating on a political linguistic divide that has been institutionalized in its constitution. In fact there are no good jobs in Belgium. The less worst jobs are taken by the Dutch speaking. Indeed I could cry you a river explaining how we manage to throw away all our talents. It is a dreadfull country.
@@jme104 good jobs? 90 per cent of our businesses are foreign owned. This means that foreign investors are in Belgium as long as the tax regime is favorable to them. Belgian companies cannot keep pace with the evolution in wages and have to remunerate their staff with cheaper extralegal advantages. This skims of the company benefits so that there is no place to pay out stock holders and to invest in Research and development. It also contributes hardly to the tax income of the country. At best highly schooled engineers can get a sales job that normally is taken in by less schooled people. The business model of the country is totally based on social welfare which makes that too much money is given to people in need. The health system is inefficient and costs the state billions of euros on a monthly basis. Public investment are liable to very long decision making procedures and miss the originally aimed effect. In fact the only state department that works very good is that of finance. Nobody has to declare taxes anymore cuz they know the income in advance. Research at the universities is an overhauling of existing studies that other countries threw away. Do you know the meaning of the Higgs particle?If you want to explain its relevance to me. In short there is no added value in Belgium no not at all it is a liability.
@@jme104 in fact Belgium is under a lease contract
@@jme104 von der leyen proudly announced that small companies get big. Certainly not in an EU context that subventions already dead businesses. So politicians need to take an apprenticeship in the USA to learn to know how small companies can ever get big. There are far less restrictions of all kind in the USA people not only work much much more and much much cheaper to develop their businesses. Thus small companies are able to get big von der Leyen is an aristocrat sleeper.