Radio België"},"logo":{"wt":"Plaquette BBC - 04-09-1944 - Radio Belgique.jpg"},"caption":{"wt":"The staff of {{lang|fr|Radio Belgique}} in a contemporary BBC photo. Victor de Laveleye can be seen at the bottom left."},"city":{"wt":"[[London]]"},"country":{"wt":"United Kingdom"},"area":{"wt":"Belgium"},"branding":{"wt":""},"frequency":{"wt":""},"translator":{"wt":""},"repeater":{"wt":""},"airdate":{"wt":"{{start date|1940|9|28|df=y}}{{cite book|last=Dutry-Soinne|first=Tinou|title=Les Méconnus de Londres: Journal de Guerre d'une Belge, 1940–1945 (vol. 1)|year=2006|publisher=Racine|location=Brussels|isbn=2-87386-483-4|page=114}}"},"last_airdate":{"wt":"{{end date|1944|9|16|df=y}}"},"format":{"wt":""},"language":{"wt":"French and Dutch"},"power":{"wt":""},"erp":{"wt":""},"haat":{"wt":""},"class":{"wt":""},"facility_id":{"wt":""},"coordinates":{"wt":""},"callsign_meaning":{"wt":""},"former_callsigns":{"wt":""},"former_frequencies":{"wt":""},"affiliations":{"wt":"[[Belgian government in exile]]"},"owner":{"wt":"[[BBC World Service|BBC European Service]]"},"licensee":{"wt":""},"sister_stations":{"wt":"[[Radio Londres]]
{{ill|Londoner Rundfunk|de}}"}},"i":0}}]}" id="mwBQ">Radio station in London, England
![]() | |
| |
---|---|
Broadcast area | Belgium |
Programming | |
Language(s) | French and Dutch |
Affiliations | Belgian government in exile |
Ownership | |
Owner | BBC European Service |
Radio Londres Londoner Rundfunk | |
History | |
First air date | 28 September 1940 [1] |
Last air date | 16 September 1944 |
Radio Belgique (French) and Radio België (Dutch) were radio broadcasts transmitted to German-occupied Belgium from London during World War II. It was produced with the support of the Belgian government in exile and formed part of the BBC's European Service.
On 10 May 1940, neutral Belgium was invaded by German forces. After 18 days of fighting, the Belgian army, along with King Leopold III, surrendered and the country was placed under German occupation. The Belgian government fled, first to France and then to the United Kingdom, where it formed a government in exile in London. The national Belgian radio station, the Institut National Belge de Radiodiffusion (INR) sabotaged its transmitters and was banned by the Germans [2] though many of INR's employees followed the government to London. [3]
Radio Belgique was established on 28 September 1940 and broadcast in French and Dutch. [4] The French service was put under the control of Victor de Laveleye (a former Liberal government minister), while Jan Moedwil was put in charge of the Dutch service. [4] A press agency, INTERBEL, was founded for the radio, as a continuation of the pre-war BELGA agency. [4]
On 14 January 1941, the former Belgian cabinet minister Victor de Laveleye, known for inventing the V for Victory campaign, became the announcer on Radio Belgique and began encouraging the use of the V Symbol in occupied Belgium. [4] [5] De Laveleye was also responsible for inventing one of the station's most notable slogans: "We will get them, the Boches" ("Krijgen we ze wel, de moffen" in Dutch; "On les aura, les Boches" in French). [6] In 1942, Charles de Gaulle gave a speech on Radio Belgique, celebrating Franco-Belgian friendship. [7]
Though forbidden by the German occupiers, Radio Belgique was listened to by a majority of Belgians, far more than officially approved stations (like Radio Bruxelles) which broadcast German propaganda. [8] The journalist and former resistance member Paul Lévy also worked at Radio Belgique.
Radio Belgique's programmes were broadcast in both French and Dutch. Originally, the programmes were broadcast from 21:00 to 21:15 each evening in French and Dutch on alternate days, but from Spring 1941, a morning edition and separate 17:30 programme allowed at least one in each language per day. From March 1943, the BBC broadcast daily programmes from Radio Belgique at 19:15 (in French) and 20:30 (in Dutch).
Recognizing the potential effect that Radio Belgique could have on their control of information in the occupied country, the Germans rapidly created collaborationist radio stations, also aimed at a Belgian audience, using the remaining assets from the INR, [2] the Francophone Radio Bruxelles ("Radio Brussels") and Dutch language Zender Brussel. [4] The Germans brought out radio blockers to disrupt the signal and made listening to Radio Belgique illegal in December 1940. [4]
During the later stages of World War II, the Belgian government sponsored the creation of a new radio broadcaster, Radiodiffusion National Belge (RNB), which broadcast from London, New York City, and later from Léopoldville in the Belgian Congo. [4] However, it only began to be received in Belgium from September 1944 during the liberation and soon afterwards Radio Belgique was removed from the air. [4]
In Belgium, the French Community refers to one of the three constituent constitutional linguistic communities. Since 2011, the French Community has used the name Wallonia-Brussels Federation, which is controversial because its name in the Belgian constitution has not changed and because it is seen as a political statement. The name "French Community" refers to Francophone Belgians, and not to French people residing in Belgium. As such, the French Community of Belgium is sometimes rendered in English as "the French-speaking Community of Belgium" for clarity, in analogy to the German-speaking Community of Belgium.
The Flemish Region, usually simply referred to as Flanders, is one of the three regions of Belgium—alongside the Walloon Region and the Brussels-Capital Region. Covering the northern portion of the country, the Flemish Region is primarily Dutch-speaking. With an area of 13,522 km2 (5,221 sq mi), it accounts for only 45% of Belgium's territory, but 57% of its population. It is one of the most densely populated regions of Europe with around 490/km2 (1,300/sq mi).
The Radio-télévision belge de la Communauté française, shortened to RTBF, is a public service broadcaster delivering radio and television services to the French-speaking Community of Belgium, in Wallonia and Brussels. Its counterpart in the Flemish Community is the Dutch-language VRT, and in the German-speaking Community it is BRF.
Belgischer Rundfunk (BRF) is the public-service broadcasting organisation serving the German-speaking Community of Belgium. Based in Eupen, with additional studio facilities in Sankt Vith and Brussels, BRF produces one television and three radio channels.
The Belgian Resistance collectively refers to the resistance movements opposed to the German occupation of Belgium during World War II. Within Belgium, resistance was fragmented between many separate organizations, divided by region and political stances. The resistance included both men and women from both Walloon and Flemish parts of the country. Aside from sabotage of military infrastructure in the country and assassinations of collaborators, these groups also published large numbers of underground newspapers, gathered intelligence and maintained various escape networks that helped Allied airmen trapped behind enemy lines escape from German-occupied Europe.
Alexandre Galopin was a Belgian businessman notable for his role in German-occupied Belgium during World War II. Galopin was director of the Société Générale de Belgique, a major Belgian company, and chairman of the board of the motor and armaments company Fabrique Nationale d'Armes de Guerre (FN). At the head of a group of Belgian industrialists and financiers, he gave his name to the "Galopin Doctrine" which prescribed how Belgian industry should deal with the moral and economic choices imposed by the occupation. In February 1944, he was assassinated by Flemish collaborators from the DeVlag group.
Victor Auguste de Laveleye was a Belgian liberal politician and minister. He also served as announcer on Radio Belgique during World War II.
The Belgian Government in London, also known as the Pierlot IV Government, was the government in exile of Belgium between October 1940 and September 1944 during World War II. The government was tripartite, involving ministers from the Catholic, Liberal and Labour Parties. 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.
The Banque de Bruxelles was a prominent bank in Brussels, established in 1871 and merged in 1975 with Banque Lambert to form Banque Bruxelles Lambert. It was Belgium's second-largest bank for most of its existence, behind the Société Générale de Belgique and, from 1934 onwards, its spun-off banking subsidiary.
Marc Sevenants, better known by the pseudonym of Marc Danval, was a Belgian journalist, author, artist and columnist, who wrote about Belgian food and jazz. In his early career he also worked as an actor.
Maxime Steinberg (1936–2010) was a Belgian historian and teacher who wrote extensively on the Holocaust in Belgium. He has been described as "Belgium's principal Holocaust historian" and was best known for his three-part history of the subject entitled L'Étoile et le Fusil, published in 1983–87.
Events in the year 1870 in Belgium.
Events in the year 1872 in Belgium.
Events in the year 1859 in Belgium.
Henri Borguet was Belgian entrepreneur who built in Belgium the first steam passenger railway in continental Europe, between Brussels and Mechelen.
Belgian heraldry is the form of coats of arms and other heraldic bearings and insignia used in the Kingdom of Belgium and the Belgian colonial empire but also in the historical territories that make up modern-day Belgium. Today, coats of arms in Belgium are regulated and granted by different bodies depending on the nature, status, and location of the armiger.
The Flagey Building also known as the Radio House is a building located in Ixelles, a municipality of Brussels, Belgium, housing the Flagey cultural centre. It is located on the south-western corner of Place Eugène Flagey/Eugène Flageyplein, with its main entrance on the Place Sainte-Croix/Heilig-Kruisplein.
Fernand (Nand) Geersens was the Dutch-language voice of Radio België, the channel of the Belgian National Radio Broadcaster (BNRO) during World War II which broadcast from London. He was known by the nom de guerre Jan Moedwil.
Walter Marie Joseph Emile Victor Désiré Arthur Armand Louis Loridan was a Belgian diplomat and academic.
José Gotovitch was a Belgian historian who specialised on the political and social history of Belgium during World War II as well as the history of Communism. He is best-known for the bestselling book L'An 40 (1971), which was co-written with Jules Gérard-Libois and is considered a landmark study in Belgian historiography.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)