World War II: Belgian Civilian Helpers Registry

Description

Belgium: Occupation, Resistance, and Reckoning (1940-1948)

• May 28, 1940: Germany’s occupation of Belgium officially begins when the Belgian army surrenders to German forces. This marks the second German occupation of Belgium in less than thirty years.
• May 28, 1940 – September 1944/February 1945: This period encompasses the duration of the German occupation of Belgium during World War II.
• Throughout the German Occupation (1940-1945): Belgian civilians actively participate in resistance efforts, notably by forming escape and evasion lines to help Allied airmen shot down over Belgium.
• Throughout the German Occupation (1940-1945): The “Comet Line,” the best-known escape line, operates, evacuating an estimated 700 Allied airmen to Gibraltar, from where they are flown to England.
• Throughout the German Occupation (1940-1945): Allied airmen are sheltered in safe houses across Belgium by Belgian families supporting the resistance, provided with civilian clothes and false identification papers, and guided to neutral or Allied-occupied territory.
• Throughout the German Occupation (1940-1945): Hundreds of individuals working for the escape lines are captured and imprisoned by the Germans, with many ultimately executed.
• September 1944 – February 1945: Belgium is liberated by the Western Allies, marking the end of the German occupation.
• 1945 – 1948: The Department of Defense’s European Command, Office of the Assistant Chief of Staff G-2, Awards Branch, compiles or maintains 8 docket books listing “Belgian Helpers.” These books are used to determine eligibility for awards for Belgian citizens who assisted Allied personnel.
• Post-War (after 1945): Approximately 400,000 Belgians are investigated for collaboration with the Third Reich.
• Post-War (after 1945): Around 56,000 Belgians are prosecuted for collaboration, with the majority receiving prison sentences and several hundred being executed.

Cast of Characters

• Belgian Army: The military force of Belgium that surrendered to German forces on May 28, 1940, leading to the German occupation.
• German Forces: The military personnel responsible for the occupation of Belgium during World War II, starting in May 1940.
• Western Allies: The forces responsible for the liberation of Belgium between September 1944 and February 1945.
• Belgian Civilian Helpers (Belgian Helpers): A collective term for the 6,427 Belgian citizens documented in the post-war registry who assisted Allied personnel during World War II. They provided resistance, sheltered downed airmen, offered civilian clothes, false identification, and guided them through escape lines.
• Allied Airmen: Military personnel from Allied forces who were shot down over Belgium during World War II and were assisted by Belgian civilians in escape and evasion efforts.
• Guides (of escape lines): Typically young women, these individuals were crucial to the operation of escape lines like the Comet Line, leading Allied airmen to safety.
• Belgian Collaborators: A collective term for the approximately 400,000 Belgians investigated after the war for assisting the Third Reich, with 56,000 prosecuted and many imprisoned or executed.
• Department of Defense’s European Command, Office of the Assistant Chief of Staff G-2, Awards Branch: The American military administrative body responsible for compiling and maintaining the “Registry of Belgian Civilian Helpers of Allied Personnel” between 1945 and 1948, for the purpose of evaluating award eligibility.