Municipal Government during the Occupation (1940-5): A Comparative Model of Belgium,the Netherlands and France

Abstract

This article argues that four factors between September 1939 and 1940 are crucial for developing a comparative occupation model of Belgium, France and the Netherlands: first, the influence of September 1939; second, the invasion of May 1940; third, the nature of the German and local ‘New Order’ regimes; and fourth, whether a country had experienced occupation in the First World War. The ‘New Order’ regimes that were built on the foundations of 1940 took on radically different characteristics with three crucial variables in terms of, first, the political nature of the New Order; second, the reforms of the municipal administrative apparatus; and third, the reforms of the police and judiciary apparatus. The article argues that a combination of these variables led to different models of occupation, in which Belgium and France formed opposites and the Netherlands possessed a somewhat ‘hybrid’ model. It is argued that until 1943 the centralized French model offered the most advantages for the Germans, while after 1943, it was the Belgium localized model.