Belgian National Movement

Belgian National Movement
MNB
Mouvement National Belge
Participant in the Second World War
Active December 1940-February 1944
Ideology Liberal-Catholic[1]
Leaders Aimé Dandoy (founder)
Camille Joset (~1942)
Headquarters Etterbeek, Brussels
Opponents Nazi Germany German Occupying Forces

The Belgian National Movement or MNB (French: Mouvement National Belge) was a Belgian resistance group during the Second World War.

History

The MNB was founded in December 1940 by Aimé Dandoy and focused on evacuating allied airmen, sabotage and intelligence gathering. Most of its members were recruited from the francophone middle classes, and maintained a center-right political stance.[2]

In September 1942, the group signed an agreement with the Front de l'Indépendance (FI) in order to co-ordinate their operations, however the groups were mutually suspicious and shared very different political ideologies which reduced their scope for greater collaboration.[2]

In February 1944, most of the leaders of the group were arrested by German forces, effectively halting almost all the activities of the group, though the newspaper was still published until Liberation in September 1944.[2]

Activities

The group ran the "Mill" intelligence network and was also active with the "Comet" Escape Line.[2] It was also active in publishing a clandestine newspaper, La Voix des Belges.

References

  1. ↑ Moore, edited by Bob (2000). Resistance in Western Europe (1. publ. ed.). Oxford: Berg. p. 52. ISBN 1859732798.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 M. Dumoulin, M. Wijngaert et al. (1995). Nouvelle Histoire de Belgique: 1905-1950. Ed. Complexe. p. 95.

External links