Faithful front

The Heimattreue Front (HF) was a National Socialist political organization founded in 1935 by an influential part of the German population in the Belgian eastern cantons of Eupen - Malmedy - St. Vith , which pursued the (re) integration of the eastern cantons into the German Reich (these areas belonged from 1815 until 1919 to Prussia and thus from 1871 to 1919 to the German Empire ). For the history see the:

Historical background

The integration of the East Cantons in the Belgian Kingdom ( "Provisional Belgian Administration") in 1919 after the First World War , the German inhabitants were indeed become Belgian citizens, but they were only starting in 1925 equated the other Belgian citizens and give them the full right to vote granted .

The incorporation into a foreign-language national territory - which took place under controversial circumstances - led to considerable tensions among the German-speaking population of the eastern cantons, and voices for reintegration into the German Reich were loud.

After 1933, the pro-Reichsdeutsche mood in the eastern cantons was given a name and an organizational framework through the front loyalty to the home. His club members were dominated by the propaganda of the emerging Nazism in the German Reich.

Political rise

In 1928/1929 the German-speaking East Belgians founded the Christian People's Party, which soon dissolved into the HF.

In the 1930s, political tension between pro-Belgian and pro-Reich German positions increased. In 1935 this led, among other things, to the expulsion of four leaders of the Heimatbund, including the former chairman of the Christian People's Party Joseph Dehottay (who was received by Hitler in 1933), to the neighboring German Reich with their Belgian citizenship being withdrawn at the same time. Following this, the Christian People's Party called on its voters to join the Home Loyalty Front.

In the parliamentary elections that followed in 1939, the Home Loyalty Front received 45.1% of all votes cast. The Home Loyalty Front thus became by far the strongest political force in Eupen-Malmedy. Compared to the voting behavior of the German population in other regions bordering the German Reich, such as the Sudetenland , in Danzig or in Memel , where Reich German-oriented parties received more than 80% of the votes, the election result for the Heimattreue Front was much lower.

In the Eupen city council, the home loyalty front had an absolute majority after 1934 until the invasion of the Wehrmacht in 1940. When they arrived, the German troops were received by the majority of the German population in East Belgium as “liberators”, and they were cheered; the " return to the Reich " was welcomed. With the reconnection of the Eupen-Malmedy-St. Vith to the Reich territory, however, also changed the political conditions. It was brought into line under the ideological orientation of National Socialism .

Financially and logistically, the political activities of the home loyal front from the German Reich a. a. supported by the Association for Germans Abroad (VDA).

literature

David Mennicken, Die Heimattreue Front . A “National Socialist” organization in Belgium 1936–1940, master's thesis, Université catholique de Louvain-la-Neuve, 2010, 235 pages.

Bruno Kartheuser: The 30s in Eupen-Malmedy. Insight into the network of Imperial German subversion (Volume 1 of: ders., Walter , SD in Tulle , Krautgarten: St. Vith, 2001 ( library records in the Karlsruhe Virtual Catalog ; book prospectus ; excerpts from French, Dutch and German-language press reviews and other statements on the book )).

Martin R. Schärer, German Annexation Policy in the West . The reintegration of Eupen-Malmedy in the World War, Lang: Bern / Frankfurt am Main / Las Vegas, 1st edition: 1975. 2nd, improved edition with an introduction and a register: 1978.

Web links

Herbert Ruland: Belgium: Contemporary history and memory of 2 world wars in a complicated country. Observations from the edge position of the German-Belgian border area. In: GrenzGeschichte DG. Autonomous University in the German-speaking Community, accessed on January 31, 2019 .

Andreas Fickers: memory sacrifice. Remembering and forgetting in the politics of the past of German-speaking Belgians in the 20th century. In: zeitenblicke [ISSN 1619-0459] Vol. 3, 2004, No. 1. Gudrun Gersmann u. a., June 9, 2004, accessed on January 31, 2019 .

The foundation of the "Heimattreuen Front" (The link no longer works; archive version dated December 10, 2013 at https://web.archive.org/web/20131210071136/http://www.worldwartours.be/heimattreue_front.html [Accessed: January 31, 2019])

- Current version: http://www.worldwartours.be/heimattreue-front.html Christian Kaiser (Eupen): The foundation of the “Heimattreue Front”. Accessed January 31, 2019 .

Carlo Lejeune: The Purge (The link has stopped working; perhaps a reference to his publications with this title)

Individual evidence

↑
See:
- Schärer, annexation policy , p. 32 f. "In Eupen-Malmedy various organizations fought for the return to Germany: [...] and finally [so ok] the 'Heimattreue Front' (HF) (1935), the most important and influential organization: a unity movement for all based on the model of the NSDAP pro-German forces; the HF had [...] mainly emerged from the 'Christian People's Party' (CVP). District manager for Eupen and at the same time area manager for East Belgium was Stefan Gierets , district manager for Malmedy was first Matthieu Antoine and then Wihelm Buhrke and for St. Vith Franz Genten . On March 4, the HF had 1,737 [so OK] members. [...]. In addition to Gierets, who became district leader in Eupen after the annexation, Joseph Dehottay, chairman of the Malmedy Agricultural Association and the CVP before 1935, 'the leader of the Germans in Eupen-Malmedy', played an important role. On September 15 he was in Berlin together with the leader of the Heimatbund [Eupen-Malmedy-St. Vith], Peter Bohlen , received by Hitler for around 10 minutes, [...]. "
and
- Belgium: Contemporary history and memory of 2 world wars in a complicated country. Accessed January 31, 2019 . (with further evidence in footnote 46): “During the election campaign in 1935, a 'Heimattreuen Front' (HF) was founded, which consisted of the militant Nazis, but the bulk of members and leaders of the former CVP. Some socialists, who did not want to support their party's negative attitude towards National Socialist Germany, also joined the 'Heimattreuen Front'. In the city of Eupen, where the CVP has so far provided 8 of 13 city councilors, they too found the 'Heimattreuen Front'. The 'Heimattreue Front' was not an independent party, but was completely aligned by the NSDAP and controlled by the Gauleitung in Cologne. All subdivisions of the Nazi party and the organizations that were aligned in the Reich were also present here, but operated under cover names. "
such as
- Memory sacrifice. Accessed January 31, 2019 . , Paragraph <27>: “The 'homecoming to the Reich' was actively prepared by pro-German and National Socialist groups such as the 'Heimattreuen Front'. "
↑ The establishment took place in any case before the chamber elections in 1929: “In 1929, before the chamber elections, a 'Christian People's Party' (CVP) was founded” ( Belgium: Contemporary history and memory of 2 world wars in a complicated country. Accessed on January 31st 2019 . , of footnote 45).
↑ See again Schärer, Annexionspolitik , p. 33 as cited in individual references 1 .
↑ Schärer, Annexionspolitik , p. 33: “On June 24, 1935, Belgium (together with his son Peter, his brother Heinrich and their friend Paul Foxius) withdrew his Belgian nationality due to the Belgian expatriation law created on July 30, 1934 which resulted in an immediate expulsion. "
↑ Memory Sacrifice . Accessed January 31, 2019 . , Paragraph <27>: "In the last parliamentary elections in Belgium in 1939, the 'Heimattreue Front' won around half of all votes with 45.2% of the votes and was thus by far the strongest political force in Eupen-Malmedy."
↑
See:
- Schärer, Annexionspolitik , p. 31: "The most important funds flowed from the 'Association for Germanness Abroad' (VDA) and from the Reich Ministry of the Interior ".
and
- Memory sacrifice. Accessed January 31, 2019 . , Paragraph <27>: “Financially and logistically, the disguised National Socialist activities of the 'Heimattreuen Front' or other associations, such as the 'Segelflugverein' or the 'Archenschützen' (both clubs were basically offshoots of the Hitler Youth), of the 'Verein für das Deutschtum abroad '(VDA) supports. "
↑ with “heimattreue-front” (with a hyphen in the new URL) - “heimattreue_front” (with an indentation in the old URL).

[1] See:
Schärer, annexation policy , p. 32 f. "In Eupen-Malmedy various organizations fought for the return to Germany: [...] and finally [so ok] the 'Heimattreue Front' (HF) (1935), the most important and influential organization: a unity movement for all based on the model of the NSDAP pro-German forces; the HF had [...] mainly emerged from the 'Christian People's Party' (CVP). District manager for Eupen and at the same time area manager for East Belgium was Stefan Gierets , district manager for Malmedy was first Matthieu Antoine and then Wihelm Buhrke and for St. Vith Franz Genten . On March 4, the HF had 1,737 [so OK] members. [...]. In addition to Gierets, who became district leader in Eupen after the annexation, Joseph Dehottay, chairman of the Malmedy Agricultural Association and the CVP before 1935, 'the leader of the Germans in Eupen-Malmedy', played an important role. On September 15 he was in Berlin together with the leader of the Heimatbund [Eupen-Malmedy-St. Vith], Peter Bohlen , received by Hitler for around 10 minutes, [...]. "
and
Belgium: Contemporary history and memory of 2 world wars in a complicated country. Accessed January 31, 2019 . (with further evidence in footnote 46): “During the election campaign in 1935, a 'Heimattreuen Front' (HF) was founded, which consisted of the militant Nazis, but the bulk of members and leaders of the former CVP. Some socialists, who did not want to support their party's negative attitude towards National Socialist Germany, also joined the 'Heimattreuen Front'. In the city of Eupen, where the CVP has so far provided 8 of 13 city councilors, they too found the 'Heimattreuen Front'. The 'Heimattreue Front' was not an independent party, but was completely aligned by the NSDAP and controlled by the Gauleitung in Cologne. All subdivisions of the Nazi party and the organizations that were aligned in the Reich were also present here, but operated under cover names. "
such as
Memory sacrifice. Accessed January 31, 2019 . , Paragraph <27>: “The 'homecoming to the Reich' was actively prepared by pro-German and National Socialist groups such as the 'Heimattreuen Front'. "

[2] Schärer, annexation policy , p. 32 f. "In Eupen-Malmedy various organizations fought for the return to Germany: [...] and finally [so ok] the 'Heimattreue Front' (HF) (1935), the most important and influential organization: a unity movement for all based on the model of the NSDAP pro-German forces; the HF had [...] mainly emerged from the 'Christian People's Party' (CVP). District manager for Eupen and at the same time area manager for East Belgium was Stefan Gierets , district manager for Malmedy was first Matthieu Antoine and then Wihelm Buhrke and for St. Vith Franz Genten . On March 4, the HF had 1,737 [so OK] members. [...]. In addition to Gierets, who became district leader in Eupen after the annexation, Joseph Dehottay, chairman of the Malmedy Agricultural Association and the CVP before 1935, 'the leader of the Germans in Eupen-Malmedy', played an important role. On September 15 he was in Berlin together with the leader of the Heimatbund [Eupen-Malmedy-St. Vith], Peter Bohlen , received by Hitler for around 10 minutes, [...]. "

[3] Belgium: Contemporary history and memory of 2 world wars in a complicated country. Accessed January 31, 2019 . (with further evidence in footnote 46): “During the election campaign in 1935, a 'Heimattreuen Front' (HF) was founded, which consisted of the militant Nazis, but the bulk of members and leaders of the former CVP. Some socialists, who did not want to support their party's negative attitude towards National Socialist Germany, also joined the 'Heimattreuen Front'. In the city of Eupen, where the CVP has so far provided 8 of 13 city councilors, they too found the 'Heimattreuen Front'. The 'Heimattreue Front' was not an independent party, but was completely aligned by the NSDAP and controlled by the Gauleitung in Cologne. All subdivisions of the Nazi party and the organizations that were aligned in the Reich were also present here, but operated under cover names. "

[4] Memory sacrifice. Accessed January 31, 2019 . , Paragraph <27>: “The 'homecoming to the Reich' was actively prepared by pro-German and National Socialist groups such as the 'Heimattreuen Front'. "

[2] The establishment took place in any case before the chamber elections in 1929: “In 1929, before the chamber elections, a 'Christian People's Party' (CVP) was founded” ( Belgium: Contemporary history and memory of 2 world wars in a complicated country. Accessed on January 31st 2019 . , of footnote 45).

[3] See again Schärer, Annexionspolitik , p. 33 as cited in individual references 1 .

[4] Schärer, Annexionspolitik , p. 33: “On June 24, 1935, Belgium (together with his son Peter, his brother Heinrich and their friend Paul Foxius) withdrew his Belgian nationality due to the Belgian expatriation law created on July 30, 1934 which resulted in an immediate expulsion. "

[5] Memory Sacrifice . Accessed January 31, 2019 . , Paragraph <27>: "In the last parliamentary elections in Belgium in 1939, the 'Heimattreue Front' won around half of all votes with 45.2% of the votes and was thus by far the strongest political force in Eupen-Malmedy."

[6] See:
Schärer, Annexionspolitik , p. 31: "The most important funds flowed from the 'Association for Germanness Abroad' (VDA) and from the Reich Ministry of the Interior ".
and
Memory sacrifice. Accessed January 31, 2019 . , Paragraph <27>: “Financially and logistically, the disguised National Socialist activities of the 'Heimattreuen Front' or other associations, such as the 'Segelflugverein' or the 'Archenschützen' (both clubs were basically offshoots of the Hitler Youth), of the 'Verein für das Deutschtum abroad '(VDA) supports. "

[10] Schärer, Annexionspolitik , p. 31: "The most important funds flowed from the 'Association for Germanness Abroad' (VDA) and from the Reich Ministry of the Interior ".

[11] Memory sacrifice. Accessed January 31, 2019 . , Paragraph <27>: “Financially and logistically, the disguised National Socialist activities of the 'Heimattreuen Front' or other associations, such as the 'Segelflugverein' or the 'Archenschützen' (both clubs were basically offshoots of the Hitler Youth), of the 'Verein für das Deutschtum abroad '(VDA) supports. "

[7] with “heimattreue-front” (with a hyphen in the new URL) - “heimattreue_front” (with an indentation in the old URL).