Reichsgau Flanders
The Reichsgau Flanders ( ned . : Rijksgouw Vlaanderen ) was a Reichsgau founded by the National Socialist German Reich in 1944 , which included parts of Belgium and northern France. Territorially, the Reichsgau Flanders comprised the present-day region of Flanders in its historical provincial boundaries (i.e., including Comines-Warneton but excluding the town of Voeren ) and the French departments of Nord and Pas de Calais . The area around Brussels did not become part of the Reichsgau Flanders, but formed the district of Brussels . The Reichsgau Flanders formally existed from December 15, 1944 until the German surrender on May 8, 1945. At the time of the proclamation of the Reichsgau Flanders, this territory was already completely occupied by Allied troops and theoretically belonged to the Reich Commissariat of Belgium and Northern France . The proclamation was carried out by Belgian Nazi collaborators in German exile, Gauleiter was Jef Van de Wiele .