Algemeene-SS Vlaanderen
Encyclopedia
The Algemeene-SS Vlaanderen ("General SS
Schutzstaffel
The Schutzstaffel |Sig runes]]) was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. Built upon the Nazi ideology, the SS under Heinrich Himmler's command was responsible for many of the crimes against humanity during World War II...

 Flanders
Flanders
Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...

"), later Germaansche SS in Vlaanderen ("Germanic SS in Flanders") was the Flemish branch of the Germanic SS during the Nazi
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...

 occupation of Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

.

History

The organization was set up in September 1940 on the Flemish side by Herman van Puymbroeck, Ward Hermans
Ward Hermans
Cornelius Eduardus Hermans was a Belgian Flemish nationalist politician and writer....

 and René Lagrou
René Lagrou
René Lagrou was a Flemish-Belgian politician and collaborator with Nazi Germany. Originating in West Flanders, Lagrou worked as a lawyer in Antwerp....

, with Lagrou becoming the organization's first leader. In December 1940, Hermans became the editor of newspaper of the unit, De SS-man. The SS-Vlaanderen was the first of the Germanic-SS organizations, which were intended to spread Pan-Nordicism and the SS ideology among the conquered Germanic nations. Unofficially, Himmler
Heinrich Himmler
Heinrich Luitpold Himmler was Reichsführer of the SS, a military commander, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. As Chief of the German Police and the Minister of the Interior from 1943, Himmler oversaw all internal and external police and security forces, including the Gestapo...

 wanted to use the organization to penetrate occupied Belgium, which was under the control of the Wehrmacht military government
Military Administration in Belgium and North France
The Belgium and Northern France was an Axis-occupied territory that included present-day Belgium and the French departments of Nord and Pas-de-Calais...

, not the party or the SS. The SS-Vlaanderen was also used to staff the anti-Jewish units of the German security services with auxiliary staff.

Lagrou was succeeded as the Standaardleider
Standartenführer
Standartenführer was a Nazi Party paramilitary rank that was used in the so-called Nazi combat-organisations: SA, SS, NSKK and the NSFK...

by Jef De Langhe in May 1941, who was later followed by Raf van Hulse. Ward Hermans was also replaced as editor by Maurice Van de Walle. Despite the apparent Flemish leadership, the SS-Vlaanderen was actually under the control of the representative of the Reichsführer-SS
Reichsführer-SS
was a special SS rank that existed between the years of 1925 and 1945. Reichsführer-SS was a title from 1925 to 1933 and, after 1934, the highest rank of the German Schutzstaffel .-Definition:...

 in Flanders, SS-Brigadeführer
Brigadeführer
SS-Brigadeführer was an SS rank that was used in Nazi Germany between the years of 1932 and 1945. Brigadeführer was also an SA rank....

 Konstantin Kammerhofer, who was later succeeded by SS-Brigadeführer Richard Jungclaus.

As the war progressed, the influence of the SS-Vlaanderen increased. It joined hands with the DeVlag
Devlag
Deutsch-Vlämische Arbeitsgemeinschaft , better known as DeVlag, was a pro-Nazi organization active in Flanders during the German occupation of Belgium...

 organization, with Jef van de Wiele
Jef van de Wiele
Fredegardus Jacobus Josephus van de Wiele was a Belgian Flemish Nazi politician.-Nazism:...

, the leader of DeVlag, declaring that the Germanic SS and DeVlag shared the same struggle and ideologue. Van de Wiele was later promoted to SS-Sturmbannführer
Sturmbannführer
Sturmbannführer was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party equivalent to major, used both in the Sturmabteilung and the Schutzstaffel...

, and was the highest Flemish SS-official. In November 1943 he ordered all leading members of DeVlag to join the SS-Vlaanderen, and also demanded that all members of the latter join DeVlag, molding the two organizations practically together. The role of the Germanic SS in Flanders was transferred because of this relationship from a political organization to a military one. This shift started during the leadership of Jef François
Jef François
Josephus Alphonsus Marie François was a Belgian Flemish far right politician and Nazi collaborator.A native of Ghent, he first came to politics as a member of the Frontpartij, along with the likes of Ward Hermans and Joris Van Severen...

, who took over the SS-Vlaanderen from Van Hulse in August 1942. Members were increasingly used in guard assignments, surveillance and reprisals against resistance fighters
Belgian resistance
Belgian resistance during World War II to the occupation of Belgium by Nazi Germany took different forms. "The Belgian Resistance" was the common name for the Netwerk van de weerstand - Réseau de Résistance or Resistance Network , a group of partisans fighting the Nazis...

. Most members also volunteered to serve in Waffen-SS
Waffen-SS
The Waffen-SS was a multi-ethnic and multi-national military force of the Third Reich. It constituted the armed wing of the Schutzstaffel or SS, an organ of the Nazi Party. The Waffen-SS saw action throughout World War II and grew from three regiments to over 38 divisions, and served alongside...

, and fight against the Russians in the Eastern Front
Eastern Front (World War II)
The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of World War II between the European Axis powers and co-belligerent Finland against the Soviet Union, Poland, and some other Allies which encompassed Northern, Southern and Eastern Europe from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945...

. On November 9, 1943, Antoon Van Dijck assumed the leadership of the SS-Vlaanderen, which lasted until the liberation of Belgium.

Commanders of the SS-Vlaanderen

  • SS-Hauptsturmführer René Lagrou (7 Dec 1940 - 10 May 1941)
  • SS-Hauptsturmführer Jef De Langhe (10 May 1941 - 1 Sep 1941)
  • SS-Hauptsturmführer Raf Van Hulse (1 Sep 1941 - 1 Sep 1942)
  • SS-Obersturmführer Jef François (1 Sep 1942 - 9 Nov 1943)
  • SS-Untersturmführer Antoon Van Dijck (9 Nov 1943 - 15 Nov 1944)

Organisation

The SS-Vlaanderen encompassed one standaard ("standard", "banner" or "unit), which was divided into four regional subunits called stormbans:
  1. Stormban I Antwerpen (Antwerpen, Mechelen
    Mechelen
    Mechelen Footnote: Mechelen became known in English as 'Mechlin' from which the adjective 'Mechlinian' is derived...

     and Geel
    Geel
    Geel is a city located in the Belgian province of Antwerp which acquired the status of a city in the 1980s.It comprises Central-Geel which is constituted of 4 old parishes a/o towns : Sint-Amand, Sint-Dimpna, Holven and Elsum...

    )
  2. Stormban II Oost-Vlaanderen (Gent
    Ghent
    Ghent is a city and a municipality located in the Flemish region of Belgium. It is the capital and biggest city of the East Flanders province. The city started as a settlement at the confluence of the Rivers Scheldt and Lys and in the Middle Ages became one of the largest and richest cities of...

    , Sint-Niklaas
    Sint-Niklaas
    Sint-Niklaas is a Belgian city and municipality located in the Flemish province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Sint-Niklaas proper and the towns of Belsele, Nieuwkerken-Waas, and Sinaai....

    , Eeklo
    Eeklo
    Eeklo is a Belgian municipality in the Flemish province of East Flanders. The municipality only comprises the city of Eeklo proper. The name Eeklo comes from the contraction of “eke” and “lo”, two Old German words meaning “oak” and “sparse woods”....

     and Aalst
    Aalst
    Aalst can refer to:Place names* Aalst, Belgium, a city and municipality in Belgium* Aalst, Buren, a village in the Netherlands, in the province of Gelderland* Aalst, North Brabant, a village in the Netherlands, in the province of North-Brabant...

    )
  3. Stormban III West-Vlaanderen (Roeselare
    Roeselare
    Roeselare is a Belgian city and municipality in the Flemish province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Roeselare proper and the towns of Beveren, Oekene and Rumbeke....

    , Brugge
    Brügge
    Brügge is a municipality in the district of Rendsburg-Eckernförde, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany.Its small church and market square are noted for their beauty....

    , Kortrijk
    Kortrijk
    Kortrijk ; , ; ) is a Belgian city and municipality located in the Flemish province West Flanders...

     and Oostende)
  4. Stormban IV Brabant
    Flemish Brabant
    Flemish Brabant is a province of Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium. It borders on the Belgian provinces of Antwerp, Limburg, Liège, Walloon Brabant, Hainaut and East Flanders. Flemish Brabant also completely surrounds the Brussels-Capital Region. Its capital is Leuven...

    -Limburg(Brussel, Leuven
    Leuven
    Leuven is the capital of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region, Belgium...

    , Hasselt
    Hasselt
    Hasselt is a Belgian city and municipality, and capital of the Flemish province of Limburg...

     and Neerpelt
    Neerpelt
    Neerpelt is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Limburg. On January 1, 2006 Neerpelt had a total population of 16,117. The total area is 42.78 km² which gives a population density of 377 inhabitants per km².-Famous inhabitants:...

    )
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