To: Yaacov who wrote (8227 ) 5/9/2005 6:19:50 AM From: GUSTAVE JAEGER Respond to of 22250 Historical footnote to my previous post:German Policy in Occupied Belgium, 1914-1918by David Menichetti [...] On April 5, 1916, German Chancellor Bethmann Hollweg gave a speech about the future actions of Germany in Belgium, in which he said:We will obtain sure guarantees in order that Belgium should not become a vassal state of England and France and should not be used as an economic and military bulwark against Germany. Germany cannot abandon to Latin influence the Flemish people which have for so long been brought under subjection. We will secure for them a sound development, according to their resources, founded on the Flemish language and character. These words show that some of the pre-war German plans for Western Europe still prevailed, even though many of the conditions they required (i.e. the defeat of France) were not present. The German High Command still envisioned two Belgiums. One would become a German protectorate (Flanders) while the other (Wallonia) was exploited for industrial materials and free labor along with most of France. Administrative separation was a convenient way to begin the process of dividing Belgium in a way that was consistent with these war aims. The German government began to implement its plan by creating an office called the Flemish Bureau in the Belgian political department. Its main responsibilities were to distribute foreign and domestic propaganda about Flemish autonomy and to meet with Flemish leaders and activists to ascertain what specific policies might win their support. The office organized a mass meeting of all Flemish activist groups in Brussels on February 4, 1917, with the purpose of discussing Flemish grievances. This assembly of 200 people elected a small body of officers to serve on a new representative body, the Council of Flanders. The council then adopted a series of resolutions indicating their desire for the separation of Belgium into autonomous regions and for the promotion of Flemish language and culture in general. The German government claimed that the Council was freely elected and that it represented the views of millions of Flemish people in Belgium. This would prove to be an exaggeration at best. Nevertheless, on March 21, 1917, the German government announced the official beginning of administrative separation in Belgium and affirmed the Council of Flanders as "an advisory body" and "a collaborator in building up Flemish political life and Flemish officialdom." [...]etext.virginia.edu As a matter of fact, (Theobald von) Bethmann Hollweg's blueprint for Belgium is now the US (secret) agenda for Belgium --and the weakening of France. Bethmann Hollweg's Belgian policy as a US objective: We will obtain sure guarantees in order that Belgium should not become a vassal state of France and should not be used as an economic and diplomatic pawn against the US. The US cannot abandon to Latin influence the Flemish people which have for so long been brought under subjection. We will secure for them a sound development, according to their resources, founded on the Flemish language and character.