SGIA 3391: The Evolution and Development of Military Occupation

Joachim Sabbat

Assess the problems encountered by the occupant and the occupants response to them
in the German Occupation of Belgium in the First World War.



The German occupation of Belgium has been titled The Rape of Belgium by some,
particularly in light of the neutrality of Belgium. However, greater consideration is warranted
in establishing the value of this statement.

The occupation had a significant effect on the Belgian economy, intensified by the British
blockade of Germany. With the outbreak of war, as in Germany, there was a severe food
shortage. The Civil administration attempted to remedy this via the creation of cataloguing
bodies Zentralen which sought to facilitate the distribution of food products.
1
Whitlock
comments however, that far from easing the situation, once a Zentrale was involved, the
thing it was centralising promptly disappeared.
2
The food shortage was thus made more
severe. Eventually, the administration realised the need for foreign help. Thus, after much
debating with the British and Americans, the Commission for Relief in Belgium (CRB) was
established, to work in conjunction with the domestic Comit National (CN). The
Commission imported cereals and foodstuffs, with the proviso that this relief was not to be
requisitioned, and was exclusively for the consumption of the occupied. However, whilst the
charity solved the provisioning problem, it came at a cost of undermining the occupation. The
CRB and CN had their own independent administration and were entitled to freedom of
movement. The occupant was pushed into the background by the other two participants and
the Committee contributed to encouraging and invigorating a Belgian national spirit.
3



1
B. Whitlock, Belgium Under the German Occupation: A Personal Narrative Vol. I, (London: William
Heinemann, 1919), p293
2
Ibid.
3
L. von Khler, The Administration of the Occupied Territories: Vol. I Belgium, (Washington DC: Carnegie,
1942), p85
SGIA 3391: The Evolution and Development of Military Occupation
Joachim Sabbat

The administration also undertook a policy of requisitioning and imposed contributions
exceeding those out of pure military necessity. By a decree of December 1914, a contribution
of 480 million francs was imposed. Subsequently, the frequency and size of contributions
was increased. In response, many Belgian officials refused to implement them, and Monsieur
Lepreux, a director of the National Bank, submitted a declaration arguing that the requisitions
and contributions were not directly for the use of the occupying army, and thus contrary to
the Hague Convention. Nevertheless, the German delegation invoked the Convention as well,
arguing that the Allies had engaged in economic warfare...in order to annihilate her, and that
therefore the Germans had to use all means to protect their nation.
4
Lepreux was also shortly
afterwards deported to Germany.

As the war progressed, the German War Ministry, faced with a domestic manpower shortage,
demanded the mobilisation of Belgian labourers, so as to free up Germans who could fight. A
policy of voluntary enlistment was initially propounded, with strong economic benefits to
doing so. However, this proved relatively unsuccessful, as the greatest obstacle was the
sentiment of the individual Belgian
5
many of whom refused to labour for Germany on
principle. As a result, there was continued tension between the Governor General and
military officers as to the usage of forced labour, which von Bissing the current Governor
General initially disagreed with, understanding that such a move was in clear violation of
the Hague Conventions. However, repeatedly, Supreme Army Command stressed the
extraordinary seriousness of the situation, and the dangers to frontline soldiers of banditry
and mendicancy occurring behind them.
6
Thus, in October 1916, the Governor General caved
in and announced a carefully specified programme of deportation of idle, unemployed

4
See E. Feilchenfeld, The International Economic Law of Belligerent Occupation, (Washington DC: Carnegie,
1942) pp42-43
5
Khler supra note 3, p193
6
Ibid. p187, p198
SGIA 3391: The Evolution and Development of Military Occupation
Joachim Sabbat

Belgians.
7
Further problems however arose concerning the compiling of unemployment
statistics, which the Belgians refused to do, and when forced, would create fictitious jobs and
sought to render the lists unusable.
8
Inevitably, the administration had to choose individuals
themselves, and furthermore, those deported could still refuse to work.
9


The Belgian judicial system remained largely functioning throughout much of the occupation.
Nevertheless, its power was gradually eroded throughout the period culminating in the
cessation of Belgian administration of justice, and the establishment of German courts, both
civil and criminal, according to the ordinances of April 6/7, 1918.
10
The decrees of February
3/10, 1915, allowed for the creation of a board of arbitration for the assessing of damages, on
which two of three members were appointed by the German administration.
11
Btonnier
Thodor realised however, that it was the first blow in an effort to undermine the
independence of the Belgian judiciary and to destroy the nation itself.
12
He contended that,
as there was no active Belgian legislative body, the Judiciary represented all sovereignty, and
that the decrees, stemming from no military necessity, were contrary to the Hague
Conventions. He concluded by suggesting that to recognize the situation that is presented to
us simply because it is imposed upon is would be to accept annexation before it had even
been declared.
13
The courts declared the decrees null and void, but were swiftly overruled by
the Higher Courts, which ruled that the creation of tribunals was not contrary to international
law. They did, however, confirm the contention that the occupants powers were limited by

7
Ibid. p200
8
Ibid. p203
9
Ibid. p219
10
Khler supra note 3, p69
11
See Whitlock, supra note 1, pp309-310
12
Ibid. p310
13
Ibid. pp314-315
SGIA 3391: The Evolution and Development of Military Occupation
Joachim Sabbat

international conventions, and the impact of this was seen two years later, when the entire
magistracy resigned in protest against further inroads made into Belgian sovereignty.
14


Significant among these further inroads was the Flemish question. The occupation helped
foster a perfect environment for the revival of Flemish nationalist sentiment, an ethnic group
which some Germans viewed as culturally and linguistically very close. To this end, the
Council of Flanders was created, with the aim of administrative separation, and the removal
of the legal, cultural and economic injustices suffered
15
. New linguistic laws were put in
place, as were ordinances which made Flemish the exclusive official language in Flemish
administrative territory. Many Walloon senators, however, believed this to be in
contravention of Article 43 of the Hague Convention, which imposed an obligation on the
occupant to respect existing laws unless absolutely necessary.
16
After the manifesto
declaration of Flemish independence
17
, the Court of Appeals labelled the Council as a
revolutionary committee, and issued warrants of arrest, with two members of the Council
arrested, on grounds of treasonable collaboration with the occupant. The German
administration promptly intervened, closing down the Court and deporting its three
presidents, commenting that it was contrary to all reason that...courts...under the authority of
the occupying power, should be allowed to take jurisdiction of offences against the
dispossessed power
18
. Shortly thereafter, the president of the Court of Cassation abdicated,
followed by all other Belgian courts. As a result, a complete German judicial system was
established.


14
Ibid. pp317-318
15
Khler supra note 3, p46
16
F. Passelecq, La question flammande et lAllemagne, (Paris: Berger-Levrault, 1917) pp190-1
17
See Khler, supra note 1, p66
18
F. Passelecq, La Magistrature Belge contre le despotisme allemande (Paris: Berger-Levrault, 1918) p68, cited
in J. Garner, International Law and the World War, Vol II, (London: Longmans, 1920)
SGIA 3391: The Evolution and Development of Military Occupation
Joachim Sabbat

We can finally consider the policy of Schrecklichkeit, or the violent measures employed by
German soldiers towards citizens, whether they resisted or not. Von de Goltz proclaimed at
the commencement of the occupation that villages in the vicinity of places where railway
and telegraph lines are destroyed will be punished without pity (whether they are guilty or not
of the acts in question)
19
.In both Louvain and Dinant, as well as many other towns, reports
abound concerning pillaging, murder and arson.
20
In Dinant, for example, the Germans,
having had many skirmishes with nearby French soldiers, marched in, rounded everyone up,
and from time to time...a few [men] were selected, led out and shot.
21
Whitlock also
recounts the use of Belgian citizens as shields against French fire.
22
An occupying power is
owed no allegiance. However it is acceptable for it to seek protection for its soldiers, and
punish violations thereof. What is at stake is the extent to citizens owe obligation to each
other and to their community to preserve its viability. Knowing full well that repercussions
would happen to others, Belgian citizens had to tread carefully when resisting against the
German occupier.

In conclusion, whilst much German conduct cannot be excused, some explanation can be
found in the consideration of the circumstances that the German Government was operating
in. Faced with an economic blockade...it was inevitable the Germans would exploit the
resources of Belgium
23
. Finally, all occupants have to bear in mind the delicate balance
between protecting their soldiers and nation and respecting their duties to the occupied
country.


19
M. Gilbert, The First World War, (London: Phoenix, 2008) p88
20
See J. Horne & A. Kramer, German Atrocities, 1914, (New Haven; London: Yale University Press, 2001),
Whitlock, supra note 3, chs. 26, 30-33 and Official Commission of the Belgian Government, Reports on the
Violation of the Rights of Nations Vol II, (London: Harrison and Sons, 1919), Report 20
21
Whitlock, supra note 1, p131
22
Ibid. p133
23
P. Stirk, The Politics of Military Occupation, (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2012), p19
SGIA 3391: The Evolution and Development of Military Occupation
Joachim Sabbat

Bibliography
Ernst Feilchenfeld, The International Economic Law of Belligerent Occupation, (Washington
DC: Carnegie, 1942)

Official Commission of the Belgian Government, Reports on the Violation of the Rights of
Nations Vol II, (London: Harrison and Sons, 1919)

James Garner, International Law and the World War, Vol II, (London: Longmans, 1920)

Martin Gilbert, The First World War, (London: Phoenix, 2008)

John Horne & Alan Kramer, German Atrocities, 1914, (New Haven; London: Yale
University Press, 2001)

Ludwig von Khler, The Administration of the Occupied Territories: Vol. I Belgium,
(Washington DC: Carnegie, 1942)

Peter Stirk, The Politics of Military Occupation, (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press,
2012)

Brand Whitlock, Belgium Under the German Occupation: A Personal Narrative Vol. I,
(London: William Heinemann, 1919),