| Native Name: | |
| Conventional Long Name: | Military Administration in Belgium and Northern France |
| Common Name: | Nazi-occupied Belgium and Northern France |
| Status: | Military administration |
| Empire: | Germany |
| Status Text: | Territory under German military administration |
| Era: | World War II |
| Year Start: | 1940 |
| Year End: | 1944 |
| P1: | Belgium |
| Flag P1: | Flag of Belgium (civil).svg |
| P2: | French Third Republic |
| Flag P2: | Flag of France (1794–1815, 1830–1958).svg |
| S1: | Reichskommissariat of Belgium and Northern France |
| Flag S1: | Flag of German Reich (1935–1945).svg |
| Flag: | Flag of Germany#Nazi Germany |
| Coa Size: | 100px |
| Symbol: | Coat of arms of Germany#Nazi Germany |
| Image Map2: | France map Lambert-93 with regions and departments-occupation Belgium.png |
| Image Map2 Caption: | German and Italian occupation zones: the zone occupée, the zone libre, the zone interdites, annexed Alsace-Lorraine, Luxembourg and Eupen-Malmédy, and the Military Administration in Belgium and Northern France |
| Capital: | Brussels |
| Common Languages: | German Dutch French |
| Leader1: | Gerd von Rundstedt |
| Title Leader: | Military Commander |
| Year Leader1: | 1940 |
| Leader2: | Alexander von Falkenhausen |
| Year Leader2: | 1940–1944 |
| Title Deputy: | Administrator |
| Deputy1: | Eggert Reeder |
| Year Deputy1: | 1940–1944 |
| Currency: | Belgian franc |
| Today: | Belgium France |
The Military Administration in Belgium and Northern France (German: Militärverwaltung in Belgien und Nordfrankreich) was an interim occupation authority established during the Second World War by Nazi Germany that included present-day Belgium and the French departments of Nord and Pas-de-Calais.[1] The administration was also responsible for governing the zone interdite, a narrow strip of territory running along the French northern and eastern borders.[2] It remained in existence until July 1944. Plans to transfer Belgium from the military administration to a civilian administration were promoted by the SS, and Hitler had been ready to do so until Autumn 1942, when he put off the plans for what was intended to be temporary but ended up being permanent until the end of German occupation.[3] The SS had suggested either Josef Terboven or Ernst Kaltenbrunner as the Reich Commissioner of the civilian administration.[4]
On 18 July 1944, the Military Administration was replaced by a civil one, led by the Gauleiter, Josef Grohé, who was named the Reichskommissar of the Reichskommissariat of Belgium and Northern France (Reichskommissariat Belgien und Nordfrankreich).[1] [5]
The Nazi administration was assisted by fascist Flemish, Walloon, and French collaborationists. In binational Belgian territory, the predominantly French region of Wallonia, the collaborationist Rexists provided aid to the Nazis while in Flemish-populated Flanders, the Flemish National Union supported the Nazis. In Northern France, Flemish separatist tendencies were stirred by the pro-Nazi Vlaamsch Verbond van Frankrijk led by priest Jean-Marie Gantois.[6]
The attachment of the departments Nord and Pas-de-Calais to the military administration in Brussels was initially made on military considerations, and was supposedly done in preparation for the planned invasion of Britain.[7] Ultimately, the attachment was based on Hitler's intention to move the Reich's border westward, and was also used to maintain pressure on the Vichy regime – which protested the curtailment of its authority in what was still de jure national French territory – to ensure its good behavior.[8]
The Military Administration formed the core of a wider command structure which allowed the governance of occupied Belgium. It could rely on both military and civilian components: