Military Administration of Luxembourg explained

Native Name:Militäresch Administratioun vu Lëtzebuerg
Militärverwaltung Luxemburg
Administration militaire du Luxembourg
Conventional Long Name:Military Administration of Luxembourg
Common Name:Lëtzebuerg
Luxembourg
Era:World War II
Status:Territory under German military administration
Government Type:Military administration
Date Start:11 May
Year Start:1940
Date End:29 July
Year End:1940
P1:Luxembourg
Flag P1:Flag of Luxembourg.svg
S1:Civil Administration Area of Luxembourg
Flag S1:Flag of the German Reich (1935–1945).svg
Capital:Luxembourg City
Common Languages:German
Luxembourgish
French
Currency:Luxembourgish franc
Year Leader1:1940
Stat Year1:1940
Stat Pop1:290,000
Today:Luxembourg

The Military Administration of Luxembourg was a German military administration in German-occupied Luxembourg that existed from 11 May 1940 to 29 July 1940, when the military administration was replaced with the Civil Administration Area of Luxembourg.

History

Early on 10 May 1940, the German diplomat Von Radowitz handed the general secretary of the Luxembourgish government a memorandum from the German government, stating that Germany had no intention of changing the territorial integrity or political independence of the Grand Duchy. The following day, a military administration for Luxembourg was set up. Luxembourgish interests were represented by a governmental commission under Albert Wehrer, which consisted of senior civil servants and had been legitimated by the Chamber of Deputies. There was a good relationship between this commission and the military authorities, as Colonel Schumacher showed a broad-minded attitude towards the country's problems and a willingness to solve these in consultation with the government commission.[1]

On 13 July 1940, the Volksdeutsche Bewegung (VdB) was founded in Luxembourg City under the leadership of Damian Kratzenberg, a German teacher at the Athénée de Luxembourg.[2] Its main goal was to push the population towards a German-friendly position by means of propaganda, and it was this organisation that used the phrase Heim ins Reich.

Several Deputies and high-ranking civil servants were of the opinion that Luxembourg could retain a measure of autonomy under the military administration, as had occurred in World War I, and attempts were made to come to some sort of arrangement with Germany. However, it was soon made clear by the authorities in Berlin that Luxembourg's fate would be very different this time. The Nazis considered the Luxembourgish people as just another Germanic ethnic group and the Grand Duchy a German territory. The military authorities had to leave Luxembourg by 31 July 1940, to be replaced by a civil administration under Gustav Simon.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Luxemburg unter deutscher Besatzung 1940-45: Die Bevölkerung eines kleinen Landes zwischen Kollaboration und Widerstand. Dostert. Paul. Zug der Erinnerung. German.
  2. Web site: Heim ins Reich: La 2e guerre mondiale au Luxembourg - quelques points de repère. https://web.archive.org/web/20070610114800/http://www.cna.public.lu/1_FILM/EnSavoirPlus/dossier_heim_ins_reich/historique/index.html#greve. 2007-06-10. Centre national de l'audiovisuel.