World War II: Registry of Belgian Civilian Helpers of Allied Personnel
1,596 pages, in 8 docket books listing "Belgian Helpers," compiled or maintained between 1945 and 1948 by the Department of Defense's European Command, Office of the Assistant Chief of Staff G-2, Awards Branch. Entries for 6,427 "Belgian Helpers."
This series contains docket books relating to Belgian citizens who assisted Allied personnel during World War II and included Information needed to write citations. Docket entries contain information about the eligibility of an individual to receive an award. Each docket entry contains the following: date, name, address, award eligibility, and award presented. Many entries include a summary of actions performed by the Helpers.
For a second time in less than thirty years, Germany occupied Belgium. The German occupation of Belgium during World War II began on May 28, 1940, when the Belgian army surrendered to German forces, and lasted until Belgium's liberation by the Western Allies between September 1944 and February 1945.
After the war, a total of 400,000 Belgians were investigated for collaboration with the Third Reich. Of these, around 56,000 were prosecuted. The majority received prison sentences and several hundred were executed.
Those who offered resistance to the occupiers often provided it in the form of helping Allied airmen shot down over Belgium escape. Belgians created numerous escape and evasion lines. The best known was the Comet line which evacuated an estimated 700 Allied airmen to Gibraltar from where they were flown to England. The Comet Line sheltered downed airmen in safe houses throughout Belgium. Allied airmen were given civilian clothes and moved from house to house, staying with Belgian families who supported the resistance. The escape lines gave the airmen false identification papers and guided them to neutral or Allied occupied territory. The guides were usually young women. Hundreds of the workers for the escape lines were captured and imprisoned by the Germans and many were executed.
Also See:
World War II Escape From Enemy Territory Reports
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