Humiliation of Belgium

The **Humiliation of Belgium** of 1962 was a written ultimatum addressed to Belgian King Leopold III from German *Reichskanzler* Karl Ludwig von und zu Guttenberg on behalf of Emperor Otto, shortly after the outbreak of the British Revolution. The Belgians had used the weakness of the crumbling British Empire and discord within the international community towards the British Question to move troops into neighboring British colonies, trying to occupy them. As part of the ultimatum, the Germans demanded the immediate withdrawal of Belgian forces from Northern Rhodesia, Tanganyika and Uganda. In the ultimatum, Germany stipulated that the British African domains were under the protection of Germany to guide them into independence and democracy, and as a result Belgium was infringing upon the German sphere of influence.

After a heavy internal debate between the king, imperialist fascists and colonial entrepreneurs and governors, Belgium reluctantly accepted the ultimatum, aware of its dire situation in Europe and knowing its possible ally in Rome wouldn’t support them in a hypothetical colonial war with Germany. Belgian troops withdrew back to the Congo as a result, while additionally Portugal was prompted to call off their plans to occupy Nyasaland. The ultimatum proved to be a humiliating loss of prestige, hence the name **Humiliation of Belgium**, for the little kingdom. It would lead to a shift of power from Leopold III to the PR-VNV, tilting the precarious equilibrium between royalists and fascists out of balance while socialists gained strength throughout the country, a detrimental development for the royal dictatorship that would eventually provoke the Belgian Revolution of 1968. Concerning foreign policy, Belgium was alienated from its traditional ally Germany and the initial pro-German population became increasingly anti-German, drawing the country closer to France and Italy and leading to a fierce rivalry between Belgium and Germany.

## Historical context

The beginning of the British Revolution in April of 1962 meant that the British overseas colonies came under direct pressure from other nations. Belgium, pressured by colonial entrepreneurs, wanted to expand its African market and gain imperial prestige while Portugal wanted to connect their African colonies by acquiring British possessions. On the other hand, Germany had met with British royalists in secret who gave them a blank check to handle British colonial affairs as neither the unionist government in London nor the royalist government in Ottawa was able to project any colonial power. Lord High Steward Rab Butler had tasked Germany with dealing with the British African colonies by either guiding them into independence but remaining allied with Her Majesty and Germany or subduing them in case of disobedience and a unionist or pro-fascist stance. The Anglo-German main objective was to discourage the British colonies to ally with unionists or fascists, ideally keeping the Commonwealth realms in line and transforming colonies into new Commonwealth realms.

Initially Belgium, Portugal and South Africa, traditional allies of Britain and the former being Allied participant in the 30th Anglo-French War, remained inactive following the breakdown of the British command chain in early 1962 but they soon proclaimed their intents to profit from the British Question and the subsequent British Colonial Scramble. This was to the great dismay of Germany and Minister for Mitteleuropean and Oversea Affairs Coudenhove-Kalergi stepped in under the pretext of safeguarding British colonies from Belgian or fascist annexation. He quickly ushered a warning that any aggression towards British possessions in Africa would destabilize the region and would not be tolerated. Both Belgium and Portugal as well as South Africa largely ignored this statement, since they regarded the unionist government in London to be the only force able to preside over the British Empire, which was incapable of policymaking at the time.

The chain of command and supply of the British military shattered with the revolution. Lacking any orders from London, the forces that Britain had in its African colonies largely stood down when confronted by Belgian troops in Northern Rhodesia, Tanganyika and Uganda. The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland collapsed immediately upon the outbreak of the British Revolutions because of the South African invasion of Bechuanaland, an expedition that failed miserably. Southern Rhodesia's white-minority government unilaterally declared its independence from London after the unionist Labour Party had declared its intention to eradicate apartheid overseas, the second white-minority nation to abandon Britain after South Africa had become a republic and had to withdraw from the Commonwealth in 1961. South Africa exploited the mayhem by allying with Ian Smith's Rhodesian Front, essentially making Rhodesia a puppet, leading to an extremely violent overarching conflict between apartheid forces and Black African rebels backed by both Britains and Germany that would last until 1983.

## German ultimatum

On 16 May 1962, the day after the unification of the Anglo-Celtic Commonwealth, the Force Publique marched into surrounding territories. The Belgians announced that they would protect the region from falling into chaos because the British colonies were slipping from London’s control, while the royalist government in exile in Ottawa was unable to project any power. Belgium occupied garrisons and towns without great resistance as many colonial forces gave up on sight.

Fearing a successful Belgian landgrab in Southern Africa and after realizing that the British colonial forces did not resist occupation by the Force Publique, *Reichskanzler* von und zu Guttenberg officially presented King Leopold III with an ultimatum. It stated that the British colonies north of the Zambezi river, from the Caprivi-Strip to the Indian Ocean would be occupied by German troops. This meant that the South African rapprochement with South Rhodesia would be tolerated for now, while South Africa had already promised to leave Bechuanaland in peace following their failed invasion. Belgium on the other hand would have to withdraw from North Rhodesia, Tanganyika and Uganda or face military action by the German Reich.

Given a week to comply before war would be declared, Belgium quickly realized that no one would support their claims in Africa. After 4 days, Prime Minister Hendrik Elias would reluctantly accept the ultimatum, withdrawing the Belgian troops back to the Congo and Ruanda-Urundi. Portugal also refrained from its plans to occupy Nyasaland after realizing that the establishment of the Anglo-Celtic Commonwealth seemed irreversible and knowing that now support from them or Ottawa for its cause was highly unlikely. At the same time, Corps troops of the *Kaiserliche Garde* assumed control over the aforementioned colonies and the British government agencies handed over civil control to the *Reichsregierung Seiner Majestät* by late May.

## Aftermath

The German ultimatum would prove to be a humiliating loss of prestige for Belgium, though it wouldn’t prove to be the end of the
*Koninklijke Dictatuur* like many feared. As the economy continued to drag, and colonial prestige was shot, radical movements would begin to stir once again. Faith in the monarchy would fall away, while anti-german sentiment, irredentism towards Luxembourg and the Netherlands and the fascists of the PR-VNV would rise to the occasion. Besides that, socialism grew strong throughout the country, which had already attracted some popularity during the postwar economic crisis, but had since struggled to find a proper support base in the Kingdom. The after-pains of the humiliation would lead to increasing railing against Germany, culminating in *Unternehmen Löwe*.

The swift change of power from British to German authorities is seen as a decisive moment in African history that also cemented Germany's status as a superpower capable of forcing its policies even overseas. The move was heavily criticized by the Anglo-Celts, however they were in no position to act against the Germans. In the Security Council, Foreign Minister von Ribbentrop spoke of a UN peacekeeping mission to protect the African people from the "capitalist, fascist and exploitative brute that were Belgium, Portugal and South Africa", while reaffirming that the former British colonies would soon be guided into democracy and independence.
To substantiate this, Emperor Otto and his close confidant Coudenhove-Kalergi traveled to Tanganyika and met local leaders, reassuring German humanitarian aid and support for their cause. On his return, in front of the Reichstag Otto spoke of overwhelming delight which he had witnessed in Southern Africa for him and Germany's help, however it is reported that many Africans were unhappy with the German Emperor's visit, viewing him as "another European imperialist tyrant".

Modern historians criticize Germany's actions as deceitful and selfish, especially reprehending the country's role in the Organization of African Decolonization (OAD) as Germany used the funds meant for humanitarian goals to make Southern African countries dependent on them by essentially taking control over their natural resource industry. This policy is seen as a continuation of the classic "*Zuckerbrot und Peitsche*" agenda also used in Mitteleuropa. Recordings of secret government meetings show that von Ribbentrop told Otto that they need to keep up with an "eat or die-mentality" in Africa to "squeeze them out".