page_title: History of Flanders
section_title: Right-wing nationalism in the interbellum and World War II
hierarchical_section_title: History of Flanders / Kingdom of Belgium / Right-wing nationalism in the interbellum and World War II
caption_attribution_description: Nederlands: Rekruteringsaffiche Algemeene-SS Vlaanderen Deutsch: Rekrutieringsplakat der Allgemeinen-SS Vlaanderen
context_page_description: The definition of the territory called "Flanders", however, has varied throughout history.
  The historical county of Flanders is now split into different countries. It roughly encompassed Zeelandic Flanders in the Netherlands, French Flanders in France, and the Belgian provinces of West Flanders, East Flanders as well as part of Hainaut. The city of Ghent was the capital.
  The contemporary territory of Flanders contains within it the core of the old county, West Flanders and East Flanders, plus three more provinces to the east which were not originally part of Flanders. These are the provinces of Antwerp and Flemish Brabant which were historically part of the Duchy of Brabant, and the province of Belgian Limburg, which was part of the Prince-Bishopric of Liège. The city of Brussels, historically part of Brabant, is now politically part of the Flemish Community but not of the Flemish Region.
  Thus, the modern Belgian provinces of West and East Flanders have always been part of a political territory named Flanders, while the provinces Antwerp, Flemish Brabant and Belgian Limburg, though Dutch-speaking, have not.
context_section_description: During the interbellum and World War II, several left
  -wing fascist and/or national-socialistic parties emerged in Belgium, of which the Flemish ones drew unto the feeling of discrimination by the Wallonians against the Flemish. Since these parties were promised more rights for the Flemish by the German government during World War II, some of them collaborated with the Nazi regime. Two SS formations, the Algemeene-SS Vlaanderen and the 27th SS "Langemarck" Volunteer Division were formed of Flemish collaborators and served on the Eastern Front. Flemish volunteers for the SS were kept separate from Walloon ones who were made into a separate unit, the 28th "Wallonien" Grenadier Division.
  Nevertheless, many Flemish people were also involved in the resistance, joining local organizations like the Kempische Legioen (KL) in Limburg, and support from Flemish resistance members of the Witte Brigade and the Nationale Koninklijke Beweging (NKB) allowed the Allied armies to capture the vital port of Antwerp intact in 1944.
  After the war, collaborators (or people who were "Zwart", "Black" during the war) were prosecuted and punished, among them many Flemish Nationalists. As a result, up until this day Flemish Nationalism is often associated with right-wing and fascist ideologies.
caption: Recruitment poster for the Algemeene-SS Vlaanderen with the slogan "Flemish, onwards!"
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