For Rex And For Belgium

Nearly 60 years after the end of the Second World War, the name "Degrelle" remains controversial in Belgium and abroad. Was he a traitor to his nation, or a hero for anti-Communism? Until recently, the only information available on the man and his political movement came from Degrelle's own memoirs, or from works heavily slanted for or against him. Eddy De Bruyne, specialist in WWII Walloon Military Collaboration, has devoted over 20 years to intensively studying the available documentation, as well as interviewing the surviving collaborators of that era, including Degrelle himself. De Bruyne's findings, set down in several French language publications, represent the most detailed studies of Walloon political and military collaboration yet assembled. Now, with the aid of American Waffen-SS researcher Marc Rikmenspoel, De Bruyne has combined his works into a single English language book. The greatest portion of the book is devoted to the most comprehensive account of the campaigns of the Legion Wallonie and its successor SS-Sturmbrigade/Division Wallonien (28th SS Panzergrenadier Division) yet seen in English. The text is supported by approximately 400 period photos, complemented by many maps and illustrations of contemporary posters and other ephemera, completing a package that will be a must-have for military historians, afficianados of rare photos, and collectors of materials on the SS.

In Belgium’s Dilemma: The Formation of Belgian Defense Policy, 1932-1940, Jonathan Andrew Epstein presents, for the first time in English, a detailed examination of the formation of Belgian defense policy in the eight years leading up to the crucial World War II Blitzkrieg campaign in Western Europe. Belgium’s decision to renounce military ties with France in 1936 has been widely criticized as a fatal mistake but it was in fact a reasonable response to Belgium’s situation and was not a significant factor in the Allied defeat. Drawing on Belgian documents, Jonathan Andrew Epstein looks at the leaders and issues that shaped the Belgian army of 1940 and demonstrates that while mistakes were made, most of the decisions were sound.

A ground-breaking study that looks at why European nations sent troops to take part in Hitler's invasion of the Soviet Union.

One of twelve children in a close-knit, affluent Catholic Belgian family, Jan Vansina began life in a seemingly sheltered environment. But that cocoon was soon pierced by the escalating tensions and violence that gripped Europe in the 1930s and 1940s. In this book Vansina recalls his boyhood and youth in Antwerp, Bruges, and the Flemish countryside as the country was rocked by waves of economic depression, fascism, competing nationalisms, and the occupation of first Axis and then Allied forces. Within the vast literature on World War II, a much smaller body of work treats the everyday experiences of civilians, particularly in smaller countries drawn into the conflict. Recalling the war in Belgium from a child’s-eye perspective, Vansina describes pangs of hunger so great as to make him crave the bitter taste of cod-liver oil. He vividly remembers the shock of seeing severely wounded men on the grounds of a field hospital, the dangers of crossing fields and swimming in ponds strafed by planes, and his family’s interactions with occupying and escaping soldiers from both sides. After the war he recalls emerging numb from the cinema where he first saw the footage of the Nazi death camps, and he describes a new phase of unrest marked by looting, vigilante justice, and the country’s efforts at reunification. Vansina, a historian and anthropologist best known for his insights into oral tradition and social memory, draws on his own memories and those of his siblings to reconstruct daily life in Belgium during a tumultuous era. Best Special Interest Books, selected by the American Association of School Librarians Best Books for General Audiences, selected by the Public Library Reviewers

With more than 1,700 cross-referenced entries covering every aspect of World War II, the events and developments of the era, and myriad related subjects as well as a documents volume, this is the most comprehensive reference work available on the war. This encyclopedia represents a single source of authoritative information on World War II that provides accessible coverage of the causes, course, and consequences of the war. Its introductory overview essays and cross-referenced A–Z entries explain how various sources of friction culminated in a second worldwide conflict, document the events of the war and why individual battles were won and lost, and identify numerous ways the war has permanently changed the world. The coverage addresses the individuals, campaigns, battles, key weapons systems, strategic decisions, and technological developments of the conflict, as well as the diplomatic, economic, and cultural aspects of World War II. The five-volume set provides comprehensive information that gives readers insight into the reasons for the war's direction and outcome. Readers will understand the motivations behind Japan's decision to attack the United States, appreciate how the concentration of German military resources on the Eastern Front affected the war's outcome, understand the major strategic decisions of the war and the factors behind them, grasp how the Second Sino-Japanese War contributed to the start of World War II, and see the direct impact of new military technology on the outcomes of the battles during the conflict. The lengthy documents volume represents a valuable repository of additional information for student research.

When competition at a British dog show turns deadly, it’s up to Inspector Yale to sniff out a killer in this whodunit perfect for Agatha Christie fans. For professional dog breeders across the United Kingdom, competition is everything. If your prized pooch wins Best in Show, you can fetch a fine price for her pups. Ambrose Graveney has long been a fixture on the qualifying circuit, hoping to make it to the ultimate contest, Crufts. But it becomes painfully clear that Ambrose won’t be moving on this season—or ever again, for that matter—when the old man’s lifeless body suddenly slumps over on the bench where he sits awaiting his entrant’s turn. Insp. Simon Yale is dispatched to investigate what initially appears to be a natural death. But Yale suspects something more sinister is afoot in this dog-eat-dog world full of desperate hopes and old grudges. At once an intriguing puzzle and a fascinating look inside the world of show dog competitions, Frank Edwards’s A Question of Pedigree will delight mystery lovers and dog fans alike.

From the German occupation of Belgium in May 1940, Flemish recruits from northern Belgium – considered by the Nazis to be 'Germanic' – were accepted individually into Waffen-SS units. From Hitler's invasion of the USSR in June 1941, additional recruits from the French-speaking south (Wallonia) were drafted. Both communities formed volunteer 'Legions', to fight (according to Goebbels' propaganda machine) 'for European civilization against the Bolshevik threat'; these were a Flemish Legion in the Waffen-SS and a Walloon Legion in the German Army. Both served on the Russian Front in 1942-43; the Walloon Legion was then also transferred into the Waffen-SS, and the decorated Walloon officer Leon Degrelle became a publicized 'poster boy' for foreign SS volunteers. Both Legions were then redesignated as SS Assault Brigades, and thereafter saw extremely hard fighting in the Ukraine and on the Baltic front. In autumn 1944, their survivors were withdrawn from the front and incorporated into two new understrength SS Divisions, 27. 'Langemarck' and 28. 'Wallonien'. This new account, featuring detailed colour plates of uniform and insignia, recounts the battle history of the French and Flemish-speaking Belgian SS, up to their final transformation into full divisions in the winter of 1944/45.