Alexander Von Falkenhausen - Military Governor For Belgium

Military Governor For Belgium

Recalled to active duty in 1938, he served as an infantry general on the Western Front until his appointment as military governor for Belgium in May 1940. While serving as military governor his administration published 17 decrees against the Jewish population of Belgium as preparatory measures leading in June 1942 to the Final Solution and the deportation of 28,900 Jews.

His deputy for economic affairs, Eggert Reeder was responsible for the destruction of "Jewish influence" in the Belgian economy, leading to mass unemployment of Jewish workers, especially in the diamond business. Some 2250 of these unemployed were thus sent to forced labour camps in Northern France in order to build the Atlantic Wall for the Organisation Todt. Some 43,000 non-Jewish Belgians were also deported to German camps of which 13,000 died. Hundreds of resistance fighters were shot by the German army during the occupation.

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