The National Royalist Movement (french: Mouvement national royaliste or MNR, nl, Nationale Koninklijke Beweging, NKB) was a group within the

Belgian Resistance The Belgian Resistance (french: Résistance belge, nl, Belgisch verzet) collectively refers to the resistance movements opposed to the German occupation of Belgium during World War II, German occupation of Belgium during World War II. Within Be ...

in German-occupied Belgium during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. It was active chiefly in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

and

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...

and was the most politically right-wing of the major Belgian resistance groups.

Background

The MNR was founded in German-occupied Belgium soon after the Belgian defeat of May 1940 by former members of the far-right Catholic, authoritarian

Rexist Party The Rexist Party (french: Parti Rexiste), or simply Rex, was a far-right Catholic, nationalist, authoritarian and corporatist political party active in Belgium from 1935 until 1945. The party was founded by a journalist, Léon Degrelle,

. As an organisation, it had a strongly

nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...

stance and was led by Eugène Mertens de Wilmars, a former admirer of the fascist,

Leon Degrelle Leon, Léon (French) or León (Spanish) may refer to: Places Europe * León, Spain, capital city of the Province of León * Province of León, Spain * Kingdom of León, an independent state in the Iberian Peninsula from 910 to 1230 and again fro ...

. The MNR wanted Belgium to become an authoritarian dictatorship under the rule of

King Leopold III Leopold III (3 November 1901 – 25 September 1983) was King of the Belgians from 23 February 1934 until his abdication on 16 July 1951. At the outbreak of World War II, Leopold tried to maintain Belgian neutrality, but after the German invasi ...

In July 1941, the German occupation authorities became suspicious of the MNR and it was forced into hiding. After the arrest of Mertens de Wilmars in May 1942, it became overtly anti-German and began to engage in resistance activities.dossier pédagogique: ''Le fort de Breendonk: le camp de la terreur nazie en Belgique pendant la Seconde Guerre mondiale'', éd. Lannoo (2006) 63 pages The MNR produced underground newspapers (including the

Dutch language Dutch ( ) is a West Germanic language spoken by about 25 million people as a first language and 5 million as a second language. It is the third most widely spoken Germanic language The Germanic languages are a branch of the Indo-Europea ...

newspaper ''Vrije Volk'') and collected military intelligence. It also provided help to Jews hiding from German persecution, Allied pilots shot down in occupied Europe and Belgian workers avoiding labour service in Germany. In collaboration with the Secret Army and the

Witte Brigade The White Brigade ( nl, Witte Brigade, french: Brigade blanche) was a Belgian resistance group, founded in the summer of 1940 in Antwerp by Marcel Louette, who was nicknamed "Fidelio". The group was originally known as "De Geuzengroep" and change ...

, the MNR participated in the capture of the

Port of Antwerp The Port of Antwerp-Bruges is the port of the City of Antwerp. It is located in Flanders (Belgium), mainly in the province of Antwerp but also partially in the province of East Flanders. It is a seaport in the heart of Europe accessible to ...

shortly before the Allied liberation in September 1944. The operation prevented the Germans from destroying the installations and provided the Allies with access to their first intact deep-sea port. 160 members of the MNR were executed or died in Nazi camps. Around 100 were killed in action during the liberation of the

in September 1944. A monument to five members of the group killed during the liberation of

is visible next to the Royal Museums of Fine Arts.

References

Bibliography

* * van de Vijver, Herman, van Doorslaer, Rudi and Verhoeyen, Etienne (1988).
België in de Tweede Wereldoorlog. Deel 6: Het verzet 2
'. DNB/Uitgeverij Peckmans, Kapellen. . Pp. 91-94. {{Belgian resistance groups Belgian resistance groups Military units and formations established in 1940