Liberators: The Allies and Belgian Society, 1944–1945

by Peter Schrijvers

In the autumn of 1944, Belgium was liberated at lightning speed. Yet Allied troops continued to dominate much of Belgian society until late 1945. Peter Schrijvers' revisionist account reveals that during that time, strong currents of discontent began to build beneath the waves of gratitude and admiration. Chronic shortages of food and coal, rampant venereal disease, and deteriorating discipline led the Belgian population to lament 'from the liberators, oh Lord, liberate us'. Despite all this, however, the countries and cultures that the Anglo-American troops represented still exerted substantial attraction and influence, causing them to have a lingering impact on Belgian society in ways that would set the tone for the remainder of the turbulent twentieth century. Using newly discovered material from the Belgian state security archives as well as testimonies of the liberated, this book vividly reconstructs the largely unknown history of Belgium's liberation era.

Genres: History

358 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Dr. Peter Schrijvers (1963- ) is a Belgian academic and writer of history books. He earned a masters degree in Modern History from the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (Catholic University of Leuven) an a PhD in US Diplomatic and Military History from the Ohio State University.
Today (2014) he is a Senior Lecturer American and international history at the School of Humanities and Languages, University of New South Wales in Sydney.

Peter Schrijvers mainly writes academic books in English.

*****

Peter Schrijvers doceerde Amerikaanse geschiedenis in Australië, de VS en Zwitserland. Hij publiceerde zes non-fictieboeken over de Tweede Wereldoorlog, onder andere bij Cambridge en Yale, en was te zien op National Geographic. Momenteel is hij curator van Liberation Garden, het nieuwe museum over de Tweede Wereldoorlog in Leopoldsburg. Een hoofd vol vlammen is zijn eerste roman.

Reviews

[Marc Lamot · Rating 2 out of 5]

Knappe schets van de bevrijding en vooral de houding van de bevolking: diverse facetten, enorm veel getuigenissen, heel concreet

[Kristof Lauwers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Op basis van talloze bronnen en getuigenissen reconstrueert Peter Schrijvers de schaduwzijde van de bevrijding. Die periode behelst immers veel meer dan de clichés van chocolade, kauwgom en kussen. Het nijpende gebrek aan voedsel en kolen tijdens de strenge winter van 1944-1945, het ongenoegen over zedenverwildering, buitenechtelijke kinderen en prostitutie, tal van spanningen tussen burgers en (geallieerde) soldaten en het begin van de onstuitbare opmars van de Angelsaksische en vooral de Amerikaanse invloed en overvloed, die België en de wereld voorgoed zou veranderen.

Een schitterend en vlot leesbaar boek.

[Andrew Brozyna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Liberators would be welcome on the shelf of any arm chair general. The writing style is approachable to the casual history buff, while the focus on Belgian civilians offers a more comprehensive understanding of the war in Europe.

In his epilogue Peter Schrijvers quotes a short passage from Rebirth of the West. Although pulled from another book, this line is a convenient representation of Liberators: The Allies and Belgian Society 1944–1945. The passage and Schrijvers' book both speak of Belgium's introduction to fascism, the suffering brought by the Germans, the military triumph of the Anglo-Americans, and the enthusiastic Belgian acceptance of American culture and politics:

"By the fall of 1944, however, the Nazis in Belgium had lost both the literal and the metaphorical battle. By then, as Duigan and Gann have noted, fascism 'no longer appeared—as it had in the 1930s—the cause of youth, and of a banner-waving future. Instead, the US and Britain had out-produced, out-organized, out-thought, and out-fought the Axis Powers.'" —Liberators, p.272

As a 21st century man living in a long-time and affluent democracy, I was a little startled to consider that fascism had ever appeared as the fresh way of the future. I suspect that the typical World War II history buff limits his reading to battles, military equipment, and war heroes. The ideological environment that brought on the war is ignored, as is the war's dramatic influence on European society. I myself am guilty of the same oversight. Initially, I looked to this book only as a source for details on Allied supply work in the port of Antwerp (and for that it is useful). Yet, I immediately became engrossed by the author's fascinating accounts of Belgian war-time life.

The Belgian people experienced diverse interactions with the Americans, British and Canadians. Liberating Allied troops were welcomed with great exuberance. The Belgian resistance struggled for respect. German collaborators were publicly shamed. Women were gripped by passion for the young Allied soldiers. Belgium's unemployed received work from the Allied military. A populace living under severe food and fuel rations resented Allied apparent wealth. American popular culture and goods were embraced. New politics were developed with a look to the Anglo-Americans.

In Liberators a depth of realism balances the popular view of idyllic European liberation. The author gives full attention to evidence for the Belgians' negative perceptions of the Allied forces. I reason this to be an adherence to the objective principle of completeness—not an attempt at radical revisionist history. Our understanding is indeed revised, yet Belgian gratitude and admiration for the Allied nations remain the defining qualities of their wartime relationship.

[Dimitri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Een mooie verzameling nuances bij het populaire beeld van de bevrijding, zowel in positieve als negatieve zin.