German occupation policy in Luxembourg - Gustav Simon - Kurt Daluege - Damian Kratzenberg - Heydrich

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When the Germans crossed the border with Luxembourg on the morning on May 10, 1940 they presented the Luxemburg government with this memorandum.

It states that after Britain and France declared war on Germany in September of 1939. Secret negotiations with Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg had taken place which put forward the idea that a combined military force should advance into the German Rhurgebiet to end the war.

This heavily industrialized area had been occupied by Belgian and French soldiers from 1923 to 25 in response to the Germans defaulting on the reparation payments. This footage from 1923 shows occupying soldiers.

In the fall of 1939, while the Benolux countries remained officially neutral, behind the scenes they began to build up defenses along their border with Germany and expanding the Maginot line to the north. In September of 1939 their armies were still divided generally evenly along their borders. After the secret negotiations most of their military was concentrated on the border with Germany.

At the end of the memorandum the Germans state that they’ve attached evidence of these secret agreements. Unfortunately I have not been able to find the documents that they refer to. The German conclusion and justification was is that the May 10 invasion was actually a preemptive strike that would ensure the continued neutrality of the Benelux countries.

Insuring the neutrality of Luxembourg was the last thing the Germans intended to do. Once established the occupiers immediately began the Germanization of the country.

This extremely rare private footage shows Gustav Simon who was the Gauleiter of German Mosselland and the German Chief of Civil Administration in occupied Luxembourg. On Aug 6, the ordered all police functions removed from the Luxembourg gendarmerie and entrusted to the German police units. On the 26 he suspended the country’s constitution.

As in other occupied countries, those willing to collaborate with the Germans were given positions of influence.

This is the complete year of 1941 of the German periodical Die Deutsche Polizei or the German Police. Its target audience was those working in the German security services. It’s probably the best historical primary source for information regarding the details of exactly how occupied countries were managed. The current market price is about 100 EUR for each periodical.

This is periodical 1 from January so about 5 1/2 months after Luxembourg’s occupation had begun. The main article is titled Deutsche herzen unter luxemburgische Tuch.

The article covers a group of Luxembourg Gendarmerie who have volunteered to enter into the ranks of the German Police. It talks of their journey east by train to the city of Weimar for their basic training, for most of the individuals their first time in Germany. They are impressed by the beauty of the country side, the raw power of the Rhein river. Arriving and settling in they are treated warmly by their German counterparts and the civilian population, they are introduced to German culture. Experiencing first hand German society’s orderliness and efficiency their preconceptions begin slowly falling away.

Here we see General of the German Police Daluege, who is greeting them on arrival. In this supposed quote by a Luxemburg trainee we see exactly what the German host was trying to accomplish
“It’s as though we’ve always be been part of this group of people, belonged to this city…”

Before continuing I’d like to show you this fantastic original that I was able to buy with the money received from my Patreon supporters. It’s a 9 page report written by a Wehrmacht soldier while in the Krimea about his February 1943 escape from the Taman peninsula crossing the Kertsch Straight. I’ll be doing a few videos using that material so we have them to thank for that. If you like this kind of content and are not yet a Patreon supporter please consider becoming one.

Continuing the theme of German hearts in Luxembourg clothes, the trainee above speaking to General Daluege is still wearing his original Luxembourg uniform. On this page are sketches of what first the German and then Luxembourg police uniforms looks like.

Here the volunteers are being trained to use rifles. Basic training for the German security branches included more advanced weapons training. The police would operate in anti partisan operations and later in the war this would expand to even include anti-tank weapons.

At the end of their training a speech is given to the volunteers explaining how integral a part the security forces have played in the war effort to date. Individual officers and entire teams have proven that they are able to fight with many earning commendations for their actions. At the end of the speech the new police officers sing whole heartedly together the England song. Their indoctrination is complete.