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The territorial demands of the ruling Luxembourg National Union Government were made known in late summer 1945. Luxembourg required Germany to relinquish German territory that had been separated from the former Duchy of Luxembourg under the terms of the 1815 Congress of Vienna, and the further extension of Luxembourg to the Saar River. Only a ...
The German occupation of Luxembourg in World War II began in May 1940 after the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg was invaded by Nazi Germany. [1] Although Luxembourg was officially neutral, it was situated at a strategic point at the end of the French Maginot Line. On 10 May 1940, the German Wehrmacht invaded Luxembourg, Belgium and the Netherlands ...
Luxembourg was placed under occupation and was annexed into Germany in 1942. During the occupation, the German authorities orchestrated a programme of "Germanisation" of the country, suppressing non-German languages and customs and conscripting Luxembourgers into the Wehrmacht , which led to extensive resistance, culminating in a general strike ...
German-occupied Europe at the height of the Axis conquests in 1942 Gaue, Reichsgaue and other administrative divisions of Germany proper in January 1944. According to the Treaty of Versailles, the Territory of the Saar Basin was split from Germany for at least 15 years. In 1935, the Saarland rejoined Germany in a lawful way after a plebiscite.
On 1 September 1939 Germany invaded Poland, initiating World War II. [1] This put Luxembourg's Grand Ducal government in a delicate situation. On one hand, the population's sympathies lay with the UK and France; on the other hand, due to the country's policy of neutrality since the Treaty of London in 1867, the government adopted a careful non-belligerent stance towards its neighbours.
Here, attachment to the idea of an independent Luxembourg as well as antifascism were strong motivators. [1] From August, the heads of the Catholic Scouts in the south of the country met in Esch-sur-Alzette and decided to engage in resistance against the Germans. Similar meetings later took place in Luxembourg city, Diekirch and Wiltz.
The 1942 Luxembourg general strike strongly marked Luxembourg's resistance to the German occupier. Each year, the strike is commemorated on August 31 by the head of state and government officials. [citation needed] In 1965, a lighthouse-shaped "National Monument to the Strike" was opened in Wiltz.
In 1867, Luxembourg's independence was confirmed, after a turbulent period which even included a brief time of civil unrest against plans to annex Luxembourg to Belgium, Germany, or France. The crisis of 1867 almost resulted in war between France and Prussia over the status of Luxembourg, which had become free of German control when the German ...