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Heinrich Himmler, saluted by a Luxembourg policeman, during his visit to Luxembourg in October 1940, several months after the invasion.. The involvement of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg in World War II began with its invasion by German forces on 10 May 1940 and lasted beyond its liberation by Allied forces in late 1944 and early 1945.
The outbreak of World War II on 1 September 1939 put Luxembourg's government in a delicate situation. On the one hand, the population's sympathy lay with Belgium and France; on the other hand, due to the country's policy of neutrality since 1867's Treaty of London, the government adopted a careful non-belligerent stance towards its neighbours.
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.
After World War II, Luxembourg abandoned its politics of neutrality, when it became a founding member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the United Nations. It is a signatory of the Treaty of Rome , and constituted a monetary union with Belgium ( Benelux Customs Union in 1948), and an economic union with Belgium and the ...
During the German occupation of Luxembourg in World War II, some Luxembourgers collaborated with the country's Nazi occupiers. The term Gielemännchen ("yellow men") was adopted by many Luxembourgers, initially to refer to German Nazis in general and later extended to Luxembourg collaborators, deriving from the yellow uniforms of the Nazi Party.
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.
Improvised Luxembourg resistance uniforms, dating to 1944 or 1945, in the collection of the National Museum of Military History. In parallel with individual acts of protest, the summer of 1940 saw the first attempts to organise resistance to the German occupation on a more permanent level.
Wilton Crescent in London, where the government was based during the war. The exact building, number 27, can be seen to the centre-right, flying the Luxembourgish flag.. The Luxembourgish government in exile (Luxembourgish: Lëtzebuerger Exil Regierung, French: Gouvernement luxembourgeois en exil, German: Luxemburgische Exilregierung) was the government in exile of Luxembourg during the Second ...