 |  | White Brigade (Belgium)
The following is a summary of what we can read on Wikipedia about the White Brigade in Belgium. [1]
The group was founded in Antwerp in the summer of 1940, initially under the name De Geuzengroep, later they called themselves De Witte Brigade. They wanted to be a response to the Black Brigade, a group of collaborators who belonged to the fascist Vlaamsch Nationaal Verbond. They became so well known that many identified their name with the resistance as a whole. An example of this can also be found on this website in the story about the resistance in Valkenburg, chapter Butter and Eggs. Apparently, this confusion even had an effect in the Netherlands: He hears that N.S.B. manager of the butter factory grumbling as follows: “All of you are dummies. This never would happen to me. I have got 1000 kilos of wehrmacht butter in my cold store, but no so-called white brigade can touch it.” [3]
After the liberation, they therefore preferred to speak of the White Brigade-Fidelio. This was because its founder, primary school teacher Marcel Louette [2], had used Fidelio as his alias. They distributed an anti-German magazine Steeds verenigd - Unis Toujours, collected military information, for example about the port of Antwerp, and brought Allied airmen back to England.
A considerable number of its members were police officers.
Together with other resistance groups, they made a significant contribution to the Allies being able to capture the strategically extremely important port of Antwerp almost intact.
The White Brigade had sections in the cities listed below:
Aalst, Aarschot, Antwerpen, Berchem, Berlaar, Bertem, Beveren-Waas, Boom, Borgerhout, Broechem, Brugge, Brussel, De Panne, Deurne, Duffel, Eupen, Genk, Gent, Gierle, Hemiksem, Herent, Herenthout, Heist-op-den-Berg, Hoboken, Hombeek, Hoogstraten, Kapelle-op-den-Bos, Kessel-Lo, Kontich, Kortenberg, Leopoldsburg (Bourg-Léopold), Lichtervelde, Lier, Lissewege, Leefdaal, Leuven, Lombardsijde, Londerzeel, Luxemburg, Malmedy, Mortsel, Mechelen, Merksem, Muizen, Nieuwpoort, Ninove, Oelegem, Oostduinkerke, Oostende, Puurs, Ressegem, Sint-Amands, Sint-Gillis-Waas, Theux, Tienen, Tongeren, Waasmunster, Zeebrugge.
- Witte brigade / brigade blanche, Wikipedia • Nederlands • Deutsch • English • Français
- Marcel Louette Wikipedia • Nederlands • English • Français
- Valkenburg, 25-04-1944
