A Small Nation in the Turmoil of the Second World War : Money, Finance and Occupation (Belgium, its Enemies, its friends, 1939-1945) / / Herman Van der Wee, Monique Verbreyt.

• Author: Wee, Herman van der.
• TeilnehmendeR: Verbreyt, Monique.
• Place / Publishing House: Leuven : : Leuven University Press,, 2009.; ©2009.
• Year of Publication: 2009
• Language: English
• Series: Studies in social and economic history ; v. 35.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (494 p.)
• Notes: Description based upon print version of record.

Based on intensive research in the archives of six countries, this monograph presents an in-depth analysis of Belgium's monetary and financial history during the Second World War. Exploring Belgium's financial and business links with Germany, France, The Netherlands, Great Britain, the United States, and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the study focuses on the roles played in this complex wartime network by the Central Bank and private bankers in Brussels, by the Belgian government in exile in London, and by the Belgian minister plenipotentiary in New York. Among the many subjects arising in th

Table of Contents

A Small Nation in the Turmoil of the Second World War; Contents; Preface; Chapter 1. Prelude to a New World Conflict; The policy of neuTraliTy under discussion; The problem of governing under occupaTion; Getting The gold stock to safety; Chapter 2. The Blitzkrieg and the Banque Nationale de Belgique; The german invasion; Rising war panic; Ostend, a confused episode; The peregrination Through france; Chapter 3. France and the Monetary Crisis; The capitulation and its monetary consequences; The search for scapegoats; Emotion and frustration among The belgian refugees; The bank under tutelage

Chapter 4. A Rudderless Belgian GovernmentThe evacuation of belgian gold from france; The dramatic discussion of 18 June 1940 at bordeaux; A belgian government in its death throes; The bank's return to brussels; Chapter 5. In the Aftermath of Belgium's WarDrama in France; Ingenbleek's 'finest hour'; Theunis's despair; Final efforts to evacuate the gold (august-september 1940); The cost of the peregrination in France; Chapter 6. The Installation of the German Administration; Dislocation and the 'new order'; 'Le temps des notables'; The bankers' initiative for a bank of issue

Chapter 7. The Establishment of the Banque d'EmissionThe decisive negotiations; The bank and the banque d'emission; The principal actors of the two banks; Chapter 8. The Politics of Accommodation in Daily Reality; The distribution of responsibiliTies; The challenge to legal competence; The economic, social and political context in 1940 and 1941; Money circulation; The costs of occupation and their financing; Chapter 9. The Policy of Accommodation Put to the Test; The commandeering of gold and foreign currency; The fraudulent clearing system; The first crisis of the clearing system

Janssen and the german occupierChapter 10. The Looting of Gold; The prelude; Janssen misled; The wiesbaden convention (29 october 1940); The supplementary protocol of 11 december 1940; The aftermath of the repatriation; The restoration of luxembourg's gold; Chapter 11. In the Shadow of Janssen's Death; The problem of the succession; A new adminisTraTion; The first great disillusions; Occupation and economy (may 1940-may 1942); Chapter 12. The Gold Cover and the Clearing System under Discussion; The dilemma concerning cover for the note issue

Towards a confrontation with the ministry of financeThe clearing system in discredit; The motion of 24 september 1941; The motion of 7 January 1942; The mission to berlin (24-28 march 1942); Chapter 13. The Installation of the Banque Nationale de Belgique in London; The establishment of a belgian government in london; The financing of the belgian government in london; The bank in london and its protagonists; Baudewyn's difficulties at his installation in london; Chapter 14. The Banque Nationale de Belgique in London in the Maelstrom of War; The loan of gold to great britain

The decrees of 27 november 1941