BELGIANS' DAY

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIII, Issue 171, 22 July 1942, Page 5

BELGIANS' DAY

RESISTANCE TO HUNS King Baffles Conquerors By Silence British Official Wireless. Rec. 1 p.m. RUGBY, July 21On the occasion of the Belgian National Day—the 110 th anniversary of the. election by the Belgian Congress of Prince Leopold of SaxeCoburg to the Belgian throne—is taken by the Press to emphasise the signifiance of the heroic spirit of resistance to the Nazi oppressors manifest throughout Belgium. The Manchester Guardian says the Germans might have expected Belgium to show less resistance to the occupation than the other countries they overran because of the vivid memory which many of her citizens retained of the horrors of the four years of German occupation in the last war, but the behavi-1 our of the Belgian people has been a severe disappointment to the Germans, and they have withstood much harsher oppression than they suffered in the last war. The Belgian people stand firm against "collaboration," and sabotage increases as the penalties are made more savage. The King baffles the Nazis by his dignified silence, and all the national leaders have shown outstanding resistance to the imposition of Nazi order. The Nazis have tried every pressure, but the resistance grows, and the common people have shown no less spirit than their leaders. A cable message states that the following decree was issued by the German military commandant for Belgium:—"Persons who make false statements, calculated to injure the prestige of the occupation authorities or the Reich, or who foment disturbances, will be sentenced to imprisonment or fine, or both. In serious cases the death penalty will be imposed."

' The Swiss radio declared that an order forbade the celebration of Belgium's Independence Day, banned the wearing of buttonholes and the laying of wreaths on memorials or holding a holiday. Brussels was patrolled from an early hour in the morning and all monuments were guarded.

The existence of Belgian paratroops was revealed when they marched with a detachment of Belgian troops at Chelsea Barracks at the celebration of Belgian Day. Armoured car, infantry, artillery, air force and naval units participated.