The Flemish Legion () was a collaborationist military formation recruited among Dutch-speaking volunteers from German-occupied Belgium, notably from Flanders, during World War II. It was formed in the aftermath of the German invasion of the Soviet Union and fought on the Eastern Front in the Waffen SS alongside similar formations from other parts of German-occupied Western Europe.
Established in July 1941, the Flemish Legion was envisaged by the Flemish National League (Vlaamsch Nationaal Verbond, VNV) as a means of maintaining its status as the principal collaborationist party within Flanders since the German invasion of May 1940. It was formed several months after the VNV had begun recruiting Flemish volunteers for smaller Waffen SS formations and was depicted as the future army of an independent Flemish state. Amid opposition from its personnel, the roughly 1,000-strong formation was given a notionally independent status as an SS Volunteer Legion Flanders (SS-Freiwilligen Legion Flandern). It subsequently sustained heavy casualties on the Eastern Front in fighting around Leningrad.
The Flemish Legion was officially disbanded in May 1943 and reformed within the Waffen-SS as the SS Assault Brigade Langemarck (SS-Sturmbrigade Langemarck). 200 soldiers refused to swear allegiance to Adolf Hitler in October 1943 and were transferred to other units or penal units. It was subsequently reorganised on several occasions and was officially designated as a division in September 1944 but remained around 2,000-strong and never expanded beyond brigade-strength. It participated in fighting in Ukraine, Estonia, and Pomerania. Its remaining personnel finally surrendered to the Red Army at Mecklenburg on 3 May 1945.
Background
VNV and nationalist collaboration in Flanders
There were several political parties in Belgium at the time of the German invasion in May 1940 that were broadly sympathetic to the authoritarian and anti-democratic ideals represented by Nazi Germany. In Flanders, the largest and most important of these groups was the Flemish National League (Vlaamsch Nationaal Verbond, or VNV). The VNV was the successor of the Flemish Movement which had originated as a response to the marginalisation of the Dutch language in Belgium during the 19th century. It became increasingly radical during and after World War I. VNV's ideology was framed in opposition to the Belgian state, calling for Flanders to form part of an racially defined "Greater Netherlands" (dietsland) by fusing with the Netherlands. It was also influenced by Catholicism and anti-communism but was initially distrustful of Nazi ideology which was seen as anti-clerical. Nonetheless, the VNV became increasingly influenced by fascist ideas. At national elections in April 1939, VNV received approximately 15 percent of the Flemish vote.
After the Belgian Army's surrender on 28 May 1940, a Military Administration was created to govern the German-occupied Belgium. Hoping to expand its support in Flanders and influenced by Nazi racial ideals, it adopted the so-called Flamenpolitik which gave preferential treatment to the Flemish population over the French-speaking Walloons in areas such as the repatriation of Belgian prisoners of war. The VNV hoped to use German support to expand its own political influence within Flanders. After the start of the occupation, it shifted its ideological position to be more compatible with Nazi ideas and suspended demands for Flemish secession from Belgium.
Early recruitment campaign
In the first months of the occupation, the VNV's privileged position was increasingly challenged by smaller and more radically collaborationist groups including the Algemeene-SS Vlaanderen and DeVlag which embraced Nazi ideology and were more explicitly pro-German. In September 1940, the Algemeene-SS Vlaanderen announced its intention to recruit Flemish volunteers for the Waffen-SS, initially sent to the SS-Division Wiking. This began a "race" in Flanders to recruit volunteers for the German army although the VNV was initially reluctant to join because it feared it would lose control over its recruits. In contrast with "Walloons", Flemish volunteers were considered "Nordic" in Nazi racial thinking and therefore racially suitable for the Waffen-SS rather than the German Army. Between April and June 1941, the VNV recruited 500 to 800 Flemish volunteers for a mixed Flemish-Dutch unit known as the SS-Volunteer Banner Nordwest (SS-Freiwilligen Standarte Nordwest) which the German authorities had promised would not be deployed in combat roles.