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certain changes. ... One could say, without fear of being contradicted even by Moscow's propaganda, that, thanks to the autumn campaign, the winter campaign followed the summer campaign. ... So the course of these three campaigns in order shows that the German general staff have not lost at any time control over the sequence of the seasons, an element whose importance should not be underestimated. It is also known that the German High
Command accompanies its rare comments with verbal reserves, which become more numerous as its military reserves become more reduced.
25:
445:
89:
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554:, which were all written by enthusiastic participants. On the weekend of 30 October to 1 November, the paper was put together in Wellens' workshop. Wellens' linotypist, Julien Oorlinckx, worked throughout the weekend. The following week, the van sabotages were organised: at 3:30pm, a few young partisans would throw incendiary devices into the vans parked in front of the
587:
and stopping suddenly; glancing quickly around them, they folded their papers and retreated, astonished and eager to read the rest. In certain trams, to the great joy but also concern of the passengers, bemused readers loudly declaimed extracts from the paper. Everyone rushed to acquire a copy, as the deliveries of the real
719:
The tactics of flows, hedgehog-retreat and porcupine resistance have been succeeded by elastic defense. The success of this should not be put into relief; beyond the fact that it brings the most striking rebuttal to the misrepresentation that the Reich lacks rubber, it also demonstrates in the least
586:
began. The bundles of 100 papers, tied with a banner explaining the absence of the usual number of copies, were dropped in the kiosks where the people of
Brussels were awaiting their newspaper. The issues sold quickly without event. The customers went away, some of them starting to read their papers
733:
On the
Eastern Front, despite notable changes, the situation remains unchanged. In trapezium-shaped Krementchoug-Odessa-Dnipropetrovsk-MĂ©litopol triangle, the enemy's attempts at penetration have been crowned with success everywhere, except in the places on the front where our soldiers have impeded
724:
and his generals have of modern warfare. Up till now, they have not been able to oppose elastic defense, except through attack without truce or respite. It should be stated that this manner of conducting warfare, notwithstanding its substantial advantages, is desperately monotonous for any military
702:
It is no secret in Berlin, where an apparent calm veils a certain anxiety not bereft of a vague hope that operations in the East have entered â or are about to enter depending on the angle from which one views the situation â a new phase which is hardly different from the present phase, except with
495:
who published newspapers and tracts for the FI, put
Aubrion in contact with his former employer, Ferdinand Wellens, a printer who would put his presses at the FI's disposal. As luck had it, Wellens was also a resistance sympathiser who already published for the FI. Wellens provided the use not only
408:
Problems abounded. Firstly, Aubrion and Noël rapidly realised that the project would go well beyond their initial estimate of a few hundred copies. They decided to limit the circulation to 100 copies per newsagent or kiosk, adding a banner to each pack of newspapers which explained that the small
578:
On 8 November, the 5,000 copies set for direct distribution were issued at three distribution centres in
Brussels based at cafés. Tens of volunteers left at set times to deliver their 100 copies to kiosks. However the news was not good. London had not responded to the request for overflight, and
697:
Moreover the titles of the first pages, as in the rest of the paper, seemed bland enough, for example "Effective
Strategy", where the author strove to imitate the convoluted prose of Maurice-George Olivier, a collaborationist journalist who was a mouthpiece of propaganda communications for the
745:
During the night of 8 and 9 November, a German "reprisal"-type combat aircraft managed to catch sight of the
English coast as a considerable number of Anglo-American heavy bombers executed massive attacks on German towns, galvanising at once both our war industry and the morale of our
416:
Added to the difficulty of printing the fake newspaper, which in particular presupposed obtaining almost non-existent large-format paper and using printing machinery which was all under surveillance, the paper would have to be distributed under the very nose of the occupier as well as
611:
gave great joy throughout
Belgium. The 45,000 copies printed by the FI "for sale" sold quickly. Some copies went for as much as 1,500 or 2,500 francs. 10,000 copies were distributed throughout Europe thanks to Dr. Marteau, the delegate of the FI in London. The paper was reproduced in
480:
humour, aiming to amuse
Brussels, Belgium, and all European resistance sympathisers. While the articles were being written and edited, the practical problems were surmounted at a speed which can only be explained by the level of enthusiasm created by the project.
396:
Noël was enthusiastic about the idea, and along with
Aubrion, he quickly put in place the steps which would allow such a significant operation to be carried out within 21 days. The publication date was fixed for November 9. The 10th was a Wednesday, the day when
500:
per copy. At this point the 5,000 copies were no longer a dream; it was decided to print 50,000, of which 5,000 would be distributed using standard routes. The others would be sold underground for 10 francs each with proceeds going towards financing the FI.
333:
priest, and Fernand Demany, with the aim of uniting Belgian resistance fighters of various opinions and stances. By the end of the war the FI national committee would include representation from a large number of resistance organisations such as the
725:
critic worthy of the name. It is hard to understand ... the general staff of the Soviets persists in hanging forward to the German troops who pick back. This blind obstinacy could have consequences, as good observers alone are beginning to perceive.
684:
Our typesetter has made an error. The two separate photos should have been just one. M. Hitler, hearing flying fortresses zooming above him, had clearly taken fright. Our reporter captured him in the exact moment where he had borrowed
627:
had originated. Wellens, Mullier, Oorlinckx and the machine operator Henri Vandevelde were all arrested. Wellens and Mullier never returned from the camp where they were taken. Somewhat later on, Aubrion was arrested; he was given a
667:
usually had no more than one. The first photo, in the top left, showed bombers with the title of "in the middle of action". A quick inspection revealed the unbelievable: the rosettes of the bombers were stars (they were American
741:
In other sectors of the front, the German army continues to record considerable defensive victories. In eight hours, the Soviets have lost twice as much men and material as they had engaged in their operations.
772:
From the classified section, to the obituaries and the advertisements, each paragraph was a farce aimed at one or another collaborationist, or hinting at the government in exile or the country's liberation.
528:. The FI's knowledge of distribution times permitted it to drop the 100 copies at about the right time. To allow all the copies to be sold, various plans were made for delaying the distribution of the real
520:
was chosen was the fact that the paper was distributed in the afternoon at about 4 pm. Often, employees and workmen would have left work and be lining up outside the kiosks at the moment when the
488:, the resistance gained access to a printing template with the paper's title letterhead, and to a list of bookstores directly served by the newspaper with the time of day and size of each delivery.
377:
came to Marc Aubrion on 19 October 1943 while he was editing an article planned for 11 November. The following day he shared his idea with René Noël, head of the press department of the FI in
540:. This would have the additional effect of emphasising the support that the FI received from the British. However, the British did not reply to the request. This led to a plan for sabotaging
579:
no-one had managed to contact the partisans who were to organize sabotage of the vans. A second sabotage was improvised, involving some youths who were participating in the distribution.
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enough for the operation. On 6 and 7 November the paper was printed by Wellens' machinery. The copies were carefully cropped to remove indentations which could act as a
582:
On 9 November at about 3:30pm, some youths tried to set fire to the vans. However a passer-by gave the alert, and the sabotage was foiled. At 4pm, the distribution of
632:
which was commuted to 15 years in prison. In all about 15 people were arrested and sentenced to penalties ranging from four months (for distribution) to five years.
791:
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By 27 October, the ingredients of the false publication had been assembled: the title flan, the articles, the photos, even the cartoon, announcements and the
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s machinery. Nonetheless even this limited distribution demanded a print run of 50,000 copies, assuming 500 kiosks to give Brussels reasonable coverage.
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to trace the copies back to their machine of origin. The printing went on through the night of Sunday, and finished at about 3 am on Monday 8 November.
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768:... the Wehrmacht has brought home, over the course of the last twelve months, the most striking defensive victory ever recorded in history.
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journalists such as Horace Van Offel and Raymond De Becker with the acceptance of the German occupier. The most famous author to publish in
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432:. She enlisted the help of businessman Alfred Fourcroy, who was also in charge of an escape network for allied pilots. 50,000
314:"). Nonetheless it maintained a comfortable circulation of 300,000 (compared with just over 90,000 as of 2009 for the modern
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arrived at the kiosk to the complete disbelief of the salesmen. Certain outlets were spooked, and stopped selling
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would be published on four pages. The difficulty of printing a single page seemed enough, and the release of
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Finally, under the title "International week" and the subtitle "From picking back to defensive victory",
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The reaction of the Germans and the collaborators was quite the opposite. The inquiry was charged to the
428:("Françoise"), a lawyer at the Court of Appeal and a key figure in publishing the clandestine newspaper
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of the necessary paper, his workshops and linotypists, but also his presses, all for the price of one
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248:, made it an enduring symbol of the Resistance. The incident was the centerpiece for the 1954 film,
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532:. The British were asked to fly over Brussels on the afternoon of the 9th, which would trigger an
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He goes on to satirize enemy propaganda, poking fun in passing at the military concepts of
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607:, a day late, performed the raid requested by Brussels. In the days which followed, the
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325:(FI) was a Belgian resistance movement founded in March 1941 by Dr. Albert Marteaux (a
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Ferdinand Wellens' print works at the rue de Ruysbroeck in central Brussels where the
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Through these various organisations, the FI ran sabotage operations, escape routes, a
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What German high command is interested in is neither the Kremlin, nor the Bolshevik
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issued a commemorative stamp for the 50th anniversary of the Faux Soir in 1993.
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The reader's first surprise was on page one, which displayed two photos, while
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Formerly: the Belgian Legion, Reconstructed Belgian Army, and Army of Belgium
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The most tricky part was to ensure the circulation. One of the reasons that
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354:(National Rally of Youth) and the country's main parties and trade unions.
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680:". The mystery of the two photos was clarified in a note which explained:
595:. Others offered their buyers a choice between the real and the fake one.
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Noël set out to find financial support. He quickly obtained it thanks to
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with his arms on his waist, and his eyes raised to the heavens, saying "
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Front page French-speaking Belgian newspaper "Faux Soir" November 9 1943
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792:"Belgium: a small yet significant resistance force during World War II"
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penetrating manner how little intellectually evolved is the idea that
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was delivered; this situation was ideal for making quick sales of
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a counter-propaganda pamphlet, it rapidly evolved into a parody.
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service, and circulated 250 different underground publications.
209:
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short-circuiting the normal distribution channels of the real
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the Soviet advance by the clever manoeuvre of surrendering
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on 11 November, which would be the 25th anniversary of the
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had ceased to appear on 18 May 1940, a few days after the
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and ultimately identified the press machinery from which
385:. The idea was to publish and distribute a fake issue of
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Another first-page article was the "German communiqué":
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Through Théo Mullier, a member of the FI who worked for
801:. Hawaii Pacific University. p. 40. Archived from
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buildings. Théo Mullier would arrange to confuse the
234:. Though it resulted in significant repression, the
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603:The following day, the 10 November, the British
904:), including a PDF of the original publication
672:). In the bottom right, a second photo showed
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476:was to become a full expression of Brussels'
616:and had a comical effect throughout Europe.
409:number of copies was due to a breakdown of
222:on 9 November 1943. It was produced by the
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754:drove the point home by asserting that:
512:was produced on the night of 6/7 November
69:Learn how and when to remove this message
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32:This article includes a list of general
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574:The final straight, and the circulation
436:were advanced to cover printing costs.
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468:Although the initial idea was to make
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352:Rassemblement national de la jeunesse
184:
244:, the characteristic folk humour of
18:
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306:transformation led to its nickname
13:
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536:warning and delay the printing of
298:), featuring his famous character
38:it lacks sufficient corresponding
14:
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1192:Underground press in World War II
1010:Committee for the Defense of Jews
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859:(Brussels: Editions J.M. Collet)
462:National Museum of the Resistance
460:were prepared. It now houses the
456:in which the photographs for the
278:during this time was doubtlessly
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140:9 November 1943 (only one issue)
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1187:Belgian resistance publications
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1:
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790:de Vidts, Kim (April 2003).
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391:German defeat in World War I
350:(Independent Wallonia), the
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346:(MP) (Patriotic Militias),
16:1943 spoof issue of Le Soir
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990:National Royalist Movement
691:Das habe ich nicht gewohlt
405:was put forward by a day.
329:), Father André Roland, a
268:German invasion of Belgium
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337:Armée belge des partisans
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670:B-17 "Flying Fortresses"
285:The Adventures of Tintin
693:" (I didn't want that).
430:Justice libre au Palais
323:Front de l'Indépendance
270:. It was relaunched by
224:Front de l'Indépendance
220:German-occupied Belgium
212:issue of the newspaper
106:Front de l'Indépendance
53:more precise citations.
1015:Austrian Freedom Front
900:at Belgian War Press (
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642:Belgian postal service
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491:Pierre Ballancourt, a
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348:Wallonie indépendante
182:French pronunciation:
148:Satirical; Pro-allied
343:Milices Patriotiques
296:L'étoile mystérieuse
1177:Journalistic hoaxes
226:, a faction in the
145:Political alignment
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1084:La Voix des Belges
995:Army of Liberation
965:Independence Front
871:The Ventriloquists
832:www.belgiumwwii.be
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228:Belgian Resistance
93:Front page of the
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1167:Hoaxes in Belgium
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1037:Legion of Campine
970:Patriotic Militia
953:Resistance groups
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828:"Le faux Soir"
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808:on 21 May 2012
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1113:Dutch-Paris
960:Secret Army
834:(in French)
812:29 December
746:population.
648:Content of
568:fingerprint
164:Circulation
51:introducing
1161:Categories
879:0778308154
855:Istas, M.
838:2023-09-06
777:References
689:'s words "
687:the Kaiser
552:obituaries
493:linotypist
450:Anderlecht
340:(PA), the
258:Background
236:Faux Soir'
112:Founder(s)
34:references
1071:Faux Soir
1022:Service D
898:Faux Soir
799:MA Thesis
752:Faux Soir
698:people:
665:Soir volé
650:Faux Soir
625:Faux Soir
614:facsimile
609:Faux Soir
599:Aftermath
593:Faux Soir
584:Faux Soir
526:Faux Soir
510:Faux Soir
474:Faux Soir
470:Faux Soir
458:Faux Soir
403:Faux Soir
375:Faux Soir
367:Faux Soir
327:communist
308:Soir volé
177:Faux Soir
129:Publisher
121:René Noël
95:Faux Soir
82:Faux Soir
985:Groupe G
902:Cegesoma
736:en masse
534:air raid
454:Brussels
411:Le Soir'
246:Brussels
208:) was a
153:Language
102:Owner(s)
621:Gestapo
589:Le Soir
564:Le Soir
556:Le Soir
542:Le Soir
538:Le Soir
530:Le Soir
522:Le Soir
518:Le Soir
486:Le Soir
419:Le Soir
399:Le Soir
387:Le Soir
383:Hainaut
379:Brabant
369:project
312:Le Soir
276:Le Soir
264:Le Soir
232:Le Soir
215:Le Soir
202:Le Soir
194:
137:Founded
47:improve
1137:"ZĂ©ro"
877:
863:
722:Stalin
478:zwanze
300:Tintin
288:comic
241:zwanze
157:French
36:, but
1129:"Luc"
806:(PDF)
795:(PDF)
761:izbas
545:'
498:franc
282:with
280:Hergé
210:spoof
200:Fake
174:The "
1000:OMBR
875:ISBN
861:ISBN
814:2012
711:and
640:The
381:and
365:The
321:The
316:Soir
191:lit.
944:in
318:).
180:" (
1163::
881:,
830:.
797:.
715::
452:,
421:.
393:.
254:.
189:,
934:e
927:t
920:v
841:.
816:.
464:.
294:(
206:'
197:'
72:)
66:(
61:)
57:(
43:.
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