Reichskommissariat of Belgium and Northern France
The Reichskommissariat of Belgium and Northern France was a Nazi German civil administration which governed most of occupied Belgium and northern parts of occupied France in the second half of 1944 during World War II.
The Reichskommissariat replaced an earlier military government, the Military Administration in Belgium and Northern France, established in the same territory in 1940.
On 18 July 1944, the first Gauleiter, Josef Grohé, was named the first Reichskommissar of the territory, known as the Reichskommissariat Belgien und Nordfrankreich or Reichskommissariat für die besetzte Gebiete von Belgien und Nordfrankreich.
It covered the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France, as well as Belgium except for Eupen-Malmedy which were incorporated directly into the German Reich.
The Wehrmacht troops in the area were commanded by Wehrmachtbefehlshaber Belgien-Nordfrankreich Martin Grase.
The territory was mostly liberated by the Allies in September 1944, in the aftermath of the Normandy landings, so the existence of the territory was short. Following the liberation, the territory was retrospectively annexed directly into Germany as three separate Reichsgaue: Reichsgau Flandern, Wallonien and the Brussels district.
