LUXEMBOURG
Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland (good country) in the south. Luxembourg has a population of over half a million people in an area of approximately 2,586 square kilometres (998 sq. mi).
A representative democracy with a constitutional monarch, it is ruled by a grand duke. It is now the world's only remaining sovereign grand duchy. The country has a highly developed economy, with the world's highest GDP (nominal) per capita according to the IMF.
Luxembourg culture is a mix of Romanic and Germanic Europe. Luxembourg is a trilingual country; German, French and Luxembourgish are official languages. Although a secular state, Luxembourg is predominantly Roman Catholic.
History
Its historic and strategic importance dates back to its founding as a Roman era fortress site and Frankish count's castle site in the Early Middle Ages. It was an important bastion along the Spanish Road when Spain was the principal European power influencing the whole western hemisphere and beyond in the 16th–17th centuries.
The recorded history of Luxembourg begins with the acquisition of Lucilinburhuc (today Luxembourg Castle) situated on the Bock rock by Siegfried, Count of Ardennes in 963 through an exchange act with the abbey of St Maximin in Trier. Around this fort, a town gradually developed, which became the centre of a small state of great strategic value. In the 14th and early 15th centuries three members of the House of Luxembourg reigned as Holy Roman Emperors. In 1437, the House of Luxembourg suffered a succession crisis, precipitated by the lack of a male heir to assume the throne, which led to the territory being sold by Duchess Elisabeth to Philip the Good of Burgundy.
In the following centuries, Luxembourg's fortress was steadily enlarged and strengthened by its successive occupants, the Bourbons, Habsburgs, Hohenzollerns, and the French, among others. After the defeat of Napoleon in 1815, Luxembourg was disputed between Prussia and the Netherlands. The Congress of Vienna formed Luxembourg as a Grand Duchy in personal union with the Netherlands. Luxembourg also became a member of the German Confederation, with a Confederate fortress manned by Prussian troops.
The Belgian Revolution of 1830–1839 reduced Luxembourg's territory by more than half, as the predominantly francophone western part of the country was transferred to Belgium. Luxembourg's independence was reaffirmed by the 1839 First Treaty of London. In the same year, Luxembourg joined the Zollverein. Luxembourg's independence and neutrality were again affirmed by the 1867 Second Treaty of London, after the Luxembourg Crisis nearly led to war between Prussia and France. After the latter conflict, the Confederate fortress was dismantled.
The King of the Netherlands remained Head of State as Grand Duke of Luxembourg, maintaining personal union between the two countries until 1890. At the death of William III, the Dutch throne passed to his daughter Wilhelmina, while Luxembourg (at that time restricted to male heirs by the Nassau Family Pact) passed to Adolph of Nassau-Weilburg.
During World War I Luxembourg was invaded and occupied by Germany, but was allowed to maintain its independence and political mechanisms.
In World War II, Luxembourg was invaded, occupied and annexed by Nazi Germany, in 1940, and was unable to maintain its policy of neutrality. Luxembourg was liberated in September 1944.
In 1957, Luxembourg became one of the six founding countries of the European Economic Community (later the European Union), and, in 1999, it joined the euro currency era. In 2005, was held a referendum on the EU treaty establishing a constitution for Europe.
Luxembourg is a member of the European Union, NATO, OECD, the United Nations, and Benelux, reflecting the political consensus in favour of economic, political, and military integration. The city of Luxembourg, the largest and capital city, is the seat of several institutions and agencies of the EU.
German occupation of Luxembourg in World War II
In contrast to the First World War experience, Luxembourg was treated as a Germanic territory and informally annexed to an adjacent province of the Third Reich in 1940.
On May 10, 1940, when the Nazi German armies started the campaign in the West, they poured through Luxembourg in their rush against France. The night prior to the German invasion, the Grand-Ducal family and the cabinet left Luxembourg and went into exile (U.S., Canada and later on in London, U.K.).
As Luxembourg strictly stuck to its neutrality, no armed resistance was initially opposed to the aggressor, who overran the small country in less than a day. During the Western campaign, and until the capitulation of France, German military troops and logistics were channeled through Luxembourg, with martial law being imposed upon the population. When the campaign in the West ended, the victorious German military troops yielded to the Nazi party, which established itself all over Luxembourg, and the Grand-Duchy was integrated into the Third Reich. The name of Luxembourg stopped to exist; the country was called from then on "Gau Moselland," (Mosel country district), which at its head, a high ranking Nazi official Gustav Simon, the "Gauleiter," whose primary task was to 'germanize' the Luxembourg population.
German law was imposed, the use of the Luxembourg native language forbidden, French-sounding names were converted, and the Nazis started a vast campaign to indoctrinate and lure the Luxembourgers to come "Heim ins Reich" (home to the mother country) to make them believe that they were ethnic Germans. In a referendum organized by the Nazis, 98% of the population vigorously expressed themselves against becoming German citizens, which drew a series of reprisals.
In late 1942 the Gauleiter started conscripting the Luxembourg youth into the Wehrmacht (Army). Young men were forced to go at the risk of their families being deported or prosecuted if they did not comply. During the same time, the Nazis also started prosecuting the local Jewish community.
With the news of the allied landings on the beaches, in Normandy, in June 1944, armed resistance against the Nazis drastically increased, as for example in Vianden. After four years of brutal Nazi occupation, the German troops on their retreat from France, abandoned the Grand-Duchy by beginning of September 1944 and withdrew behind the fortifications of the "Siegfried line," a static defensive structure that stretched from the North Sea coast to the Swiss border, with part of its marking the border between Luxembourg and Germany.
From 10-12 September 1944, the entire Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg was liberated by Allied forces. The Germans retreated without fighting. One month before the start of the Battle of the Bulge, 250 soldiers of the Waffen-SS had unsuccessfully tried to recapture the town of Vianden from the Luxembourgish Resistance during the Battle of Vianden.
During the Battle of the Bulge, the northern part of the country was hit by artillery from a special unit that the Germans designed to send shells up to 40 km (25 mi) away, but the Germans did not take the city.
When the American High Command realized about the seriousness of the situation, the only nearby massive American force was Gen. Patton's Third Army, which at the time was preparing to invade the Saar region. Within 48 hours, Patton succeeded in swinging his army around and during a crash move, reached Luxembourg, pushed north and hit the German attacking force in the left flank, thus considerably weakening the spearhead. At sub-zero temperatures during January 1945, and especially after Patton's troops had launched massive counterattacks, the German units were gradually pushed back, leaving their heavy equipment behind. By the end of January, 95% of Luxembourg had been liberated with the Germans keeping only two bridgeheads heavily defended for the remainder of their troops to retreat.
On February 7, 1945 the "Bulge" was nearly over, and the U.S. troops in Luxembourg crossed the Sauer River for the invasion of Germany. Four months later Nazi Germany capitulated.
German casualties during the Bulge (killed, missed in action, wounded): approximately: 86.000.
U.S. casualties during the Bulge (killed, missed in action, wounded): approximately: 76.000.
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