Political alignment Conservative-Catholic | Language French | |
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Founder(s) Robert Logelain and Paul Struye Founded August 15, 1940 (1940-08-15) Ceased publication September 3, 1944 (1944-09-03) Relaunched La Libre Belgique (from September 1944) | ||
La Libre Belgique (English: Free Belgium) was the name of several underground newspapers published in German-occupied Belgium during World War II. At least seven unaffiliated groups published newspapers under the same title. The most important was the La Libre Belgique (Peter Pan) which became one of Belgium's largest circulation underground newspapers.
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La Libre Belgique de Peter Pan
The La Libre Belgique of Peter Pan was the longest running edition of La Libre and the most important French-language underground paper.
Its name derives from the spurious publication data which appeared on the letterhead, giving the address as the Oberfeldkommandantur of Brussels and the director's name as "Peter Pan".
It appeared bi-monthly; each issue consisted of between 4 and 8 pages. Overall, 85 issues of La Libre Belgique were published during the conflict. It was founded by lawyers Robert Logelain and Paul Struye, and some of the first editions were printed in the basement of the Banque de Bruxelles in the Rue de la Régence.
La Libre Belgique Ressuscitée en 1940
The La Libre Belgique Resurrected in 1940 was another paper, with a relatively small circulation, printed during the war. It was published in Brussels and Liège. After the arrest of the Brussels group in June 1941, the paper continued in Liège only for the rest of the war.
84 issues were published including 12 in Brussels. All issues were Mimeographed.
Other editions
Other newspapers with the same title include: