740.0011 European War 1939/3358: Telegram
The Ambassador in France (Bullitt) to the Secretary of State
[Received May 28—8 p.m.]
924. The following is an English translation of the texts, as reported by Havas, of the proclamation read over the radio to the Belgian people this afternoon by Monsieur Pierlot, Belgian Prime Minister:
“Disregarding the formal and unanimous decisions of the Government, the King has just opened separate negotiations and dealt with the enemy.
Belgium will be stupefied, but the fault of one man cannot be imputed to the entire nation.
Our Army has not deserved the fate inflicted upon it. The act which we deplore is without legal value. It does not bind, the country. According to the terms of the Belgian Constitution, which the King has sworn to observe, all powers emanate from the nation. They are carried out according to the Constitution. No act of the King may have effect if it is not countersigned by a Minister.
The principle is absolute. It is a fundamental rule in the functioning of our institutions.
The King, breaking the ties which bound him to his people, has placed himself in the power of the invader. From now on he is no longer in a position to govern. It stands to reason that the functions of Chief of State cannot be carried out under foreign control. Officers and civil servants are thus relieved of the duty of obedience by which they were bound by their oath of allegiance. Furthermore, the Belgian Constitution establishes continuity of power. Its provisions apply particularly in the present case when it is impossible for the King to reign. At such a time the two Houses must be assembled. In the interval, the constitutional powers of the King are exercised in the name of the Belgian people, by the Ministers assembled in Council and under their responsibility.
Relying on this principle, the present Government, alone duly constituted, and invested with the confidence of the Chambers, which have avowed their will to defend to the end, in union with the Allies, the independence of Belgium and the integrity of its territory against the most odious of aggressions.
The Government will not fail in its duty.
Assembled in Paris, in agreement with the presidents of the two legislative assemblies, and with the Ministers of State, with whom they have been able to consult, the Government, sure of interpreting the will of the people, is resolved to continue the struggle for the deliverance of the country.
From among the courageous youth who have responded to the appeal of the Government, united with the Belgian military forces in France and in Great Britain, a new army will be raised and organised. It will enter into the line of battle at the side of the Allies. Belgians unfit for military service will be utilized in accordance with their capacity in civilian mobilization or military production.
[Page 209]Thus all the forces still at our disposal will be placed in the service of a cause which has become ours since Germany’s aggression.
From today the measures necessary to carrying out these resolutions as rapidly as possible will be taken. It is important to affirm immediately and in tangible manner the solidarity which continues to unite us to the powers who lent us their protection as they had promised.
Belgians, we are living through the most painful trial of our history. The time has come to recall the lessons of valor and of honor which were given us by those who fought from 1914 to 1918. Come what may, we will remain worthy of them.”
The afternoon’s Paris Soir expresses in the following words the feeling of almost every Frenchman about Leopold’s treachery:
“The unbelievable treason of the son the [of?] the ‘soldier king’ has aroused consternation and anger in France. These sentiments are understandable. All those who have someone dear to them who is fighting at the front, especially those whose fathers, whose husbands, whose sons, whose brothers are in the army of the north, will never forget that the ‘felon king’ today made it possible for our heroic soldiers and their valiant British comrades to be stabbed in the back by the enemy. It was in response to the appeal of King Leopold that our armies rushed into Belgium. In capitulating, King Leopold has betrayed both his country and his allies. But the French, now that their stupor has passed, have regained control of themselves. This new trial only causes them to clinch their fists and to gather together more resolutely to fight victoriously to the end.”