Organisation Militaire Belge de Résistance

The Belgian Military Organisation of Resistance (French: Organisation Militaire Belge de Résistance) or OMBR was a group within the Belgian resistance in German-occupied Belgium during World War II. It remained a reasonably small organisation throughout the war, comprising a total of 3,112 men and women.[1] The acronym of the group was deliberately chosen as a homophone of the French word ombre meaning "shadow".

Belgian Military Organisation of Resistance
OMBR
Organisation Militaire Belge de Résistance
Dates of operation1940–1944
Active regionsBelgium
Size3,112 (total)

History

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Founded in 1940, the group only adopted the acronym OMBR in July 1942.[2] The group's motto was "Better to die than to betray"[note 1] and its vow "I swear to be faithful to the country, to observe the laws and constitution of the Belgian people, to obey my superiors and never to betray."[3]

Notable members

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  • Herman Bodson – Belgian mineralogist, later author of a number of books about the Belgian resistance.
  • G. Allaert, Commandant of the OMBR in 1944

Notes

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  1. ^ « Mieux vaut mourir que trahir »

References

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  1. ^ "Souvenir et Memoire" (PDF). www.bel-memorial.org. p. 2. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  2. ^ Le livre d'or de la Résistance belge, publié par le Ministère de la Défense nationale, Les éditions Leclercq, Bruxelles, 1949, p.144
  3. ^ Le livre d'or de la Résistance belge, publié par le Ministère de la Défense nationale, Les éditions Leclercq, Bruxelles, 1949, p.147