The Press under German Control

As soon as the occupation was installed, Germany brought the press into line. The major Belgian dailies, read by hundreds of thousands of people, were ordered to reappear under German censorship — or to fall silent. The occupier wanted newspapers that looked normal but relayed its propaganda and kept silent about what displeased it.

For our editor-in-chief, the choice was agonising. To continue publishing under control was to keep an informational link with the population and preserve the editorial staff's jobs, but at the cost of censorship and the dissemination of enemy propaganda. To cease publication was to save the title's honour, but to leave the field open to the openly collaborationist newspapers.

Our editor could continue publishing under censorship while trying to preserve some margin; scuttle the newspaper by refusing to appear under German control; or let the occupier "steal" the title by withdrawing from it. Some newspapers would indeed be confiscated and published against their owners' will — this was the phenomenon of the "stolen press".