SS Vlaanderen

The Algemeene SS-Vlaanderen was established on 30.10.1940, at the initiative of the German SS leadership. The initiators on the Flemish side were Ward Hermans and René Lagrou. Lagrou became its first leader, while Hermans became the editor-in-chief of De SS-man, the propaganda magazine of the SS in Flanders, which appeared from December 1940. Members of the Algemeene SS-Vlaanderen received paramilitary training and ideological education. Through the political nature of the SS-Vlaanderen, the German SS tried to gain more influence in Flanders. Algemeene SS-Vlaanderen viewed Flanders as part of the Greater German Reich, which would be incorporated into the Reich once the war ended. In any case, no autonomy for Flanders could be guaranteed.

The SS-Vlaanderen consisted of 4 Stormbannen:

• Stormban I Province of Antwerp
• Stormban II Province of East Flanders
• Stormban III Province of West Flanders
• Stormban IV Provinces of Brabant and Limburg.

A Stormban was divided into multiple Storms. Stormban I (Province of Antwerp) consisted of four Storms (I/1, I/2, I/3, and I/4).