ARTICLE: L’Exode 1940, a Belgian View

L’Exode refers to the mass movement of people running away from the path of Hitler’s panzers in 1940. I’ve done two articles on the Somme area, and the French experience both during and after, which you can access below; but this was a harrowing event that also impacted tens of thousands of Belgians, too. Today, I wanted to shine a light on that, and our story begins in one of my favourite places: Wallonia…

ARTICLE: Somme, 1940

ARTICLE: After the Defeat: Amiens, 1940

Our witness is one Alexandre Falmagne from the village of Paliseul, tucked right away in the south of Belgium in French-speaking Wallonia. Born in 1924, that made him sixteen years old when the invasion began in May 1940:

Friday, May 10th

War, whose spectre had long loomed over us, has inevitably descended upon our country, so aptly named a buffer state. So many alarming reports are already circulating that the population is in a state of panic. The departure of young [men] aged 16 to 35 for Bernissart [90 miles northwest on the French border and out of the way of the enemy] is decided. Our first scare is a train collision at Vonêche, where there are no serious injuries, and we escape by changing trains. Towards nightfall, our convoy comes to a halt at Ermeton-sur-Biert.

Saturday, May 11th

Comfort is lacking in the cattle cars, and our limbs ache when we wake up.

At the first opportunity, we jump into the first-class carriages: it must be said that the security checks are non-existent, and it is by a miracle that we arrive in Blaton in the afternoon, from where we walk to Bernissart. The welcome from the locals is warm.

The beautiful village hall will serve as our dormitory. With a bit of straw, my suitcase as a pillow, and a blanket, I couldn’t have asked for a better bed. But first, I’m thinking of those who stayed behind, back home, and I’m writing to them now.

The first part of the journey (Google Maps)

---