Germany did not run an empire on other folks resources and they certainly did not work millions of European slaves to death. And they did not hate the jew they wanted to give them an new land. Bless.
Fun fact: While ground fighting ending with the Battle of the Bulge. the German army actually decided to use Luxembourg as the target for the V-3 Cannon (The weirdest of the V weapons, and an awful idea on all levels) and bombarded it for almost a month straight between January and February, luckily there were only 10 deaths and 35 wounded and the Americans captured the gun before it could be dismantled and redeployed. edit: forgot to add, great video, I do love me some obscure national history.
There was a story of the bulge , I think it was in Luxembourg, that an German panzer regiment was stopped by 4 Us soldiers and an old woman, a Jeep full of G.I.s stop in the road in front of her house throw out some mines and five minutes later take off again 10 minutes after that the Germans show up , the Lead tank hits one of about 4 mines that were placed and the Germans ask the old lady what was going on . ‘ Dozens of Americans were here all morning putting things in the road and the fields , they just left ‘. The Germans without looking around just turned around and went back down the road
Great video! Small correction though… „de Wilhelmus“ is not the luxembourgish national anthem, that is actually a song called „ons Heemecht“. The Wilhelmus is the song that gets played in relation to the Grand-Ducal family, so whenever one of them is present for an event. You could say itˋs the royal anthem of Luxemburg. 😊
I once went to a WW2 museum in Luxembourg, it was actually really interesting. Apparently people are always digging up old bits and pieces like bullets in their gardens.
@@luxembourgishempire2826 Funny you mention that, it was when I was visiting Diekirch for the big walk they have there every year. Most beautiful country I've ever been to quite honestly.
Here's a small story: I often helped my father out at work (He's an electrician). When we were working in the attic of an old farm house in Heiderscheid, my father (who was working on a ladder) gave me a bowl and said: "Don't you drop this!" A bit puzzled, I looked into the bowl, and saw that there were 3 hand grenades inside. Turns out that the farm house was used as a provisional medical camp during the Battle of the Bulge, and the hand grenades must have been stored away and later forgotten
I am an American and my father was injured in combat on Christmas Day by a German sniper on the edge of Ecternach in Luxembourg. He was in the 5th Division of Patton's 3rd US Army and came with his regiment from Metz in support of the southern shoulder during the Battle of the Bulge.
My great grandfather was on the German side and got hit by a grenade in the Battle of the Bulge, he survived and didn’t want to fight for the Germans anymore as he had been drafted. So he surrendered to American troops in I think April of 1945.
Finally. I did my oral Abitur examination on this topic and it went reeaally well, thank you Hilbert for listening to the gods 🙏 Und lieben Gruß an alle Luxemburger!🇱🇺
Luxembourger here! "De Wilhelmus" is not our national anthem. Its the anthem of the Grand-Duke's family: Oranjenburg-Nassau. Our actual national anthem is called "Ons Heemecht"
@@Noiee_suspirium Lived there 20 years (in Bridel). Love the country. LOVE. BUT this post... "proud" yes but any strength totally on the surface nothing more
Not going to lie though, as a Belgian i've wondered for years what happened to Luxemburg during the war since they don't even mention it in our history classes.
@@luxembourgishempire2826 yeah and they should give us ur land back Luxembourg what they call it putain so onrespectabel mer mussen eppes dogeint machen
@@lotus4459 nee waat soll daat dann elo nach bréngen et ass elo schoun eeng laang zäit verstrach an mir sind grouß genuch als land. An wann mir daat geiften zereck kreien schwetzten dei leit souwieso keen letzteboiesch mei and den regiounen.
As a Luxembourgish person i wondered too because i have to give a presentation about this in a few months at school and you dont find much on the internet
Hello, luxemburger here. The anthem of Luxembourg is actually ,Ons Heemescht’, played for the first time in 1865 an also known ass d’Uelzescht. De Wilhelmus is only the anthem of the grand-ducal family, but try teaching that to some patriotic Holläner
My grandfather was in the army under Patton and fought at Ettelbruck, Luxembourg in the Battle of the Bulge. He fought bravely, taking out an enemy tank, killing enemy soldiers, and enduring sub zero freezing temperatures. Shortly thereafter he was wounded by artillery and earned a purple heart. The story, however, does take a dark turn. During the urban occupation of Ettelbruck he cleared a dwelling with a grenade inadvertently killing a civilian couple and injuring their infant. He lived a long life after until age 90, but I believe he was always tormented by that event. Furthermore, I believe that incident created a generational curse that follows me to this very day. My grandfather tried to go back to Europe years later to reconcile matters somehow, but was unsuccessful. Now here I am having no idea how to right that wrong or break this lasting curse.
What a sad story! But don't feel guilty, it was a terrible war and he was fighting for freedom! He must have been a good man! Thank you for his service.
My grandparents are from Luxembourg. My grandma told me a story about how she was born. Back in WWII, the Germans occupied their village. My great grandparents owned a farm with a lot of animals, but apparently slaughtering animals was forbidden since it was ownly meant to supply food for the German soldiers. One day my great grandfather slaughtered a pig anyway to celebrate his birthday, and one of the neighbours snitched. Then he got the choice to make another child, or go to prison.. There was a law in that area that they can not send you to prison if you have a child on the way. That's how my grandmother was born
That was actually the same with my german grandparents they lived in the Rhine region close to the saarlands and half way through the war they had to preserve livestock as Food for the Wehrmacht if you got caught killing your own livestock without permission it was either being jailed or fined this was actually normal even in Germany
But people from the village got around this by stuffing their basement openings with cloths to that the basement is soundproof and they would just slaughter their animals in their basement
У меня тоже родственники жили в оккупации, только вот не в Люксембруге, а в СССР, рядом с городом Воронеж. Слышал рассказ, как мою прабабушку Анну Долгих немцы собрались расстрелять. Когда до выстрела оставался миг, по немецкому радио передали какой-то сигнал, видимо, что-то тревожное, и фашисты засуетились, и ушли. Прабабушка осталась живой.
When do we get more Luxembourg history videos? I'm not from Luxembourg but it's one of the most interesting countries in the world to me and you do great work so I always look forward to seeing more videos.
My Great Uncle was killed in the Battle of the Bulge. His father had immigrated from Germany to 🇺🇸. Uncle was said to be wonderfully kind and loads of fun. My mother, at 84, still cries mourning the loss of her favourite Uncle. As a tiny girl, I recall my Great Grandmother sadly showing me a picture of her son who died in the War. My Great Grandfather refused to utter a word in German. Thanks Hilbert. I always wondered about it but never looked up any information. 🇺🇸
I'm from Luxembourg,and was born 15 years after the war, when every adult was a witness of it. I am very grateful to all those,to whom I owe not growing up in brown shirt under Nazi rule.
Most of the Latvians and Estonians went into the SS. Lithuania refused to allow the Germans to create an SS division from their men, or allow their men to cross Lithuania's borders to fight the Soviets. This really angered the Germans, who sent some of these dissenting to leaders to concentration camps in hopes the people would comply, but it didn't work. A lot of Lithuanians did join up with the Germans though, mostly as police units, which obviously freed up manpower for the Germans to fight the Soviets. As far as why the Baltic States volunteered to fight with the Germans, it's very easy to understand. Soviet occupation was brutal. Hitler also made various promises to the people in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, none of which he intended to keep. In a very strange and sad way, the Baltic States were very lucky the war went the way that it did. Had Germany pulled through, roughly half of Estonians and Latvians and up to 85% of Lithuanians at the time would've been deemed "undesirables" and killed. After that, the Baltic States would've been colonized with Germans, and all of the states would've been incorporated into the Reich.
@@rodafowa1279 Lithuania was the only one to have 85% of the population killed the other two was only going to be about 50% however take that with a grain of salt. Hitler originally wanted to kill the majority of the ethnic Russian population, however after occupation of a lot of the country he estimated that the 110million ethnic Russians only 40million would be killed as UN-pure, he also wanted to wipe out about 20million poles before Poland was occupied however he also changed the number to about 10million, a lot lower as more people had what he considered arya blood.
@@brianlong2334 If you read up on what Hitler and especially Himmler considered "the master race," there's a drastic shift in the thinking after Stalingrad. After Stalingrad, simply put, they were desperate and would accept almost anyone. The Indians, Hungarians, Albanians, Croats, Bosnians, Turkmen, etc. recruited into mainly the SS are perfect examples. The 800,000 or so Russians, Ukrainians, Belorussians, White Russians and Cossacks recruited into the "Russian Liberation Army" are also a good example.
@@rodafowa1279 It was all made up so it's no surprise, have you seen the purity standards pamphlet or what ever it was, towards the end of the war they even said crap like if you think your German you can have a German soul basically so you can fight for us..... lol utter nonsense 🤣
Just came back from a visit from luxembourg and their museums explaining about the very same thing hilbert spoke about. I'd recommend folks visit the city museum and the art & history museum for indept info but hilbert pretty much covers it up.
There were without shadow of a doubt more luxembourgers than 80 who fought with allied forces. Around 116 fought in brigade piron, 80 of which in the Luxembourg battery, but up to hundreds more served in other allied armies and units.
Even our Grand-duke heir fought during the war in the Irish Guards and if I'm not mistaken he is the only member of a royal family who actually fought on the front. While the Luxembourgish government was against him fighting, his parents supported his decision because he saw it as his duty to fight for his people.
My grandfather was one of the soldiers who was forced to fight for the wermacht but then defected as soon as he could. Went to England and came back to fight with the Belgian Brigade Piron (Independsnt Belgian Brigade in English). I never realised how few they were. I still have his medals etc. He never ever talked about what he saw or did in the war. He lost a good deal of family to it so would make sense. Thanks for the video of our little country!
@@wmfa95 Prince Phillip of Greece (late Queen Elizabeth's husband) was a naval commander and did fight all around, but for THE ACTUAL HEIR of a monarchy serving in the frontlines, you may have a point
I have a distant family member who was just a young teen during ww2 and lived in Luxembourg. He saw some of his best friends and even family taken away and put in camps by the Nazis. He lived on a hill that looked across the Moselle River to the German boarder. He hated Germany so much, that he promised to never even look at Germany ever again. He covered his windows with curtains that looked out to Germany, and barely went outside. He kept his promise until late 2020, when he died due to his old age. Just an interesting story for y’all.
There a lot of people of Luxembourg descent living in Wisconsin and Iowa. In fact there is a Luxembourg American museum in Belgium, Wisconsin. I often pass the signs when traveling up on I-94 but have never stopped in.
Yes,and there was a funny story reported by a US newspaper: When Luxemburg got liberated, he got leave (and a Jeep) to go see his country&people.He was stopped somewhere along the way at a US checkpoint,who found it odd that this "brit" would be driving around in their sector.When asked who he was, he said "Jean, prince of Luxemburg." The guard answered something like " and I am the emperor of China " ,and so he spent some time under arrest,until they could confirm his identity
@@timothyrobson3325 I love these details and connections.If you know more,please let me know. There's even a small chance that might have influenced something,the Grand Duke being the commander in chief. The Luxembourg post-war army was mostly equipped with US gear, but had Bren guns.
@@viandengalacticspaceyards5135 The Prince joined as a simple guardsman before being commissioned. My dad was in the training battalion of the IG. He always mentioned him if he appeared on TV.
And after he abdicated, he spent the rest of his days collecting his neighbors post when they were not home and putting their bins out for them. Man, we miss Jean 😞
At 11:58 - The USA was not in WWII in September of 1940. They certainly weren't running tanks into France at that time. Yeah, I know, nit picking and all that. Just, yeah. September 1944, that is far more likely.
You did a pretty good job. 2 small corrections; the Wilhemus is not the national anthem,but a traditional song to honor the royal family. Also the fight of the resistance in Vianden was not against SS, but against paras, (likely 5.FJR),together with some regular army troops and Volkssturm.
Great content. Didn’t expect to see so much detail about this topic. Would it be possible for you to make a video on San Marino and the Vatican as it is often overlooked as part of Italy in WW2 history?
Always thought Luxembourg didn't have much of a history during the war, well, I was wrong. Can't wait to see more of these videos on the minor countries :)
There's even more than what was mentioned in this video. I recall some stories from my grandfather, who did a lot of spy-work for the resistance, he had quite a few interesting experiences and I'm certain many other resistance members could go on for hours about what they did to assist the allies covertly. All in all though most of those stories and events never got talked about or documented, so they're lost to time.
You could have mentioned that they changed their name from Luxemburg to Luxembourg after the war to make it more french sounding and did everything to lean more towards the french side than the german one. Also Letzeburgisch as far as I know only counts as a distinct language since a few years and was classed as a german dialect before.
Fun fact: Both Luxemburgish and German derive from medieval"Moselfränkisch". Funny enough, the oldest known text (Yolanda-epos) in Moselfränkisch was written in Vianden(Luxemburg).So we could claim that German derives from Luxemburgish. For fun only though;borders were extremely mobile for centuries.
I just looked it up and Luxembourg has gotten incredibly militant since WWII , since most countries militaries have gotten smaller with the advance of technology, Luxembourg , who has access to these same technologies has more than doubled the size of its army.
@Nick Gerr No, the "Province du Luxembourg" is an east Belgian territory,that used to belong to Luxembourg (and is locally called "new Belgium").The country of Luxembourg borders against that. Not big,but it's there.
Mh, not really. You need to remember that Luxembourg is quiet wealthy and therefore has a lot of money to spend on their Military. Our culture is also very focused on the independence aspect and therefore the military is more a type of symbole without actual use.
Doubling an army sounds quite impressive, but if you actually start off from about 300 soldiers, no tanks, no navy or air force, and no real artillery, it's not likely to shift the world power balance.
Great video... however I spotted an error. When discussing the liberation of Luxembourgh (1944) at 11:59 in the video the date of: 10 september 1940 is displayed, stating the American overtook Luxembourgh and the Germans retreated. I think there was a four year delay to that action. :-)
Moieeeeen a merci fir de flotte video Thanks for the great video. Our little country tried its best as long as the could. Eis jongen are still national heroes
Maybe you can do the Netherlands and Belgium because you just did Luxembourg and it would be very interesting because it’s really hard to find information about them in WW2 and greetings from Belgium comrade
No. Both German and Luxembourgish derive from medieval Moselfränkisch,and the oldest text in that language was written in Vianden,Luxembourg. That would mean that strictly speaking,German derives from Luxembourgish.
Again this debate ... Continental west Germanic dialects are pretty much a continuum. This also includes dutch. Whilst the Dutch and German languages derived a "standard" that are very different Luxembourg made their dialect their main standard. Linguisticly Luxembourgish is closer to High German as it includes the 2. German consonant shift. In this way language distinction is more political than linguistic. Very understandibly so.
Very interesting video. However, the national anthem of Luxembourg is not "De Wilhelmus" but "Ons Heemecht". The "Wilhelmus" is the anthem of the grand-ducal court, which means it is only played for and in presence of the Grand-Duke. Greetings from Luxembourg and thanks for making a video about us in WW2
Spengelskrich reminds me of a story of a Danish bookseller in Copenhagen who put portraits of Adolf and Benito in his shop window, and in between the portraits he put a copy of Victor Hugo's 'Les Miserables'.
Another super interesting video, Hilbert! Can you do a video on what the independent Central American and Caribbean countries were doing during the War? At that time, this would consist of Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Cuba, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic.
As someone who speaks German and spent a lot of time in Schwaben, I can genuinely tell you that "Lëtzebuergesch" is no more its own language than Schwäbisch, Plattdeutsch (I'll get to this later), or Bayerisch are their own languages. It is a dialect LARPing as a distinct language because their immediate Franconian neighbors (especially Ripuarisch & Pfälzisch) sound almost just like them minus the French influence; something I realised when I studied in Cologne and heard Kölsch on a semi-regular basis. If they want to argue that Standarddeutsch is its own language while all the other dialects are their own languages, then that's honestly fair, but to someone who grew up speaking Platt there is almost no distinction between the way they speak and the way Luxembourgers speak besides maybe some of that aforementioned French loaning. I'd be like claiming that one dialect of Scots is its own language while all the other dialects of Scots were just subsets of English. It's honestly hilarious every time I hear these half-baguettes claim this.
I was staying in Kehl, across the Rhine from Strasbourg, and guests from Essen had to speak English with the barman because they didn't understand each other's German. That was in 1993. A decade earlier, someone told me that Hitler had invited the Grand Duchess to make her German-speaking country part of the greater Germany, along with Austria and the Sudetenland. She replied to Hitler that she and her people spoke Lëtzebuergesch, not German.
You made a huge mistake concerning our national anthem! (like come on... the real title is at the very top of Luxembourg's wiki page) It is called "Ons Heemecht" ("Our Homeland"). De Wilhelmus is the Grand-Ducal Anthem (sort of like how Hail to the Chief is the U.S Presidential Anthem). It's called that way because the King of the Netherlands used to also be Grand Duke of Luxembourg, but it's a completely different anthem, and it doesn't even mention your good old Willem :)
The video is very good! The national anthem is, however, not „Wihlemhus“ - that melody being exclusive to the Monarchy. The national anthem is different (the melody is very different). That being stated, you are right about everything else.
I lived in the GD of Luxembourg, during 1989-90, due to me American university. I have returned to Lux' four times since, and still have friends there. Ohio's Miami University (do not mention that other one -their Miami was a land property deal, by an Ohioan, and the natives around south Florida, Mayaimi are not related to our Ohio river valley tribe, the Miami -who are now mostly out in Oklahoma -just to make that clear!) Miami Univ' of Ohio set up their overseas campus in Luxembourg, after our alumni, John Dolibois, a native of Lux' who immigrated to the USA in the 30's, was in the US Army in WW2 in the Intelligence service, and was at the trials in Neurenburg. MUDEC, has had three campus' in Luxembourg since 1968. We had the option to learn some Letzeburgish too, to supplement the French and German lessons. Luxembourg feels like home, when I've gone back. I knew a fair amount of details detailed in this video, but not all. The Grand Duke, Jean, who ruled during my time there, was a veteran of WW2, having gotten to England, and led the modest Lux' Army back to Liberation (not in this history detail). The Red Lion of Lux' can also be found at the castle in Praque, Czech, as the Holy Roman Empire ruled over the eventual nation. Luxembourg was a fortified fort, until after the Napoleonic wars, but the casements in the city hill can still be toured. And, with the American Army fighting to defend and stop the Germans during the Buldge, the American Cemetery, near the Capitol is a worthy visit -that is where General George S. Patton is buried, with is men, after he died in a car crash in German, just after the War. Addi' :)
4:45 I am not surprised that Luxemburg, when becoming a Gau part, joined "hands" with Trier. They are very close. 1st of April 2005, I went from Trier to Luxemburg, 2nd of April I woke up in the morning and saw flags in mourning, it was bc antipope Wojtyla, aka "Pope John Paul II" had died.
I have to read up on the U'nion right now. They sound like genuine heroes. Love how large the resistance in Luxemburg was in relation to the population. And even more how effective and successful they were. Never again! Nie wieder Faschismus! Nie wieder Krieg!
I am from Trier it's just less than an hour drive from here to luxembourg and honestly it doesn't feel any different from germany especially the border regions
There is an error at the 12:01 minute make. Since America did not enter WW II until December 1941 it was impossible for American tanks to be operating in Luxembourg on September 10, 1040. I believe you wanted to say 1944.
@Zeno the Filipino Of course. The 1963 Confrontation started when two former British colonies in Borneo were about to become part of what is now Malaysia. Britain fought on Malaysia's side during that battle.
The history of civilian resistance remind me of what happened in Alsace. I remember being told of bus and tram conductors losing their jobs because they wore red white and blue (French tricolour) ribbons on their hats. Many tragic stories from Alsace as the Germans considered them to be part of Germany.
I can't wait for "What did Germany do in WW2", I've always wondered
To be fair they're not that important we can skip few minor nations anyway real MVP where Andorra,Monaco,San Marino and Luxembourg
@@Snp2024 bruh the real mvp is Honduras
Germany did not run an empire on other folks resources and they certainly did not work millions of European slaves to death. And they did not hate the jew they wanted to give them an new land. Bless.
@@jeddaniels2283 waiting for someone to get wooshed
Germany just stayed neutral While switzerland destroyed the USSR
Fun fact: While ground fighting ending with the Battle of the Bulge. the German army actually decided to use Luxembourg as the target for the V-3 Cannon (The weirdest of the V weapons, and an awful idea on all levels) and bombarded it for almost a month straight between January and February, luckily there were only 10 deaths and 35 wounded and the Americans captured the gun before it could be dismantled and redeployed.
edit: forgot to add, great video, I do love me some obscure national history.
Loving your videos Major
didn't expect you here, majordamm
@Nick Gerr 2w7
There was a story of the bulge , I think it was in Luxembourg, that an German panzer regiment was stopped by 4 Us soldiers and an old woman, a Jeep full of G.I.s stop in the road in front of her house throw out some mines and five minutes later take off again 10 minutes after that the Germans show up , the Lead tank hits one of about 4 mines that were placed and the Germans ask the old lady what was going on . ‘ Dozens of Americans were here all morning putting things in the road and the fields , they just left ‘. The Germans without looking around just turned around and went back down the road
@Nick Gerr ok Nick gerr
Great video! Small correction though… „de Wilhelmus“ is not the luxembourgish national anthem, that is actually a song called „ons Heemecht“. The Wilhelmus is the song that gets played in relation to the Grand-Ducal family, so whenever one of them is present for an event. You could say itˋs the royal anthem of Luxemburg. 😊
Correct
That's such an easy fact to look up. I really wonder how he got that wrong tf
Thought the same thing when he mentioned it. Thank you for pointing it out once more.
Merci
@@luxy9530 He's trying to make others believe that the Luxembourgers copied everything from the Dutch, but that isn't true.
De Wilhelmus is the Royal Anthem of Luxembourg,
"Ons Heemecht" is the national Anthem of Luxembourg.
Came to comment the same.
@@lumpenstein Me too.
What he said
True. The wilhelmus is only played when the grand-duc arrives.
Wow, you (in Luxembourg), Really, have a Dutch fetish.
Hilbert, you forgot to change the chapter titles from the ones on your WW2 Spain video for this one.
True
I was really confused for a couple of seconds
Thanks for the heads up - they've been changed now!
@@historywithhilbert Thanks for this Hilbert!
I once went to a WW2 museum in Luxembourg, it was actually really interesting. Apparently people are always digging up old bits and pieces like bullets in their gardens.
As a Luxembourger who was born in Luxembourg City. This is in fact correct. Especially for the northern part of our country.
@@luxembourgishempire2826 Funny you mention that, it was when I was visiting Diekirch for the big walk they have there every year. Most beautiful country I've ever been to quite honestly.
@@alexanderrowley9870 Thank you! Glad you liked it here! 🥲😊
Here's a small story: I often helped my father out at work (He's an electrician). When we were working in the attic of an old farm house in Heiderscheid, my father (who was working on a ladder) gave me a bowl and said: "Don't you drop this!" A bit puzzled, I looked into the bowl, and saw that there were 3 hand grenades inside. Turns out that the farm house was used as a provisional medical camp during the Battle of the Bulge, and the hand grenades must have been stored away and later forgotten
I still have old baseballs from GIs that were hiding in my village lying around
Thanks so much for this video on my country! I really appreciate it!
@Nick Gerr Eastern Belgium ? You will say southern Netherland ?
@@axome235 Holland is also Luxembourgish.
@Nick Gerr Belgium is not even one nation😂 You will all be annexed by the mighty luxembourgish empire hehehhe
All of that sounds like a joke lol
Roude Léiw!
I am an American and my father was injured in combat on Christmas Day by a German sniper on the edge of Ecternach in Luxembourg. He was in the 5th Division of Patton's 3rd US Army and came with his regiment from Metz in support of the southern shoulder during the Battle of the Bulge.
My great grandfather was on the German side and got hit by a grenade in the Battle of the Bulge, he survived and didn’t want to fight for the Germans anymore as he had been drafted. So he surrendered to American troops in I think April of 1945.
Hilbert, you got the years mixed up on the Americans liberating luxemburg
Finally. I did my oral Abitur examination on this topic and it went reeaally well, thank you Hilbert for listening to the gods 🙏
Und lieben Gruß an alle Luxemburger!🇱🇺
Liebe grüße zurück
léif Gréiss, Noper
Seine Infos sind ziemlich Falsch
@@lisamueller1835 Inwiefern?
Léif, Gréiß aus Letzebuerg !
Luxembourger here! "De Wilhelmus" is not our national anthem. Its the anthem of the Grand-Duke's family: Oranjenburg-Nassau. Our actual national anthem is called "Ons Heemecht"
The Luxemburgisch are a proud and strong people 🇱🇺
Yep
Not really xD
@@Noiee_suspirium Lived there 20 years (in Bridel). Love the country. LOVE. BUT this post... "proud" yes but any strength totally on the surface nothing more
@@Noiee_suspirium Hey, sot meng Kaz dat! Ech hunn hatt zu Kehmen fonnt an si ass dee stäerkste klenge Ball! Ech hunn d'Narben et ze beweisen! 🤣
A lot of luxembourgers nowadays are cowards, to be blunt, but back during the war they were very brave and patriotic.
I really enjoyed that video because I am from Luxembourg and to see that someone is talking about it. Great video
Do you guys love your royal family?
@@danidejaneiro8378 Yes very much. Even though they have lost a lot of power they are still part of our culture.
Not going to lie though, as a Belgian i've wondered for years what happened to Luxemburg during the war since they don't even mention it in our history classes.
Sigh... I just wish our Belgian neighbors knew tbh.
@@luxembourgishempire2826 yeah and they should give us ur land back Luxembourg what they call it putain so onrespectabel mer mussen eppes dogeint machen
@@lotus4459 nee waat soll daat dann elo nach bréngen et ass elo schoun eeng laang zäit verstrach an mir sind grouß genuch als land. An wann mir daat geiften zereck kreien schwetzten dei leit souwieso keen letzteboiesch mei and den regiounen.
@@Dexplaze. wees hun och nemmen den gek gemach
As a Luxembourgish person i wondered too because i have to give a presentation about this in a few months at school and you dont find much on the internet
Hello, luxemburger here. The anthem of Luxembourg is actually ,Ons Heemescht’, played for the first time in 1865 an also known ass d’Uelzescht.
De Wilhelmus is only the anthem of the grand-ducal family, but try teaching that to some patriotic Holläner
Hey hilbert what are the books you used i am really interested in learning more
Definitely interested too. I’m taking a class on the Third Reich and the Holocaust and this is excellent information.
The nice way of saying "source?"
Same I’d really like to know as well because a lot of Luxembourgish historiography is in French so I’d love to get my hands on some English sources
@@battlebrothertifesrolilios4423 trust me i would never question Hilbert I just wanna read more about Luxembourg....to get women
Probably Wikipedia
My grandfather was in the army under Patton and fought at Ettelbruck, Luxembourg in the Battle of the Bulge. He fought bravely, taking out an enemy tank, killing enemy soldiers, and enduring sub zero freezing temperatures. Shortly thereafter he was wounded by artillery and earned a purple heart. The story, however, does take a dark turn. During the urban occupation of Ettelbruck he cleared a dwelling with a grenade inadvertently killing a civilian couple and injuring their infant. He lived a long life after until age 90, but I believe he was always tormented by that event. Furthermore, I believe that incident created a generational curse that follows me to this very day. My grandfather tried to go back to Europe years later to reconcile matters somehow, but was unsuccessful. Now here I am having no idea how to right that wrong or break this lasting curse.
What a sad story!
But don't feel guilty, it was a terrible war and he was fighting for freedom!
He must have been a good man!
Thank you for his service.
Luxembourg vs Germany in WWII must have been the equivalent of a fight between Muhamed Ali and Peter Dinklage
We all know that Peter Dinklage would destroy Muhamed Ali
@@jimbo189 💀
Or David vs Goliath
@@miliba Nah, David had the advantage cus he had a sling (Slings are awesome)
@@jimbo189 You bet cha!
My grandparents are from Luxembourg. My grandma told me a story about how she was born. Back in WWII, the Germans occupied their village. My great grandparents owned a farm with a lot of animals, but apparently slaughtering animals was forbidden since it was ownly meant to supply food for the German soldiers. One day my great grandfather slaughtered a pig anyway to celebrate his birthday, and one of the neighbours snitched. Then he got the choice to make another child, or go to prison.. There was a law in that area that they can not send you to prison if you have a child on the way. That's how my grandmother was born
That was actually the same with my german grandparents they lived in the Rhine region close to the saarlands and half way through the war they had to preserve livestock as Food for the Wehrmacht if you got caught killing your own livestock without permission it was either being jailed or fined this was actually normal even in Germany
But people from the village got around this by stuffing their basement openings with cloths to that the basement is soundproof and they would just slaughter their animals in their basement
@@DrHydra47 thats interesting!
У меня тоже родственники жили в оккупации, только вот не в Люксембруге, а в СССР, рядом с городом Воронеж. Слышал рассказ, как мою прабабушку Анну Долгих немцы собрались расстрелять. Когда до выстрела оставался миг, по немецкому радио передали какой-то сигнал, видимо, что-то тревожное, и фашисты засуетились, и ушли. Прабабушка осталась живой.
Я рад это слышать. Спасибо, что поделились своей историей@@CBE4uOrapo4ek
I think you meant American tanks rolled into Luxembourg on 10 September 1944 and not 1940. The US wasn’t in the war until December of 1941.
Yeah probably xD
When do we get more Luxembourg history videos? I'm not from Luxembourg but it's one of the most interesting countries in the world to me and you do great work so I always look forward to seeing more videos.
Aside from Luxembourg, San Marino is the most interesting country because it’s so small and it’s in the middle of Northern Italy
My Great Uncle was killed in the Battle of the Bulge. His father had immigrated from Germany to 🇺🇸.
Uncle was said to be wonderfully kind and loads of fun. My mother, at 84, still cries mourning the loss of her favourite Uncle. As a tiny girl, I recall my Great Grandmother sadly showing me a picture of her son who died in the War. My Great Grandfather refused to utter a word in German.
Thanks Hilbert. I always wondered about it but never looked up any information. 🇺🇸
I'm from Luxembourg,and was born 15 years after the war, when every adult was a witness of it.
I am very grateful to all those,to whom I owe not growing up in brown shirt under Nazi rule.
Error at 12:02 Americans were not in Europe in force in September 10, 1940
A cardinal mistake!
That should be 1944 not 1940 - my bad!
@@historywithhilbert
Ah, also the description is wrong
@@historywithhilbert Do a piece about places that end with -burg/-bourg/-borg/-bourough....
@Nick Gerr nicely played Norm. 🇨🇦
You should do a video on the Baltics in ww2 and why so many people from there volunteered in the German army.
I strongly suggest Estonia.
Most of the Latvians and Estonians went into the SS. Lithuania refused to allow the Germans to create an SS division from their men, or allow their men to cross Lithuania's borders to fight the Soviets. This really angered the Germans, who sent some of these dissenting to leaders to concentration camps in hopes the people would comply, but it didn't work. A lot of Lithuanians did join up with the Germans though, mostly as police units, which obviously freed up manpower for the Germans to fight the Soviets.
As far as why the Baltic States volunteered to fight with the Germans, it's very easy to understand. Soviet occupation was brutal. Hitler also made various promises to the people in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, none of which he intended to keep. In a very strange and sad way, the Baltic States were very lucky the war went the way that it did. Had Germany pulled through, roughly half of Estonians and Latvians and up to 85% of Lithuanians at the time would've been deemed "undesirables" and killed. After that, the Baltic States would've been colonized with Germans, and all of the states would've been incorporated into the Reich.
@@rodafowa1279 Lithuania was the only one to have 85% of the population killed the other two was only going to be about 50% however take that with a grain of salt.
Hitler originally wanted to kill the majority of the ethnic Russian population, however after occupation of a lot of the country he estimated that the 110million ethnic Russians only 40million would be killed as UN-pure, he also wanted to wipe out about 20million poles before Poland was occupied however he also changed the number to about 10million, a lot lower as more people had what he considered arya blood.
@@brianlong2334 If you read up on what Hitler and especially Himmler considered "the master race," there's a drastic shift in the thinking after Stalingrad. After Stalingrad, simply put, they were desperate and would accept almost anyone. The Indians, Hungarians, Albanians, Croats, Bosnians, Turkmen, etc. recruited into mainly the SS are perfect examples. The 800,000 or so Russians, Ukrainians, Belorussians, White Russians and Cossacks recruited into the "Russian Liberation Army" are also a good example.
@@rodafowa1279 It was all made up so it's no surprise, have you seen the purity standards pamphlet or what ever it was, towards the end of the war they even said crap like if you think your German you can have a German soul basically so you can fight for us..... lol utter nonsense 🤣
USA does the same with blacks
Just came back from a visit from luxembourg and their museums explaining about the very same thing hilbert spoke about. I'd recommend folks visit the city museum and the art & history museum for indept info but hilbert pretty much covers it up.
I hope you liked it in my country!
There were without shadow of a doubt more luxembourgers than 80 who fought with allied forces. Around 116 fought in brigade piron, 80 of which in the Luxembourg battery, but up to hundreds more served in other allied armies and units.
Even our Grand-duke heir fought during the war in the Irish Guards and if I'm not mistaken he is the only member of a royal family who actually fought on the front.
While the Luxembourgish government was against him fighting, his parents supported his decision because he saw it as his duty to fight for his people.
My grandfather was one of the soldiers who was forced to fight for the wermacht but then defected as soon as he could. Went to England and came back to fight with the Belgian Brigade Piron (Independsnt Belgian Brigade in English). I never realised how few they were. I still have his medals etc. He never ever talked about what he saw or did in the war. He lost a good deal of family to it so would make sense. Thanks for the video of our little country!
@@wmfa95 Prince Phillip of Greece (late Queen Elizabeth's husband) was a naval commander and did fight all around, but for THE ACTUAL HEIR of a monarchy serving in the frontlines, you may have a point
My Ancestor Johann immigrated from Luxembourg to the United States in 1849.
I have a distant family member who was just a young teen during ww2 and lived in Luxembourg. He saw some of his best friends and even family taken away and put in camps by the Nazis. He lived on a hill that looked across the Moselle River to the German boarder. He hated Germany so much, that he promised to never even look at Germany ever again. He covered his windows with curtains that looked out to Germany, and barely went outside. He kept his promise until late 2020, when he died due to his old age.
Just an interesting story for y’all.
It would be a great story to take up and investigate in more detail for a journalist here in Luxembourg.
@@SuperInsuranceman agreed but sadly journalism here Luxembourg is kinda pathetic
There a lot of people of Luxembourg descent living in Wisconsin and Iowa. In fact there is a Luxembourg American museum in Belgium, Wisconsin. I often pass the signs when traveling up on I-94 but have never stopped in.
Oh my god would love to visit this obscure museum.
I learned something new with your video about my country concerning the 'Kammerwald'. Thx.
The future Grand Duke was an officer in the Irish Guards during WW2
Yes,and there was a funny story reported by a US newspaper:
When Luxemburg got liberated, he got leave (and a Jeep) to go see his country&people.He was stopped somewhere along the way at a US checkpoint,who found it odd that this "brit" would be driving around in their sector.When asked who he was, he said "Jean, prince of Luxemburg."
The guard answered something like " and I am the emperor of China " ,and so he spent some time under arrest,until they could confirm his identity
@@viandengalacticspaceyards5135 my father demonstrated the Bren gun to him in IG.
@@timothyrobson3325 I love these details and connections.If you know more,please let me know.
There's even a small chance that might have influenced something,the Grand Duke being the commander in chief.
The Luxembourg post-war army was mostly equipped with US gear, but had Bren guns.
@@viandengalacticspaceyards5135 The Prince joined as a simple guardsman before being commissioned. My dad was in the training battalion of the IG. He always mentioned him if he appeared on TV.
And after he abdicated, he spent the rest of his days collecting his neighbors post when they were not home and putting their bins out for them.
Man, we miss Jean 😞
At 11:58 - The USA was not in WWII in September of 1940. They certainly weren't running tanks into France at that time.
Yeah, I know, nit picking and all that. Just, yeah. September 1944, that is far more likely.
Hoi4 player?
You did a pretty good job.
2 small corrections; the Wilhemus is not the national anthem,but a traditional song to honor the royal family.
Also the fight of the resistance in Vianden was not against SS, but against paras, (likely 5.FJR),together with some regular army troops and Volkssturm.
Thank you i been waiting for this
Merci fir den video !
Ons Heemecht als kann ech dir verzeihen
I am from luxembourg and i am realy honered that you mentioned the people from luxembourg who refused to work for the nazi's
I appreciate this post. I am American and my great great grandfather was from Echternach
How attacking Luxembourg as Germany in Hoi4 feels in a nutshell:
Germany: *Declares war*
*10 seconds later*
"Luxembourg Capitulates!"
Very good analysis!
"...on the 10th of september 1940 the americans rolled through the the city" To quote a certain austrian "Nein! NEIN! NEIN!" 😅
1944 not 1940
Great content.
Didn’t expect to see so much detail about this topic.
Would it be possible for you to make a video on San Marino and the Vatican as it is often overlooked as part of Italy in WW2 history?
Always thought Luxembourg didn't have much of a history during the war, well, I was wrong. Can't wait to see more of these videos on the minor countries :)
There's even more than what was mentioned in this video. I recall some stories from my grandfather, who did a lot of spy-work for the resistance, he had quite a few interesting experiences and I'm certain many other resistance members could go on for hours about what they did to assist the allies covertly. All in all though most of those stories and events never got talked about or documented, so they're lost to time.
Wow so thankful about this video THANKS !!!
11:59 It says 1940 on the screen but it should be 1944. Love your vids btw 👍🏻
Great video Hilbert 👍
You could have mentioned that they changed their name from Luxemburg to Luxembourg after the war to make it more french sounding and did everything to lean more towards the french side than the german one. Also Letzeburgisch as far as I know only counts as a distinct language since a few years and was classed as a german dialect before.
Fun fact: Both Luxemburgish and German derive from medieval"Moselfränkisch".
Funny enough, the oldest known text (Yolanda-epos) in Moselfränkisch was written in Vianden(Luxemburg).So we could claim that German derives from Luxemburgish.
For fun only though;borders were extremely mobile for centuries.
@@viandengalacticspaceyards5135 Plotwist: The Luxemburgers were the real germans all along. Down with the imposters!
@@burntbybrighteyes You got me there.
But then, we would never have started a war, we're way too lazy for that.
Love the obscure uncovered WWII history! Keep it up!
I’d like to see a video about Lichtenstein
I was visiting the country at the time that you uploaded,the timing
Ahhhh my favorite comedian showed up on my favorite history channel ahhhh!
Now we're talking.
Let's go Luxembourg!
Im american, of Luxembourgish decent, and throughout family history, all theyve ever spoken was Deutsche, and i love to learn more about the homeland!
Letzenburgisch is a german dialect and not a own language, so no surprise😅
Hi Hilbert : ) A video about Switzerland in this series would really interest me 😍🇨🇭
finally seeing a video talking about our country feels so weird
I just looked it up and Luxembourg has gotten incredibly militant since WWII , since most countries militaries have gotten smaller with the advance of technology, Luxembourg , who has access to these same technologies has more than doubled the size of its army.
😅
@Nick Gerr No, the "Province du Luxembourg" is an east Belgian territory,that used to belong to Luxembourg (and is locally called "new Belgium").The country of Luxembourg borders against that.
Not big,but it's there.
Mh, not really. You need to remember that Luxembourg is quiet wealthy and therefore has a lot of money to spend on their Military. Our culture is also very focused on the independence aspect and therefore the military is more a type of symbole without actual use.
Doubling an army sounds quite impressive, but if you actually start off from about 300 soldiers, no tanks, no navy or air force, and no real artillery, it's not likely to shift the world power balance.
@@viandengalacticspaceyards5135 never Seen the movie ‘ The mouse that roared ‘ have you? If not you should
American tanks rolled in September 10 1944 not 1940…
I wonder who fought more fiercely during the invasion, the Danes or the Luxembourgers
Us. EASILY!
Very good video. There is one mistaken date, shown at 11:58. The American tanks liberated Luxembourg in 1944; not 1940.
„Ons Heemecht“ is the national anthem of Luxembourg not „De Wilhelmus“
Thank you for the video :)
Great video... however I spotted an error. When discussing the liberation of Luxembourgh (1944) at 11:59 in the video the date of: 10 september 1940 is displayed, stating the American overtook Luxembourgh and the Germans retreated. I think there was a four year delay to that action. :-)
I’m from Luxembourg and I thought no Americans knew what Luxembourg was
Moieeeeen a merci fir de flotte video Thanks for the great video. Our little country tried its best as long as the could. Eis jongen are still national heroes
Majoo letzebuerg ass schon hei!
Salut ✌
FYI….you copied and Passed the chapters from the Spain Video….
Maybe you can do the Netherlands and Belgium because you just did Luxembourg and it would be very interesting because it’s really hard to find information about them in WW2 and greetings from Belgium comrade
„de Wilhelmus” is the grand ducal hymn, our monarchs, „Ons Heemecht“ is the national anthem!
Luxembourgish: Germans attempting Dutch.
Bruh
Ummm no
@Nick Gerr What's up Nick Ger
No. Both German and Luxembourgish derive from medieval Moselfränkisch,and the oldest text in that language was written in Vianden,Luxembourg.
That would mean that strictly speaking,German derives from Luxembourgish.
Again this debate ... Continental west Germanic dialects are pretty much a continuum. This also includes dutch. Whilst the Dutch and German languages derived a "standard" that are very different Luxembourg made their dialect their main standard. Linguisticly Luxembourgish is closer to High German as it includes the 2. German consonant shift. In this way language distinction is more political than linguistic. Very understandibly so.
Why is the description for the video about Spain?
@Nick Gerr
But Luxembourg isn't east Belgium
De wilhelmus is the grand ducal anthem of luxembourg. The national anthem is ons heemecht
Very interesting video. However, the national anthem of Luxembourg is not "De Wilhelmus" but "Ons Heemecht". The "Wilhelmus" is the anthem of the grand-ducal court, which means it is only played for and in presence of the Grand-Duke. Greetings from Luxembourg and thanks for making a video about us in WW2
Spengelskrich reminds me of a story of a Danish bookseller in Copenhagen who put portraits of Adolf and Benito in his shop window, and in between the portraits he put a copy of Victor Hugo's 'Les Miserables'.
"Pass the Dutchie" -- famous song from 1890
Luxembourg hatched a fiendish & successful plot to dominate the Eurovision Song Contest after the war.
Good research over my motherland its nice to see some history over luxemburg(:
The uhmm...section title thingies?...are from the Spain vid. 🇪🇸
Great video btw!!
Another super interesting video, Hilbert!
Can you do a video on what the independent Central American and Caribbean countries were doing during the War? At that time, this would consist of Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Cuba, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic.
Belize being a British colony would be interesting.
Wilhelmus is the music if the grand duke or Grand duchess arrived
As someone who speaks German and spent a lot of time in Schwaben, I can genuinely tell you that "Lëtzebuergesch" is no more its own language than Schwäbisch, Plattdeutsch (I'll get to this later), or Bayerisch are their own languages. It is a dialect LARPing as a distinct language because their immediate Franconian neighbors (especially Ripuarisch & Pfälzisch) sound almost just like them minus the French influence; something I realised when I studied in Cologne and heard Kölsch on a semi-regular basis. If they want to argue that Standarddeutsch is its own language while all the other dialects are their own languages, then that's honestly fair, but to someone who grew up speaking Platt there is almost no distinction between the way they speak and the way Luxembourgers speak besides maybe some of that aforementioned French loaning.
I'd be like claiming that one dialect of Scots is its own language while all the other dialects of Scots were just subsets of English. It's honestly hilarious every time I hear these half-baguettes claim this.
Luxembourgish is a language now
I was staying in Kehl, across the Rhine from Strasbourg, and guests from Essen had to speak English with the barman because they didn't understand each other's German.
That was in 1993.
A decade earlier, someone told me that Hitler had invited the Grand Duchess to make her German-speaking country part of the greater Germany, along with Austria and the Sudetenland. She replied to Hitler that she and her people spoke Lëtzebuergesch, not German.
@@JimInRoses Lëtzebuergesch*
@@cyrildewaha fixed
@@JimInRoses Nice story though, I didn't knew it even as a Luxembourger
nice some history about luxembourg
I like your videos! How about Liechtenstein involvement in WW2?
You made a huge mistake concerning our national anthem! (like come on... the real title is at the very top of Luxembourg's wiki page) It is called "Ons Heemecht" ("Our Homeland"). De Wilhelmus is the Grand-Ducal Anthem (sort of like how Hail to the Chief is the U.S Presidential Anthem). It's called that way because the King of the Netherlands used to also be Grand Duke of Luxembourg, but it's a completely different anthem, and it doesn't even mention your good old Willem :)
Good video; just one small correction: De Wilhelmus is the hymne of the grand-ducal family; ''Ons Heemecht (Our homeland) is the national anthem :)
Haven't you Done anything about Finland in ww2?
The video is very good! The national anthem is, however, not „Wihlemhus“ - that melody being exclusive to the Monarchy. The national anthem is different (the melody is very different). That being stated, you are right about everything else.
(Luxembourg was a republic for half a day after the Great War)
(Coming from a person who loves his country, does love France as much as Germany, even though whose both families went to the KZ)
Hey hilbert can make video of Norway in ww2
I lived in the GD of Luxembourg, during 1989-90, due to me American university. I have returned to Lux' four times since, and still have friends there. Ohio's Miami University (do not mention that other one -their Miami was a land property deal, by an Ohioan, and the natives around south Florida, Mayaimi are not related to our Ohio river valley tribe, the Miami -who are now mostly out in Oklahoma -just to make that clear!) Miami Univ' of Ohio set up their overseas campus in Luxembourg, after our alumni, John Dolibois, a native of Lux' who immigrated to the USA in the 30's, was in the US Army in WW2 in the Intelligence service, and was at the trials in Neurenburg. MUDEC, has had three campus' in Luxembourg since 1968. We had the option to learn some Letzeburgish too, to supplement the French and German lessons. Luxembourg feels like home, when I've gone back. I knew a fair amount of details detailed in this video, but not all. The Grand Duke, Jean, who ruled during my time there, was a veteran of WW2, having gotten to England, and led the modest Lux' Army back to Liberation (not in this history detail). The Red Lion of Lux' can also be found at the castle in Praque, Czech, as the Holy Roman Empire ruled over the eventual nation. Luxembourg was a fortified fort, until after the Napoleonic wars, but the casements in the city hill can still be toured. And, with the American Army fighting to defend and stop the Germans during the Buldge, the American Cemetery, near the Capitol is a worthy visit -that is where General George S. Patton is buried, with is men, after he died in a car crash in German, just after the War. Addi' :)
I found it funny that the German Special Forces lost in a fight against the Luxembourg Police.
The Luxemburg anthem is not de Wilhelmus but ONS HEEMECHT !!
General Bradley had his HQ in Luxembourg prior to the Battle of the Bulge.
I wonder if the words at 1:54 are going to lead up to some context for _"Mir wëlle bleiwe wat mir sinn"_ or sth?
4:45 I am not surprised that Luxemburg, when becoming a Gau part, joined "hands" with Trier. They are very close.
1st of April 2005, I went from Trier to Luxemburg, 2nd of April I woke up in the morning and saw flags in mourning, it was bc antipope Wojtyla, aka "Pope John Paul II" had died.
I have to read up on the U'nion right now.
They sound like genuine heroes. Love how large the resistance in Luxemburg was in relation to the population. And even more how effective and successful they were.
Never again!
Nie wieder Faschismus!
Nie wieder Krieg!
I am from Trier it's just less than an hour drive from here to luxembourg and honestly it doesn't feel any different from germany especially the border regions
Could you do a video on Pitcairn during WWII?
There is an error at the 12:01 minute make. Since America did not enter WW II until December 1941 it was impossible for American tanks to be operating in Luxembourg on September 10, 1040. I believe you wanted to say 1944.
we need a video going into all the things he mentions at the end of the intro because i want to see them
14:51
🇱🇺
🙏
TRADE OFFER
I recieve: 58000000 Marks
You recieve: useless uninhabited land
But look at all those trees
How about a video on Switzerland?
3:12 it was at this moment I realise I mixed up Luxenberg and Liechtenstein
On September 10th 1940 american tanks libertad Luxembourg city. 11:55
Hilbert, can you please make a video on the 1963 Indonesia-Malaysia Confrontation. Thank you very much.
@Zeno the Filipino when didn't the british get involved anywhere🤔
@Zeno the Filipino Of course. The 1963 Confrontation started when two former British colonies in Borneo were about to become part of what is now Malaysia. Britain fought on Malaysia's side during that battle.
The history of civilian resistance remind me of what happened in Alsace. I remember being told of bus and tram conductors losing their jobs because they wore red white and blue (French tricolour) ribbons on their hats. Many tragic stories from Alsace as the Germans considered them to be part of Germany.