Dietsland
|
|
Dietsland refers to the Greater Netherlands, including The Netherlands and Flanders, and sometimes (mostly in more extreme groups) French Flanders and sometimes even the Boer communities of South Africa. Its name derives from Dietsch.
In other words, all areas where Dutch is spoken. As Brussels is majoritarily French-speaking, this is . The concept for Dietsland first became significant in the early 20th century and reached its peak before World War II when it was advocated by nationalists in the Netherlands and Flanders who were influenced by the progress of 'Greater Germany' next door. But its roots go back to the Union of Utrecht and the Dutch Revolt, in which the Seventeen Provinces (or Low Countries, De Nederlanden) were separated. Some (now) Walloon and (now) French parts of the Low Countries chose the side of the Spanish king by the Union of Atrecht, the Dutch-speaking parts declared themselves independent in 1581, but the final frontier was defined by the victories of the Spanish under Alexander Farnese, duke of Parma.
The word 'Diets' hints at a more fascist/nationalistic stance (it is tainted), while Greater Netherlands is more neutral. The notion of the Whole-Netherlands either includes the Netherlands of 1815-1830 (i.e. the Benelux, minus the East Cantons), the Benelux after 1944 (including the East Cantons) or all of the Netherlands before 1581, namely approximating the Seventeen Provinces and the Bishopric of Liège. Aside from rearranging modern borders, the next problem with the Whole-Netherlands is language: reuniting the Benelux, "reunites" four languages, Dutch, French, German and Luxembourgish. The last option is completely irrealistic, as it would require taking back much of northern France and parts of Germany.
After World War II the Dietsland idea was disregarded as fascist and laid dormant (while Dietsland was formally prohibited by Adolf Hitler himself) until the 1960s when it was once again advocated by mainly right-wing nationalists. Today there are several groups advocating the Dietsland concept, the most famous being Voorpost which claims chapters in the Netherlands, Flanders, and South Africa. The idea is also current among members of several right-wing parties including the Vlaams Belang in Flanders and Nieuw Rechts in the Netherlands.
Gradually there has been a shift to more moderate politicians who advocate this concept, like Bart De Wever (N-VA), Andries Postma (CDA), Erik Jurgens (PvdA) and Jan Terlouw (D66).
Groot_Nederland_English.PNG