Flemish Waffen-SS Brochure – “Ook Gij” (WWII Recruitment Booklet)
Original WWII-era Flemish Waffen-SS recruitment booklet titled “Ook Gij” (“You too”), produced for the enlistment of Flemish volunteers into the Waffen-SS. Issued through the Flemish recruitment apparatus (Ersatzkommando Flandern), this booklet formed part of the broader German propaganda effort in occupied Belgium to attract volunteers for service on the Eastern Front.
Softcover booklet comprising approximately 28 pages, featuring period photographs and propagandistic content aimed at promoting enlistment. Such publications emphasized themes of anti-communism, European unity under German leadership, and Flemish participation within the Waffen-SS.
Complete example in good overall condition, showing typical age-related wear consistent with wartime paper items.
A desirable and increasingly scarce piece of original WWII propaganda material, of particular interest to collectors of Flemish collaboration, Waffen-SS history, and occupation-era printed ephemera.
€300,00
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Historical Description
The booklet “Ook Gij” (“You too”) was produced during the German occupation of Belgium in the Second World War, in the aftermath of the German invasion of Belgium. As part of their occupation policy, German authorities sought to recruit volunteers from across occupied Europe into the Waffen-SS, including from Flanders.
In Belgium, recruitment of Flemish volunteers was facilitated through German-controlled offices such as the Ersatzkommando Flandern, often working alongside local collaborationist movements like the Vlaams Nationaal Verbond. These groups promoted enlistment by appealing to Flemish nationalism, anti-Bolshevik sentiment, and the concept of participation in a German-led “New Europe.”
Booklets such as “Ook Gij” formed part of a wider propaganda campaign aimed at mobilizing Flemish men for service, particularly on the Eastern Front against the Soviet Union. They typically combined persuasive text with imagery of uniformed volunteers, presenting Waffen-SS service as both an ideological mission and a path to status and belonging.
Today, such publications are regarded as primary-source material, offering insight into the methods, messaging, and visual culture of wartime propaganda and recruitment in occupied Western Europe.
