In World War II , many governments, organizations and individuals collaborated with the Axis powers , "out of conviction, desperation, or under coercion". The Danish, Belgian and Vichy French governments attempted to appease and bargain with the invaders in hopes of mitigating harm to their citizens and economies. Some countries' leaders such as Hernik Werth cooperated with Italy and Germany because they wanted to regain territories lost during and after World War I , or which their nationalist citizens simply coveted.
Individuals such as Hendrik Seyffardt in the Netherlands and Theodoros Pangalos in Greece saw collaboration as a path to personal power in the politics of their country. Others believed that Germany would prevail, and either wanted to be on the winning side, or feared being on the losing one. Axis military forces recruited many volunteers, sometimes at gunpoint, more often with promises that they later broke, or from among POWs trying to escape appalling and frequently lethal conditions in their detention camps.
Other volunteers willingly enlisted because they shared Nazi or fascist ideologies. Stanley Hoffman in used the term collaborationist to describe those who collaborated for ideological reasons. Stanley Hoffmann saw collaboration as either involuntary, a reluctant recognition of necessity, or voluntary, opportunistic , or greedy. He also categorized collaborationism as "servile", attempting to be useful, or "ideological", full-throated advocacy of the occupier's ideology.
Belgium was invaded by Nazi Germany in May [ 5 ] and occupied until the end of Political collaboration took separate forms across the Belgian language divide. In Dutch-speaking Flanders , the Vlaamsch Nationaal Verbond Flemish National Union or VNV , clearly authoritarian, anti-democratic and influenced by fascist ideas, [ 6 ] became a major player in the German occupation strategy as part of the pre-war Flemish Movement.
VNV politicians were promoted to positions in the Belgian civil administration. Rex became increasingly radical after and declared itself part of the Waffen-SS. Although the pre-war Belgian government went into exile in , the Belgian civil service remained in place for much of the occupation.
