In the weekly episodes Indy mentions the governments in exile (for example the Polish government in exile). Since these governments didn’t actually govern their territory (since it was occupied by die enemy) what exactly was the duty of this government in exile? I assume they contributed to the war effort and all that, but what did they do beyond that? Since they didn’t have any people to actually govern, what were their responsibilities? Or was the whole government in exile thing just a way to prevent a legal takeover/annexation of the occupied territory?
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This was certainly a part. The Czechoslovak self-proclaimed “Government in Exile” was only seen as provisional until Heydrich’s assassination demonstrated Czech resolve to resist. His assassination was devised explicitly to raise the profile of the Czech occupation and in turn that of its Government in Exile. This was necessary for the Czechs because the Munich Agreement was still legally standing - their independence was not guaranteed so would probably be conceded in case of a negotiated peace with Germany.
Encouraging resistance (or at least discouraging cooperation) was also a role. Dutch queen Wilhelmina was firstly a figurehead but also gave broadcasts through the Free Netherlands radio.
Charles de Gaulle was probably the most notable exiled leader but I don’t know much about his role, what he actually did, other than being divisive and complain.
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The Government in Exile carries on governmental duties (passports, currency, and the like), and is presumed to speak for the nation (treaties, control of expatriate military, and the like) with other nations. Some nations will recognize the Exile Government, some will not.
It sounds like a bit of a tragic comedy, but the real purpose of such a government is to give hope to the folks back home and a place for expatriates to rally around.
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I suppose that is a rather dark comedy. So if I understand this correctly then the government in exile was basically meant to represent that occupied nation in nations that recognized the government in exile as well as to assist the nationals of their nation who had become refugees or joined an army in exile? That’s more or less the understanding I have now.
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Alright so one role was to encourage the people of the occupied territory to resist and go give them hope that they might someday belong to their original nation again? That’s what I understand from your reply.
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Yes, absolutely. Although encouraging their occupied populations to ‘resist’ wasn’t always encouraging them to simply shoot a German, resistance was often more passive. The Allies, including the Dutch Govt in Exile, explicitly discouraged an armed uprising in the Netherlands in 1944.
So yes those two points you made sums it up well, (i) encourage “resistance”, so that (ii) the government can return to an independent country.
Does the Dutch G-in-E discouraging an uprising mean the second point was more important to them than the first? Maybe.
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It is useful to look at one nation that didn’t go into exile–Britain. It’s hard to see it now, but for the first year or so Churchill outlined what would happen if Britain was occupied–There would be a government in exile (probably in Canada–Remember, he spoke of “the new world”, not necessarily the U.S., stepping forward to liberate the old) which would govern the colonies much like the de Gaulle government in exile governed the various French colonies as they were liberated.
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