The curious history of the German corner: how East Belgium was born

2 August 2025

Belga English zooms in on a small part of Belgium that’s a mystery to many: East Belgium, or the country’s German-speaking Community. Today, we look at its origins.

When considering the roots of Belgium’s German-speaking Community, the period of 1794-95 is key. Until then, its northern part with Eupen belonged largely to the Duchy of Limburg and the southern Eifel territory with St Vith to the Duchy of Luxembourg.

But the broader region was annexed by France at the end of the 18th century, and its different parts merged into one administrative unit.

After Napoleon was defeated at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, the Congress of Vienna decided that the zone would go to Prussia, making German the official language there. Over half a century later, the territory also became part of the newly founded German Empire.

After World War I, due to the Treaty of Versailles, the area was ceded to Belgium and became known, among other names, as New Belgium. The “new Belgians” became fully fledged citizens of their new home country in 1926: the Belgian constitution and laws also applied to them.

At the same time, it seems the Belgian state was willing to return the territory to Germany for the right price, to relieve its financial stress. But secret negotiations between the two countries were cut off when France made its objection clear.

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The territory was taken back by force by Germany in 1940, when Hitler’s troops marched into Belgium. Just as elsewhere in Europe, World War II took a devastating toll on its population and infrastructure. While Eupen suffered less in terms of infrastructure damage, St Vith was almost entirely destroyed. After liberation by the Allies, the whole area was again placed under Belgian rule.

Once things calmed down after the difficult post-war period, the integration of the territory into Belgium was confirmed and gradually evolved. In the early 1960s, when Belgium was divided linguistically, a German-speaking area was established.

Further recognition followed in 1973, when the German-speaking Community was officially founded. The region gained increasing autonomy in the following decades. In 2017, the local authorities decided to rebrand the territory as East Belgium, or Ostbelgien in German.

The German-speaking Community today has its own government and parliament in its capital, Eupen, with a substantial degree of autonomy in matters such as education, culture and social welfare. Although they remain part of the region of predominantly French-speaking Wallonia, East Belgians increasingly want to speak for themselves.

“We do not see ourselves as a subordinate authority of the Walloon Region, we are not Walloons,” minister president Oliver Paasch said during a visit of Belgian prime minister Bart De Wever.