Dietsland
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dietsland refers to the Greater Netherlands, including The Netherlands and Flanders, and sometimes French Flanders (called Southern Flanders by these groups) and sometimes even the Afrikaner communities of Southern Africa, in other words, all areas where Dutch is or was spoken (Dutch was a co-official language of South Africa until 1961). Its name derives from Dietsch. (Diets is archaïc Dutch for Folk or People)
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 irredentists 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 French speaking parts of the Low Countries stayed loyal to the Spanish king and defended the Catholism by the Union of Atrecht, most of the Dutch-speaking parts responded by the Union of Utrecht protecting Protestantism and declared themselves independent with the Oath of Abjuration in 1581. The frontier was defined by the victories of the Spanish under Alexander Farnese, duke of Parma, and later redefined at the independence of Belgium in the 1830s.
The word 'Diets' hints at a more fascist/nationalistic stance, while Greater Netherlands is more neutral. After World War II the Dietsland idea was disregarded as fascist and lay dormant (even though 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 Hilbrand Nawijn 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).
