Issue and Opponent: The Belgian newspaper Le Soir stopped publication on 18 May 1940, a few days after the Nazi invasion of Belgium. It was relaunched by collaborationists and started to publish Nazi propaganda. There was immediate resistance to the Nazis and their propaganda.
Dilemma Action: Members of the FI (Front de l’Indépendance) decided to do a satirical spoof of Le Soir, using a style of satire – zwanze – that was characteristic in Brussels. The timing of the faux paper was planned, and efforts were made to delay the real paper from hitting newsstands. The spoof paper mocked the style of Nazi propaganda and made them look absurd. One article mocks Hitler as he has to watch opposition planes apparently with fear with the caption “Das habe ich nicht gewohlt” (I didn’t want that). The paper also made fun of collaborationists. Each segment of the four-page paper, from the classified section to the obituaries and the advertisements, was a farce aimed at the Nazis, the collaborationists, or hinting at the government in exile or the country’s liberation.
​​Outcomes: The paper was said to give “great joy” to Belgians. The 45,000 copies sold quickly and for more than the initial price. An additional 10,000 copies spread throughout Europe. It was then reproduced by facsimile and distributed elsewhere in Europe to comical effect. The creators of the faux paper came under significant repression, but that only served to make the act a symbol of the Resistance. During the occupation, the FI engaged in subsequent publications supporting their cause.