Dietsland
 |
The Greater Netherlands, also called Dietsland. |
Dietsland refers to the
Greater Netherlands, including
The Netherlands and
Flanders, and sometimes (mostly in even more extreme groups)
French Flanders (named as Southern Flanders by these groups) and sometimes even the
Afrikaner communities of
Southern Africa, in other words, all areas where
Dutch is spoken (until 1925 Dutch was a co-
official language in South Africa). 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 (now) Walloon and (now)
French parts of the
Low Countries chose the side of the
Spanish king by the
Union of Atrecht, the Dutch-speaking parts declared themselves independent in
1581, but the final frontier was defined by the victories of the Spanish under
Alexander Farnese,
duke of Parma.
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 (while 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
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).
*
Flemish movement*
Whole-Netherlands*
Pieter Geyl 
