Luxembourg, often celebrated for its neutrality and modest footprint in global geopolitics, has long been perceived as a benign observer of colonial history. But behind this veneer of innocence lies a lesser-known yet deeply entangled involvement in one of Africa’s most brutal colonial chapters: the colonization of the Congo.

While the Grand Duchy never officially held colonies, new historical evidence and academic scrutiny reveal Luxembourg’s active complicity in Belgian imperial exploits, particularly in the Belgian Congo, now the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Economic Ties That Bound: The 1921 Belgium-Luxembourg Economic Union

The turning point in Luxembourg’s colonial entanglement came with the establishment of the Belgium-Luxembourg Economic Union (BLEU) in 1921. This agreement granted Luxembourgers the same economic rights as Belgian nationals in the Congo and opened the door to direct involvement in colonial activities. From 1922 onward, Luxembourgers were permitted to invest, trade, and work in the colony’s exploitative enterprises, particularly in mining and infrastructure.

This legal framework allowed Luxembourgish nationals to profit from extractive industries such as rubber, ivory, and precious minerals, industries notoriously marked by forced labor and inhumane conditions during and after King Leopold II’s reign. Luxembourgish engineers, businesspeople, and missionaries played important roles in the administration, resource extraction, and religious conversion efforts of the colony.

From Railways to Rubber: The Colonial Machinery

Luxembourg’s participation wasn’t merely symbolic or administrative. Its citizens and businesses were directly involved in the logistical backbone of colonial exploitation. Engineers from Luxembourg contributed to the construction of critical infrastructure, including railways used to transport extracted resources, projects that were often built through forced African labor and at an immense human cost.

Similar to Belgian colonialists, Luxembourgers served as soldiers, scientists, and colonial officers. This participation allowed Luxembourg to benefit economically while maintaining an international image of neutrality and non-involvement—a duality that is now facing critical re-evaluation.

Breaking the Silence: Academic and Public Reckoning

The historical silence surrounding Luxembourg's colonial ties has been disrupted by recent works from historians like Yves Schmitz. In his groundbreaking book "Le Luxembourg n’a jamais été une puissance coloniale" (Luxembourg Was Never a Colonial Power), Schmitz challenges the national narrative of innocence. He meticulously documents Luxembourg’s indirect yet impactful involvement in the Congolese colony, tracing the flow of capital, human resources, and political support from Luxembourg to Belgian colonial institutions.

Journalist Pascal Martin, writing in Le Soir in June 2024, expands on Schmitz’s work in his investigative piece “Luxembourg, a Zealous Ally of Belgian Colonialism.” Martin points to figures like Gérard Cravatte, a Luxembourgish businessman implicated in several exploitative operations in the Congo, and possibly even connected to the assassination of Patrice Lumumba, Congo’s first democratically elected prime minister, and a pan-African icon.

Comparative Silence: Luxembourg in the Context of Other African Colonialisms

Luxembourg’s hidden hand in the Congo bears a resemblance to other less-publicized European colonial involvements across Africa.

For instance, Portugal’s use of forced labor in Angola, or Germany’s brutal suppression of the Herero and Nama in Namibia, have only recently entered mainstream consciousness through public debate and official apologies. Italy’s colonial crimes in Ethiopia and Libya are similarly under-recognized. Luxembourg, though on a smaller scale, fits into this broader pattern of European nations profiting from African exploitation while escaping the scrutiny larger powers have begun to face.

In contrast, France and Belgium have encountered increasing domestic pressure to return looted artifacts and address reparations. The Netherlands issued an official apology for its slavery past, and Germany has begun negotiations for restitution in Namibia. Luxembourg has yet to engage in a comparable national conversation.

Museums, Memory, and Reconciliation

There are signs of awakening. In 2022, Luxembourg’s National Museum of Art and History hosted a landmark exhibition that probed the country's colonial connections. Civil society organizations like Richtung22 have also been pivotal in pushing for historical transparency and education.

These efforts aim to disrupt the myth of Luxembourg’s detachment from Africa’s colonial trauma and advocate for the inclusion of colonial history in school curricula, public monuments, and government discourse.

Toward Accountability and Historical Justice

The revelations presented by Schmitz and Martin underscore a key truth: historical complicity does not require sovereign control of colonies. Participation in systems of oppression, be it through economic benefit, administrative support, or political endorsement, is enough to necessitate reckoning.

As Ivorian musician Tiken Jah Fakoly reminds us in one of his poignant lyrics, "The sorcerer always forgets, but the family of the victim never forgets." The people of the Congo and Africa at large continue to live with the legacy of these exploitative systems.

Recognising Luxembourg's role is not about apportioning guilt to current generations but about accountability, education, and justice. It is a necessary step toward rewriting a fuller, more honest narrative of Africa’s colonial past and Europe’s role in it.

Luxembourg’s Role in Colonial Congo – At a Glance

• 1921: The Belgium-Luxembourg Economic Union (BLEU) is signed

• 1922: Luxembourgers gain economic access to the Belgian Congo

• Roles Held: Engineers, missionaries, businessmen, scientists, soldiers

• Key Figure: Gérard Cravatte – alleged involvement in Congo's political turmoil

• Main Exports: Rubber, ivory, copper, and precious minerals

• Legacy: Delayed public reckoning and ongoing demands for historical justice