History of Luxembourg The bombardments ended with the American Army nearing Lampaden on February 22, 1945. Altogether, of a pre-war population of 293,000, 5,259 Luxembourgers lost their lives during the hostilities. After World War II, Luxembourg abandoned its politics of neutrality, when it became a founding member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the United Nations. It is a signatory of the Treaty of Rome, and constituted a monetary union with Belgium (Benelux Customs Union in 1948), and an economic union with Belgium and the Netherlands, the so-called BeNeLux. Between 1945 and 2005, the economic structure of Luxembourg changed significantly. The
German-speaking Community of Belgium German-speaking Community of Belgium The German-speaking Community of Belgium ( , DG; ; ) or Eastern Belgium (; ; ) is one of the three federal communities of Belgium. Covering an area of within the province of Liège () in Wallonia, it includes nine of the eleven municipalities of East Cantons (). Traditionally speakers of Low Dietsch, Ripuarian and Moselle Franconian varieties, the local population numbers over 75,000—about 0.70% of the national total. Bordering the Netherlands, Germany and Luxembourg, the area has its own parliament and government at Eupen. Although in the Belgian province of Luxembourg many of the inhabitants