Grace-Berleur Strike Shooting

Date: July 30, 1950 • Location: Mons-lez-Liège, Belgium

At the height of a political crisis known as the royal question, four workers were shot dead by the Belgian Gendarmerie at a strike in Grâce-Berleur.

The royal question was a major political crisis in Belgium that lasted from 1945 to 1951, coming to a head between March and August 1950. The question at stake surrounded whether King Leopold III could return to Belgium and resume his constitutional role amid allegations that his actions during World War II had been contrary to the provisions of the Belgian Constitution. The crisis brought Belgium to the brink of a civil war. It was eventually resolved by the abdication of Leopold in favour of his son Prince Baudouin in 1951.