It may be surprising but Belgian historians have tended to overlook the issue of the Belgian contribution to the Allied war effort, not only in its economic and financial aspects, but also in its political and diplomatic aspects. Only recently have several biographical works have shed some (though insufficient) light on this problem. Otherwise, Belgian Second World War historiography has remained dominated by two sensitive issues, namely King Leopold III's attitude during the war (see below) and economic collaboration with the Nazis in occupied Belgium.

In this context, the question of the Belgian contribution to the Allied war effort has been neglected in the national diplomatic history. This chapter will argue that precisely this question is important as it compelled the Belgians in exile to confront the paradigms inherited from interwar foreign policy. In this process, economic and financial issues played a significant role as they would allow the Belgians to postpone the political decisions on the future of Belgian foreign policy.

In the autumn of 1940, the Belgian government-in-exile was finally reconstituted. It consisted, however, of only four ministers, as a result of the complex chain of events of the previous summer. Consequently, the Belgian government-in-exile in London was weak and therefore found it difficult to impose its will on the remainder of the Belgian community-in-exile. This weakness proved to be a crucial aspect of the Belgian positions regarding the negotiations over the contribution to the Allied war effort.