The Popular Independent Movement , abbreviated to MIP, was a Luxembourg

Luxembourg

Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...

ian single-issue

Single-issue politics

Single-issue politics involves political campaigning or political support based on one essential policy area or idea.-Political expression:...

 political party

Political party

A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...

 in the 1960s. It sought to represent the interests of the 12,000 people that had been conscripted

Conscription

Conscription is the compulsory enlistment of people in some sort of national service, most often military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and continues in some countries to the present day under various names...

 into the Wehrmacht

Wehrmacht

The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...

 during the German occupation of Luxembourg

German occupation of Luxembourg in World War II

The German occupation of Luxembourg in World War II was the period in the history of Luxembourg after it was used as a transit territory to attack France by outflanking the Maginot Line. Plans for the attack had been prepared by 9 October 1939, but execution was postponed several times...

 during the Second World War

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

.

The party tried to claim compensation for those conscripted from the government of West Germany

West Germany

West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....

 as victims of Nazi Germany

Nazi Germany

Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...

. A 1959 treaty between West Germany and Luxembourg, compensating Luxembourg for the German occupation and recognising the legitimacy of the actions of the resistance, was thought by the former conscripts to discriminate against them, who dubbed it the 'Treaty of Shame' . The treaty took two years to ratify, after a protracted debate in the Chamber of Deputies

Chamber of Deputies of Luxembourg

The Chamber of Deputies , abbreviated to the Chamber, is the unicameral national legislature of Luxembourg. 'Krautmaart' is sometimes used as a metonym for the Chamber, after the square on which the Hôtel de la Chambre is located....

 and a protest of 10,000 people in Place Guillaume II

Place Guillaume II

Place Guillaume II is a town square in Luxembourg City, in southern Luxembourg. The square lies to the west of Krautmaart and to the north of Boulevard Franklin Delano Roosevelt in the heart of Luxembourg's historic Ville Haute quarter...

, in Luxembourg City.

The Popular Independent Movement was formed following these popular protests. A generally anti-establishment party without a clear programme on wider issues, it won 5.9% of the vote and two seats in the 1964 election

Luxembourgian legislative election, 1964

Legislative elections were held in Luxembourg on 7 June 1964. Voters elected all 56 members of the Grand Duchy's unicameral national legislature, the Chamber of Deputies.-Results:...

, becoming the first new party since the 1945 election

Luxembourgian legislative election, 1945

Legislative elections were held in Luxembourg on 21 October 1945. Voters elected all 51 members of the Grand Duchy's unicameral national legislature, the Chamber of Deputies....

 to win a seat in the Chamber of Deputies. The MIP merged with the Democratic Party

Democratic Party (Luxembourg)

The Democratic Party , abbreviated to DP, is the major liberal political party in Luxembourg. One of the three major parties, the DP sits on the centre-right, holding moderate market liberal views combined with a strong emphasis on civil liberties, human rights, and internationalism.Founded in...

 before the 1968 legislative election

Luxembourgian legislative election, 1968

Legislative elections were held in Luxembourg on 15 December 1968. Voters elected all 56 members of the Grand Duchy's unicameral national legislature, the Chamber of Deputies.-Results:...

. However, one of its deputies, rejecting this merger, created the Party of National Solidarity, which ran and won only 0.4% of the vote and no seats, leading to it dissolving.

A later party, Enrôlés de Force

Enrôlés de Force

Enrôlés de Force was a Luxembourgian single-issue political party and pressure group. It sought to represent the interests of the 12,000 people that had been conscripted into the Wehrmacht during the German occupation of Luxembourg during the Second World War.The party tried to claim compensation...

, was established in the 1970s with similar aims, and achieved parliamentary representation in the 1979 election

Luxembourgian legislative election, 1979

Legislative elections were held in Luxembourg on 10 June 1979. Voters elected all 57 members of the Grand Duchy's unicameral national legislature, the Chamber of Deputies.-Results:...

. After the Luxembourg government's official recognition in 1981 that the Wehrmacht conscripts were victims, it disbanded.