If asked to name some of the key figures associated with World War II, most would answer: Winston Churchill, Adolph Hitler, Franklin Roosevelt, Joseph Stalin, etc. Perhaps others might mention Benito Mussolini, Dwight Eisenhower, Emperor Tojo, George Patton, Bernard Montgomery, Harry S. Truman, and Robert Oppenheimer. But very few are apt to mention a relatively unknown Belgian named Edgar Sengier. This unassuming native of West Flanders was a man whose influence was directly integral to the Allied victory in World War II. His impact is felt in the everyday politics of today. Meet Edgar Sengier…
Born in 1874 in Kortrijk and educated at the University of Leuven, Edgar Sengier was a mining engineer. In 1911, he joined the Mining Minire du Haut Katanga (UMHK) — a Belgian-based company which controlled the strategic mining industry of what was then the Belgian Congo. (today: the Democratic Republic of the Congo). Initially, their primary product was copper, but they also mined tin, cobalt, zinc, silver, and gold. In the lead up to World War II, the Congolese extracted uranium mostly as a relatively unprofitable by-product. However, the Germans and the Allies began to understand, albeit slowly, that this relatively worthless by-product had the potential to change the course of history.
Uranium was first mined in the Shinkolobwe mine, Katanga Province in 1915. It was exported and refined in Olen, Belgium, primarily for use in the medical industry (for radium) and for the benign use of coloring ceramics. It should be noted that Congolese uranium was a freak occurrence in nature in that “nothing like it had been found.” Most ore found elsewhere in the world (e.g. Czechoslovakia and Canada) contained 0.03 % uranium but the rich Congolese extractions approached 65% purity. By 1926 the UMHK, and by extension Belgium, had a monopoly on the world’s uranium market. In the decades to follow, world events unfolded in such a way as to put Belgium and uranium into the global spotlight.
In 1939, the Nobel Prize-winning physicist Albert Einstein told President Frankin Roosevelt: “ I expect that the element uranium may be turned into a new and important source of energy.” He speculated that this phenomenon could lead to the construction of an “extremely powerful bomb of a new type.” Einstein was convinced that Germany was equally aware of uranium’s potential. In 1940, neutral Belgium was invaded and occupied by Germany. These two realities—plus the fact that the UMHK controlled 75% of the global stockpile of uranium— put Belgium’s importance into the crosshairs of the world’s political attention.
The fact that uranium could be used in the production and delivery of an atomic bomb was no secret in Europe. Prior to the war, French scientists had approached Edgar Sengier about participating in their efforts to create a nuclear fission bomb. The project floundered when Germany invaded France. In North America, Einstein, the forever pacifist, made his fears known to the highest levels in the American government. He was persuasive enough that his pleas were instrumental in the formation of the Manhattan Project—a highly secret Allied effort to develop an atomic bomb. These concerns were compounded when Germany marched into Belgium.
These complex scenarios were not lost on the director of the UMHK, Edger Sengier. He too understood that uranium—the relatively worthless by-product from his mining operation—could become a critical resource in times of war. Independent of any political pressure and without any Belgian governmental approval (such as it was), Sengier sold over half of the Congo uranium stock to the United States. Sengier was shrewd about the transaction. He covertly had his product shipped to New York where it sat in storage for over a year. Sengier knew what America “was up to” regarding the Manhattan Project and he wisely waited until officials approached him about the actual transfer of the uranium. This Belgium/American uranium deal was one of the most tightly kept secrets of the war. Ultimately, the Belgian-controlled Congolese mines furnished 75% of the uranium used by the Manhattan Project, which produced the bombs (nicknamed “Little Boy and Big Boy) that were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. On August 15th, Japan surrendered, effectively ending the nightmare of World War II.
Edgar Sengier orchestrated agreements and co-operation between the United States and Belgium that continued for another ten years. After the war, the U.S.A. enjoyed hegemony over the global economy with the dollar becoming the dominate currency and American corporations exerting significant influence worldwide. Through Sengier’s efforts, America looked favorably towards Belgium, and this helped explain Belgium’s relative ease in rebuilding its economy. Belgium’s favored position left the country with minimal debt and the support of the major financial powers of the United States and the United Kingdom.
Edgar Sengier’s role in the Allied victory was a shrewd one. Partly patriotic, Sengier is quoted as saying that “as a Belgian I appreciate fully the absolute necessity of an Allied victory.” He also foresaw the importance of his commercial success, believing America’s best interest was also Belgium’s best interest.
In 1946, Edgar Sengier was awarded the Medal of Merit- America’s highest civilian award- for his enormous contributions to the Allied victory. The official statement noted Sengier’s “sound judgement, initiative, resourcefulness and unfailing cooperation.” He was the first non-American to be awarded this high honor. The ceremony was held in private. Despite this recognition, Edgar Sengier was content to remain unknown and went to considerable lengths to preserve his anonymity. He is not well known in Europe outside of a limited circle, and no photograph of him has ever appeared in any American newspaper. Edgar Sengier retired to Cannes, France, where he died in 1963. Perhaps for these reasons, we can be forgiven for not associating his name with those key figures of World War II.
