Belgian Maneuvers 1939

Someone asked me, reading from a book they just had been given, about the Belgian maneuvers of 1939 and asked how this was not a betrayal of France just at the critical point when World War II is about to begin. This is completely untrue though and I do not understand how anyone could think such a thing. This is the context: Belgium had always been neutral since independence until Germany invaded in 1914. After that, Belgium was allied to France because both countries were of course worried about the Germans, seeing that they would have no hesitation to invade and threaten both countries (or especially to invade France and Belgium would be a useful corridor). So there was an alliance until 1939 when on September 3, after the invasion of Poland, King Leopold III declared neutrality again. The Belgian army was at that time called out and put through some exercises as a show of force, not particularly for Germany, but for France so that they would know that if they tried to violate Belgian territory to attack Germany they would have a difficult fight and Belgium would resist them just as they had strongly resisted the Germans in 1914. This was not a betrayal, this was a realistic view of the on-the-ground situation.

Consider for a moment that prior to this time Germany had gone back on one provision after another of the Versailles Treaty and France and Britain had done nothing. Britain even signed a naval treaty with Germany. Italy had been opposed to Germany at first but left the Allies to join the Germans when Britain or France would not stand beside Italy in stopping the takeover of Austria and then later scolded Italy for occupying Abyssinia. After the Rhineland and Czech occupations and the union with Austria the French had done nothing. This was a concern to Belgium as was the French war plans which many thought left Belgium on its own. Then when Germany invaded Poland the British and then French declared war on Germany. What was Belgium supposed to do? They could do nothing about Poland, even Britain and France could do nothing to save Poland but they had declared war anyway. The Germans had made no aggressive moves against the Low Countries, Britain or France at that time. But the British and French had declared war on Germany so Belgium was suddenly faced with the possibility of France doing the same thing the Kaiser had done in 1914, attacking Germany and marching through Belgium maybe as an easier way to go.

The Allies had, honestly, done a poor job of diplomacy and foreign relations prior to World War II. They had given in to Hitler time after time and then, finally, declared war on Germany on behalf of a country neither of them could defend and which was being occupied by the Soviets also. It was perfectly understandable for King Leopold III to again declare Belgian neutrality and hope that, unlike before, the country could be kept out of the conflict. Later the King joined with Queen Wilhelmina of The Netherlands to call for all the countries to get together and make peace. Today this seems ridiculous because Hitler was a lunatic who wanted to take over the world, but try to remember what the people knew then, not what we know now. All Hitler had done then was to invade Poland and the Soviets had joined in. France and Britain had declared war on him, even though he had not threatened their countries, but they had not declared war on the Soviets for taking part of Poland or for taking over the Baltic republics. All that had really happened by then was that Poland had been partitioned, which was unfortunate for the Poles, but not something new, they had been partitioned between Germany and Russia for years. So, it seemed not unreasonable to many at the time that the two sides could talk through their differences and make peace without another world war.

That did not happen, but it is not the fault of the King that he could not look into the future. He was only trying to do what was best for his country in the situation he was in. When the war came Belgium was as strong an ally as she had been before and fought as hard as possible for 18 days against the crushing Nazi blitzkrieg, in doing so saving the lives of many French and British troops. That is what should be remembered, the free countries fighting as allies against invaders and do not waste time on accusations that are pointless and only efforts to stir up bad feelings between people and nations. There is already enough of that.

Belgians Aid Defense of Ethiopia

You can always learn something new and recently, talking to a friend about the second Italian-Ethiopian War, I did also. In that conflict, one of the predecessors of World War II, the only Belgian connection I knew of was Crown Princess Maria Jose, wife of Crown Prince Umberto of Italy, and neither of them had anything to do with the conflict. However, I have learned there was a fairly significant Belgian contribution to the war on the Ethiopian side. Here is how it happened: Clearly, since the first war between Italy and Ethiopia (which the Ethiopians won at their favorite battle of Adwa) there had been tensions between the two countries. Later, however, they signed a something like a friendship treaty. It seems doubtful though that either took the document seriously. The Italians extended their most favorable trading relationship to Ethiopia and assumed or expected that Ethiopia would be their customer and obtain all of their foreign goods from then. Ethiopia, however, was wary of the Italians and began buying weapons and recruiting military advisers from foreign countries other than Italy in case there was another war. The Italians were upset by this but that was expected and there were also internal problems in the country that made the famous Emperor Haile Selassie think it best to have the strongest army that he could.

The contribution of foreign experts to the instruction and modernization of the Ethiopian military was considered crucial and the largest probably came from Sweden. However, there were Swiss, British, Dutch, Finnish and an array of other foreigners represented in helping the Ethiopians prepare themselves to fight the Italians. The Belgian government sent a military mission to Ethiopia in 1934 which established itself at Harar to build up two completely modern infantry battalions, in addition to squadrons of horse cavalry, camel cavalry and armored cars. In 1935 one Belgian Colonel Reul commanded the "Unofficial Belgian Mission" to Ethiopia, all modern soldiers where he reported to Emperor Haile Selassie at his headquarters at Dese. The Belgian Congo also sent many military instructors and these were highly prized since the Force Publique was the most feared military force in Africa made up of African soldiers. They helped to organize and modernize the Ethiopian army and Belgian officers even led some of these troops into battle such as Captain Cambier who was killed in one of the early battles with the Italians.

Ethiopia did not win, mostly because they simply did not have enough of the latest technology that the Italians had. However, they put up a very fierce struggle for seven months and this was possible, not because they were, like many think, a huge mob of primitive warriors, but because, thanks in part to the help of the Belgian volunteers, they became a modern, organized army that would have been a formidable enemy for any force in Africa. Also, the Free Forces of the Belgian Congo also helped in the liberation of Ethiopia from Italian rule during World War II and played an instrumental role there.

Truth Revealed of King Leopold III

Thanks to Daniel for pointing out this information of a recent book by British Lord Keyes showing the truth of how Winston Churchill (started by France) made King Leopold III the scapegoat for the British defeat at Dunkirk and how he was betrayed at the time of his return to Belgium. Listen to the interview with Lord Keyes about his book here.

Belgian Ace Remy Van Lierde

Colonel Remy Van Lierde was a great hero of the Free Belgian forces during the great World War II. He was originally from Overboelare and joined the Aviation Militaire Belge on 16 September 1935, first to train as an observer but in 1937 he began training as a combat pilot and qualified in 1938. When his training was completed he was stationed with the 3rd Squadron, 1st Aviation Regiment. When World War II came the Belgian Air Force was very much un-prepared and Remy Van Lierde, with the rank of sergeant, flew reconnaissance during the German invasion in an old, out-of-date Fairey Fox III biplane. German flak shot down his plane and wounded him on 16 May 1940 and he was taken prisoner. However, the brave air soldier did not give up and when he was recovered he escaped and made an arduous journey out of Belgium, across occupied France and into Spain, which was a neutral country but with a fascist leader (General Franco) who was sympathetic to the Axis (Mussolini and Hitler had helped him win his war against the communists in Spain). Remy was arrested for crossing the border illegally and was sent to various Spanish prisons before being sent to the notorious concentration camp at Miranda de Ebro. No cage could hold him! He escaped still again and finally on 22 July 1941 he reached the safety of England.

To make sure he was legitimate he was interviewed by the James Bond-types at MI5 and once cleared he joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. After three months of training he was assigned to the 609 Squadron in 1942 as a Pilot Officer. In the summer, flying a Spitfire Mk.Vb. he damaged a German bomber over Skegness and was promoted to Flying Officer. In 1943 while flying a Typhoon Ib he won his first victory, shooting down a Bf 109-G fighter making a raid on the south coast. In March he shot down a Ju52 transport plane while going to attack a German air base at Chièvres. His wife actually saw him do it and when the war was over she showed him bits of the wreckage she saved from their garden. Later, Remy Van Lierde became the first pilot to drop bombs from a Typhoon and he shot down a He111 bomber in May, another Bf109 in July and a Ju88 heavy fighter in October. He destroyed another German plane on the ground and won his last victory shooting down a Bf 110 bomber in November. His total score was 6 planes shot down and 1 destroyed on the ground making him one of the 14 Belgian "aces" of the war.

Promoted to Flight Lieutenant he served for a little time as a gunnery instructor and was then promoted to Squadron Leader to command the No.164 Squadron to combat the V-1 rocket offensive. During this part of his career he shot down or otherwise destroyed 44 V-1 rockets by himself and shared another 9 victories. He was the second-highest scoring destroyer of the rockets in the war. He later led his squadron in the Allied offensive on the western front and later as Belgian Liaison Officer at 2nd Tactical Air Force HQ. He was decorated with the Distinguished Flying Cross with two bars by the British and given command of the 350 RAF Squadron after the war which had all Belgian pilots and would later be transferred to the Belgian Air Force in 1946. Back in the Belgian service he was promoted to major and given command of the 1st Fighter Wing at Beauvechain Air Base. He was given a number of other top priority positions and in 1953 was given the honor of being made an aide to SM King Leopold III.

In 1958 he became one of the first Belgians to break the sound barrier while test flying a Hawker Hunter at Dunsfold Aerodrome in England. As Lt. Colonel Van Lierde he was made Deputy Chief of Staff to the Ministre of Defense in 1954. In 1959, as full Colonel, he commanded the air base at Kamina in the Belgian Congo. While there, on a helicopter trip, he discovered the mysterious Giant Congo Snake of which the head was 3-feet wide and when he hovered closer it rose up 10-feet out of the water, so he couldn't get too close to it. So, he was something of an explorer and naturalist as well. After returning to Belgium he became the Chief of Operations of the Chiefs of Staff and had several other appointments before his retirement in 1968. Colonel Remy Van Lierde, hero of World War II and flying ace died at Lessines on 8 June 1990.

Free Belgian Forces

In the great World War 2, as before the Great War, Belgium tried to remain neutral but was attacked by Germany anyway. For 18 days the Belgian armed forces struggled against the invaders until they were totally surrounded and facing certain death. On May 28, 1940 SM King Leopold III signed the document of surrender to the Germans to save what was left of his army. However, the fight did not end there.

Some soldiers were able to escape to England and they were joined by other Belgians from around the world to join the Free Belgian forces fighting alongside the Allies under the direction of the government-in-exile. They participated in the war in Europe, Africa, Asia, on the sea and in the air. One brigade of commandoes was dropped into France in 1944 and fought in the Allied invasion and eventually the liberation of Belgium. Belgian special forces fought in Madagascar, Italy, Germany, Norway and Yugoslavia. One group fought with the Americans in the "Ardennes Offensive". A casualty-clearing unit served with the British in taking Burma back from the Japanese. Two Belgian corvettes and a group of minesweepers fought with the Royal Navy in the battle of the Atlantic. A Belgian squadron was formed to fight with the RAF and flew with them throughout the war, shooting down 51 Nazi planes and it was the Belgians who led the air raid on the Gestapo headquarters in Copenhagen.
There was also, untouched by the war in Europe and the occupation of Belgium, the formidable colonial army of the Force Publique in the Belgian Congo. They had a fierce reputation amongst the militaries of Africa and they were quickly mobilized to join the Allied war effort to stop the Axis forces from taking over Africa and the near East.

The Force Publique played a crucial part in the campaign against the Italians in East Africa. Through 1940 and 1941 the Allies, including the Force Publique and Commonwealth troops of the British Empire, fought fierce Italian defenses by the Duke of Aosta. The Force Publique finally cut off the Italians and helped bring the war in East Africa to an end. After that time units of the Force Publique served in support duties in Egypt and Palestine.

In all, about 100,000 men served in the Free Belgian forces after the formal surrender of their army until the end of the war with the surrender of the Japanese.

Verbond der Dietse Nationaal-Solidaristen or Verdinaso

Since I have talked about the VNV and the Rexisme movement I have remembered that I neglected another similar political party of that period which was the Verbond der Dietse Nationaal-Solidaristen or Verdinaso. It is mostly unique as a first Dutch speaking party that became a Belgian nationalist party, different from its origin. The Verdinaso was started on 6 October 1931 in Ghent by Joris Van Severen, Jef Francois, Wies Moens and Emiel Thiers. They were inspired by the success of the fascists in Italy and, to different degrees as they went along by the National Socialists in Germany. However, they were of course unique to Belgium in ways of course and so were never nearly as menacing as these other parties but they could make frightening noises. Like most fascist-type parties they opposed the established system of parliamentary democracy. What they wanted to replace it modified over the time of the existence of the party.

At first the Verdinaso were a variety of pan-Dutch party specific to Flanders. They wanted Flemish and Dutch nationalism, not Belgian and called, like the similar parties in Nederlands, for Flanders, Nederlands and Luxembourg to come together in a Dietsland or Diets Rijk (Dutch Reich or Dutch Empire) that was much like the “Greater Netherlands” idea proposed by the Dutch Nazi party. As historical justification for this they looked back to the Duchy of Burgundy (which almost became a kingdom). Their symbol combined insignia of work and war and industry. In the early days they had some political success. In 1932 Francois and Van Severen were elected to the Chamber of Deputies. They also became more associated with the German National Socialists at that time when Victor Leemans joined the party and wrote a book defending Nazism called Het nationaal-socialisme. This was an isolated political success though since they did not participate in elections because they were totally opposed to democracy and the existing constitutional arrangement.

This opposition never changed by the still changed quite radically from their original platform. In 1934 Verdinaso dropped the pan-Dutch position and became a specifically Belgian nationalist party. This was a process over several years and also during that time, 1937, keeping in the fashion of the Brown shirts of Germany and the Black shirts of Italy the Verdinaso organized a paramilitary group of their own called DINASO Militanten Orde that wore green shirts. By 1939 they were a French and Dutch bilingual party and were advocated a corporatist society overseen directly by the King of the Belgians. They took their ideas from the corporatist model advocated at that time by many in the Catholic Church as well as the Integralism of Action Francaise which influenced Van Severen in particular. They became very opposed to liberalism and communism. They opposed the Freemasons as dangerous to society and, some trying to be like the Nazis, made anti-Semitic statements at times though they were never as extreme as the Germans. The opposition to Jews was there but it was not seen as very central or important as in Germany.

They were associated with the Vlaams Nationaal Block since 1936 and in the elections that year earned 16 deputy seats and in 1939 won 17 seats which was the most they ever received. At their height the green shirts had 3,000 members under Francois and they published two newspapers. They were devastated by the outbreak of the Second World War. Van Severen was killed in France as part of a series of executions of anyone suspected of having Nazi or communist sympathies (Hitler and Stalin were allies in the beginning) and many Belgian communists and Rexists were executed also. Francois took over leadership but the party was obviously in a confused state. Some welcomed the invasion of Nazi Germany, others opposed it and wanted King Leopold III to take control in this situation in an authoritarian system. Some of them joined the underground resistance when Belgium was occupied by the Germans, others joined the VNV and collaborated with them. No matter which side they chose the Verdinaso was finished.

The British and Leopold III

The Cross of Laeken relates an article defending the heroic actions of King Leopold III in the Second World War. I am glad to see the truth being told about King Leopold III who is very often attacked in the most despicable ways when he was probably the greatest monarch of the World War II period. This is a reason why I am sometimes troubled being nice with the British in particular but the French in some ways also. They seemed to often use Belgium and then blame Belgium. They used us to get into World War I (because I do not think it was purely to uphold the treaty of Belgian neutrality that drove the British government) and in World War II they used the Belgians as canon fodder while they were retreating from the continent and then blame the Belgians and the King of the Belgians for being forced to surrender after fighting with tough resistance for 18 days against the Germans. I know this was the government, not the people and I know there are those who are the opposite and who have been telling the truth and I am very glad for that and I also have alot of admiration for the British for the British Empire and all of their great success around the world in the past but it also does not help my opinion when it is so often British voices I hear today saying that Belgium is "not a proper country" and act gleeful at the idea of Belgium being destroyed. They also led the smear campaign against King Leopold II over the Congo which was, I will say carefully, slightly hypocritical for the largest colonial power in the world.

Is usually to cover up your own sin yes? Why else would a scape-goat be made of King Leopold III who was the most valiant leader of the war, the greatest monarch, taking responsibility for his country in the great crisis of invasion, leading his brother soldiers in the hopelss fight, doing all in his power and then accepting to join in the suffering of his people in occupation when forced to surrender so not to see his troops massacred? King Leopold III did everything the right way but he is blamed for everything. He is blamed for dropping the alliance with France and going back to neutrality. But France already had abandoned Belgium! The built their walls and left Belgium to face the Germans alone and every time Germany had made an aggressive move the French and British had looked the other way. How could anyone concerned of their people put trust in such governments? Then when their own policies lead to war and the occupation of western Europe, total defeat by the Germans, they blame King Leopold III for making peace just as they blamed his father as a "traitor" for trying to make peace in the first war. All covering up their own unspeakable actions.

King Leopold III, unlike the other national leaders, knew what war was like. He had been a real soldier in the first war, he had fought in the trenches with no special treatment or favors. He knew the misery, the suffering and the constant hovering death over you. He also knew from this how precious the national territorial integrity was and he would fight for it but he would not send men to certain death when the French and British were both giving up and running home. He did not abandon his people, he did not abandon his soldiers. He endured the war with them and he would endure the occupation with them. He was a great king, one of the greatest of modern times and all the slanders against him are being either ignorant or deceptive. He was a brave, thoughtful, noble and considerate king who would make the difficult decisions, not run away or make someone else responsible or blame others. His character was of a real King!

The VNV: The Phantom Appears

The Vlaams Nationaal Verbond (VNV) (Flemish National Alliance) was a Flemish pro-Nazi party founded in 1933 by 'den leider' Staf de Clercq as a radical version of the Frontpartij (Front Party). Their program was based on radical Flemish nationalism, uniting all Flemish parties and, originally, independence. However, their program soon dropped real independence as a meaninful goal as they embraced the vision of the "Greater Netherlands" (Dietsland) which was an advocated union of Belgian and French Flanders with the Netherlands. Although the party had support from some Flemish Catholics the Church leadership opposed it because of this vision which was anti-Belgium as (back then at least) the clergy was very much monarchist and loyal to the Catholic Royal Family and did not want Flemish Catholics put under the Protestant Dutch monarchy. Of course, in the end, the Nazi invasion would mean there was no Dutch monarchy anyway as the Netherlands became an occupied state with a Nazi government.


Most of the support for the VNV came from the middle class, lower middle class and the agricultural community, because of all of this groups had suffered the most in the economic crisis and were the most likely to fall victim to their utopian propaganda. The VNV grew the most during the 1930's because of this reason. At first they were not totally un-democratic (trusting they could win a democratic majority of the Flemish population) but later they adopted more of the styles of the Nazis and the NSB the Dutch Nazis and became more authoritarian. Staf de Clercq said that if the Germans invaded Belgium he would not collaborate with them but when the event came he immiediately collaborated. However, de Clercq was disappointed in his hope of becoming a little dictator when Hitler did not work with any civilian government but simply put Belgium under the military rule of General Alexander von Falkenhausen. Further, Hitler chose different leaders to oversee the formation of the Flemish-SS which undercut support for the VNV.

Flemish volunteers for the SS were organized into combat units and de Clercq died in 1942. His successor, Hendrik Elias, tried to deal with the Nazis to accomplish the goals of the VNV but he had no more success. The Nazis would have no "Greater Netherlands" considering the Dutch and Flemish to be their Germanic cousins who should be included in their own "Greater Germany" Third Reich. Annexation was finally ordered in 1944 but only 7 weeks later, thankfully, the Allies ended the Nazi occupation of Belgium. Elias fled to Germany, was arrested by the Allies, sent back to Belgium, sentanced to death as a traitor but then downgraded to life in prison but even then managed to convince the court to reduce his sentance and he was later released to write his autobiography. He died in 1973. What is most disturbing about the VNV (as for example compared to the Rexists) is that there are still some who support their views, even by use of violent means, to attack non-Flemish and cling to the "Greater Netherlands" vision.

1940 À la défense de la Belgique

The "Politics" Controversy of Leopold III

In 1944, after a failed covert effort to contact King Leopold III (who was being kept a virtual prisoner by the Germans) by the government-in-exile in London the King wrote his "Political Testament" which has since caused some controversy. Why did this happen? Because people since have ruled it controversial and for no other reason. It is noteworthy since so many accuse King Leopold of collaboration that he wrote the document because of the fear that the Germans would remove him from Belgium when the Allies invaded -which was true and later happened as he predicted.

Some who cannot think of criticisms for the content of the Testament criticize the "style" of it, claiming the King "sounding" authoritarian and to be "talking down" to the readers. This should be instantly dismissed unless they are claiming to have psychic powers to read the mind and attitude of the King at the time. What is criticized of the content is that he used the term "occupation" to refer to the future Allied invasion rather than the term "liberation". That sounds bad (we are told) unless one considers that it was true! This is simply a matter of correct definition. Any time a country has military forces of another country or countries on their soil it is an "occupation". Since the time of independence Belgium had a policy of neutrality and it did not matter what country carried out the occupation -it would still be an occupation even if it would work out as liberation. That is a silly argument to pick on.

Also there was the King's writing of not recognizing the agreements, actions and policies enacted by the government-in-exile during the war. Again, here we have something being made complicated and controversial that is actually very simple. The King had trouble before the war with the politicians who wanted to obstruct him so there was probably some strained feelings there. However, the government of the country was, is and always has consisted of the King and his ministers. The government-in-exile did not recognize any decisions taken by the King during the war because without his ministers he could not be the sole voice of government on his own. However, by that same logic they show the King as correct since any policies they enacted without his approval would also not be valid -by their own standards!

They also complained that the King called for the exoneration of the ministers involved in the government crisis of 1940. Once again, this should not be controversial, this is part of his duty as King which is to be the source of unity for the country and if there is to be reconciliation of all the people after the war there would have to be a willingness to put the past behind them on the part of the government and move toward the future. This was all even more absurd considering the actions, not only of the King, but of the whole Belgian government and military in regard to the Allies during and after the war. For example, the Force Publique in the Congo played a very important part in the Allied invasion of Italian East Africa in cooperation with the British and after the war there was close cooperation with the United States and other powers in the establishment of NATO. King Leopold III was writing of the legal situation and not expressing any judgment on the Allied countries. He was being held like a prisoner by the Germans and expecting to be essentially kidnapped by them when he wrote the Testament so it is absurd to think that he was being anti-Allies or pro-German in writing this document.

It should also be remembered that this was an invented controversy. The government-in-exile never published the testament, they ignored it (partly because they did not want to offend radical leftist elements that were cooperating with the exile government) and so the document really had no practical use. This was brought out and exposed later simply so that those putting it out could twist the words and the spirit in which it was written to smear the reputation of King Leopold III. However, the fog of political spin should be put aside and look at the clear, basic facts of what was actually written and when that is done anyone can see that there was nothing outrageous or controversial in the Political Testament of S.M. Leopold III.

Rexisme

Rexisme was an old political movement with a sordid past in Belgium. I regret not having more information on it, just for my own interest if no one else, but it was not very consistent, always controversial and something the older people I know do not want to talk about. It sounds like Rexisme started out as a very good idea to me but overtime it became very detached from its origins as the leadership became more and more intoxicated by the success (if you can call it that) of the NSDAP in Germany. Rexisme was a movement started by the nationalist leader, a very young man, Leon Degrelle, today one of the most infamous Nazi collaborators of Belgian history. Of course he was not in those days and had extensively traveled the world where he was particularly impressed by the failed Catholic revolution in Mexico.

The war cry of these Mexicans was VIVA CRISTO REY! That was what inspired the name for the movement Degrelle began. Rexisme advocated a very nationalist, authoritarian and very Catholic Belgium. It called for a moral rejuvenation of the country (good idea I think), rejected capitalism and democracy because of the corruption of the wealthy elite and the politicians and instead called for a corporatist government such as the Catholic Church had been supportive of. I do not know that corporatism has ever been fully tried in the modern world but it sounds like a good idea to me. Also important for is that the Rexists were supportive of the monarchy, that being one of the few things about the country’s government that they did not want to get rid of and totally change. The parliament would remain as well but in a very limited form since the corporate system would represent all interests.

Rexisme stressed that the corrupt rich people and the purchased governments were only in it for themselves and purposely created divisions between the people to distract from what they were doing and remain in power. Once again, this sounds very true to me and still probably the case today even. Originally, in the continent of Europe, the man most Rexists looked to was Benito Mussolini of Italy who was being very successful and, remember, was having kind words said about him by leaders like President Roosevelt, Winston Churchill and Mahatma Gandhi in India. In Italy the Fascist party also advocated a muddled, limited kind of corporatism (I think Mussolini tended to just use the term because he did not know what his core ideology could be called) and it had a monarchy to maintain Italian traditions and made peace with the Catholic Church by signing the Lateran Pact.

Up till this point I have to say that Rexisme would have sounded pretty good to me. However, the young Degrelle was great at being a populist leader, giving inspirational speeches, but was also easily influenced himself and it seems his big trouble started when, in European politics, the success of Mussolini was eclipsed by Adolph Hitler. After this time Rexisme began to show signs of more and more imitating the NSDAP in Germany with thug leader style and growing racism and anti-Semitism which originally had no part in the Rexist platform. Degrelle had been doing very good politically, at one point even earning more votes that any other Belgian politician ever had but the Nazi attraction would be poisonous.
The Catholic Church leadership in Belgium turned against Rexisme as being too extremist. This was a bad blow since the Rexist magazine had become the most popular Catholic periodical in Europe. The growing racism and anti-Semitism, following the German example, really put the Church off, also because of the way Catholics and Christianity in general was being treated in Germany where most Catholics voted for their own parties against the NSDAP. But, by then the leadership of the Rexist movement was largely convinced that Hitler was the man of the future and they rushed ahead regardless of the Church and by then most of the people turning against them. Despite the admiration though, Degrelle did not want Belgium made a battlefield again and support the policy of King Leopold III to try to keep the kingdom neutral in the building Second World War.

This is significant because some people since have said that King Leopold III and the Rexisme shared a common agenda. This would probably have been big news to the King who I cannot see having anything to do with them, especially after they became more radical. He probably agreed with some of their early ideas, that were good ones, like many people did, but this sounds to me like just a way of attacking the legacy of the King because of the low reputation of Rexisme after the war. I have never seen any evidence that the King sympathized with them nor have I seen really any signs that they craved his approval. I cannot imagine the King doing that, taking a side, for any political party or movement whatever.

World War II was really the end of Rexisme. The Germans occupied the country and some followed the example of Leon Degrelle who joined the German war effort to fight the hated communists on the Eastern European front. Others were horrified by the cruelty of the Germans and the pagan style and anti-Catholic attitudes of the Nazi Party officials they saw. This caused some Rexists to join the underground resistance against the Germans. Degrelle, however, fought for Hitler and proved to be a very heroic and talented soldier. He earned a heap of medals and decorations and Hitler even said to Degrelle that if he had a son he would want him to be like Degrelle, mostly I assume because he was such a great warrior. As for Degrelle, he became a hopeless Hitler sycophant for the rest of his life. All of this made Rexisme ‘guilty by association’ and killed the movement. After the war his family was persecuted and Degrelle escaped to Spain under threat of execution where he lived the rest of his life unrepentant and totally convinced that Hitler was right and everyone else was wrong. Even he seems to have abandoned the movement he started by the end of his life.

U.S. Help to Found Belgian Congo

This is an excerpt from a publication of the Belgian Information Center in New York from World War II called "The Belgian Congo at War". It was actually a crucial part of the Allied victory both from the Force Publique contribution to the war against Italian East Africa to the resources of the Congo to the Allied war effort. I was surprised pleasantly to find this section, a person does not often see such openly proud and patriotic views any more.

A few hours before his death, King Leopold II, at the last audience he gave his prime minister, said: "If you yield so much as an inch of the Congo, your old King will rise from his grave to blame you."
On the brink of death, in a palace, the garden of which sheltered immense greenhouses filled with strange African plants, the King remembered the great adventure of his life, his dreams of vast colonial possessions which had become a reality.

He was only twenty when, addressing an assembly, in 1855, he bluntly told the Belgians '"to have a broad vision of world affairs" and he suggested the creation of long maritime lines. Five years later he invited his country to lose no time "if we do not want to see all the best positions, already scarce enough, occupied by other nations more enterprising." Thereafter he waged a written campaign, either writing himself or inspiring other uT:iters, in favor of Belgian colonies, and when he became King (1865) he scanned the map of the world to find a region which had not been annexed by any country.

That very year, an American, Dr. Livingstone, was exploring Central Africa, whose vast expanses were still mysterious and where savage populations were being decimated by Arab slave-traders. After having pushed as far as Lake 'Tanganyika, Livingstone disappeared. Cordon Bennett, owner of the New York Herald, sent a reporter, the Anglo-American Henry M. Stanley, to find him. The two explorers finally met and Stanley's adventures were widely publicized in America and Europe, through the New York Herald.

The most avid reader of Stanley's reports was Leopold II. Later he read Livingstone's heartrending stories of African slavery. The King's mind was made up: he would assume the task of stamping out slavery and would, at the same time, give an African colony to Belgium. In 1876, he called an international conference in Brussels, and the "International Association for the Abolition of the Slave Trade" was formed under the King's chairmanship.

However, political difficulties soon piled up and what was now known as the "International Congo Association" had no standing in international law. Leopold II had to negotiate with France about a claim on the mouth of the Congo River, Then Portugal, with the support of England, put in a series of claims which threatened the whole Belgian undertaking. Leopold 11 acted with such diplomacy that both France and Germany refused to recognize the Portuguese claims and in the end the British government withdrew its support of the Portuguese.

Finally, the United States of America stepped in. On April 10, 1884, the American Government officially recognized the Brussels Association. Thanks to that strong moral help, all political difficulties disappeared. In quick succession, the various European countries admitted the King's peaceful conquest and on February 26, 1885, an International Conference meeting at Berlin recognized the "Congo Free State" under the sovereignty of Leopold II.

The act of Berlin "proclaimed" freedom of trade and of navigation in the Congo basin, excluded all preferential treatment, granted identical commercial and civil rights to foreigners and nationals.

The Congo became, under the King's rule, a colony open to all; nationalism and tariff walls were--and still are--excluded. The slave trade was abolished. Catholic and Protestant missionaries preached the Gospel to the blacks. Hardy pioneers enthusiastically seconded the work of the King, However, the sovereign was bitterly criticized by some people. One of his most violent detractors was Sir Roger Casement, the traitor who was hanged by the British during World War I.

In 1889, the King willed to Belgium the new African Empire but violent and unfair campaigns were launched both against Leopold's administration and the handing over of the Congo to Belgium. However, in 1908, die Belgian Parliament accepted the King's gift. Belgium now possessed a vast and rich colony.