Albert Joseph Marcel Folens (15 October 1916 – 9 September 2003) was a Belgian-born publisher of educational materials. His company, Folens, is a major publisher of educational materials. He was also the author ''Aiséirí Flóndrais'' ('The Resurrection of Flanders') a book in Irish discussing the fortunes and rise of

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...

and of the

Dutch language Dutch ( ) is a West Germanic language spoken by about 25 million people as a first language and 5 million as a second language. It is the third most widely spoken Germanic language The Germanic languages are a branch of the Indo-Europea ...

vis-à-vis French in Flanders, with references to the situation of the Irish language.

Early life and education

He was born in

Bissegem Bissegem is a sub-municipality of the city of Kortrijk, Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the nor ...

Kortrijk Kortrijk ( , ; vls, Kortryk or ''Kortrik''; french: Courtrai ; la, Cortoriacum), sometimes known in English as Courtrai or Courtray ( ), is a Belgian City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Regio ...

West Flanders ) , settlement_type = Province of Belgium , image_flag = Flag of West Flanders.svg , flag_size = , image_shield = Wapen van West-Vlaanderen.svg , shield_size = , image_map ...

. His family were devout

Catholics The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

who spoke

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...

. He attended a Catholic boarding school then entered a De La Salle novitiate. He left the novitiate in 1939 before taking final vows, which led to a permanent break with his family.

Flemish nationalist involvement

One account says that he left the novitiate in protest over the order teaching Flemish children through

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

. Folens claimed that the novel

The Lion of Flanders Robert III (1249 – 17 September 1322), also called Robert of Béthune and nicknamed The Lion of Flanders (''De Leeuw van Vlaanderen''), was the Count of Nevers from 1273 and Count of Flanders from 1305 until his death. History Robert was the o ...

Hendrik Conscience Henri (Hendrik) Conscience (3 December 1812 – 10 September 1883) was a Belgian author. He is considered the pioneer of Dutch-language literature in Flanders, writing at a time when Belgium was dominated by the French language among the upper cl ...

had inspired his devotion to Flemish identity in childhood.

Allegations of Nazi Collaboration

Folens joined the Flemish Legion in 1941 which was a nationalist Flemish group of collaborators. They hoped that collaborating with the Third Reich would lead to a Flemish state. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

they were incorporated under the SS. At this point Folens and the captain of the Flemish legion refused to make an oath to Hitler, based on their previous allegiance to the King of Belgium, insisting that the legion would only fight for Flemish independence against the

Walloons Walloons (; french: Wallons ; wa, Walons) are a Gallo-Romance ethnic group living native to Wallonia and the immediate adjacent regions of France. Walloons primarily speak '' langues d'oïl'' such as Belgian French, Picard and Walloon. Walloo ...

. Before going into battle, Albert Folens returned to Belgium and worked as a translator. After the war, being named on the

CROWCASS The Central Registry of War Criminals and Security Suspects, more commonly known as CROWCASS, was an organisation set up to assist the United Nations War Crimes Commission and Allied governments in tracing ex-enemy nationals suspected of committing ...

list of suspected collaborators, he was sentenced by a Belgian court to 10 years imprisonment. He alleged that he had only worked as a translator. He escaped from jail after 30 months and made his way to Ireland with his wife Juliette.

Hidden History: Ireland's Nazis

A two-part documentary series shown on

RTÉ (RTÉ) (; Irish language, Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the Public broadcaster, national broadcaster of Republic of Ireland, Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on RTÉ Television, telev ...

revealed his alleged collaboration with the Third Reich. (The first part was broadcast on RTÉ 1 on 7 January 2007, the second on 16 January). Juliette Folens, his widow, obtained a temporary High Court

injunction An injunction is a legal and equitable remedy in the form of a special court order that compels a party to do or refrain from specific acts. ("The court of appeals ... has exclusive jurisdiction to enjoin, set aside, suspend (in whole or in pa ...

to prevent the use of a 1987 interview with her husband on an ex parte basis. The interview had been taken twenty years previous, but did not provide information that proved the accusations that he was a member of the Gestapo. Had they been published when Mr. Folens was alive, they would have been considered defamatory. Under Irish law, one cannot defame a person after their death and Mr. Folens was not alive at the time that this documentary was released. Folens family issued a press release denying that Albert Folens was ever involved with Nazi war crimes, although he was a member of the Flemish Legion.BBC.com: ''Nazis in Ireland''
Retrieved 2017-04-16

Personal life

After returning to Brussels in 1942 he met his future wife Juliette in March. They married in April 1942 and would have two daughters and a son.

Post World War II

He was captured by British forces in Germany at the end of the war and repatriated to Belgium, where he was sentenced to ten years imprisonment for collaboration. His wife was sentenced to imprisonment for two years but was released after six months. After thirty-one months imprisonment Albert escaped imprisonment under unclear circumstances.

Ireland

Folens arrived in Ireland in October 1948 on a false passport and Juliette joined him afterwards. He had his sentence reduced to the three years he had served, had his Belgian passport restored and was able to travel to Belgium. As his earlier teaching regulations were not recognised in Ireland, he obtained a H.Dip.Ed. from

University College Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland ...

in 1951.

Alan Dukes Alan Dukes (born 1945) is an Irish former Fine Gael politician who served as Minister for Transport, Energy and Communication from 1996 to 1997, Leader of the Opposition and Leader of Fine Gael from 1987 to 1990, Minister for Justice from 1986 t ...

was one of his pupils. In 1957 he and his wife began printing school notes on a hired Mimeograph. In 1960 he retired from teaching to devote himself to publishing, founding the Folens Educational Publishing Company. The company was based at Scholarstown Road, then Naas Road, then moved to

Tallaght ) , image_skyline = TallaghtDublinD24.jpg , image_caption = Tallaght, Dublin , image_flag = , flag_size = , pushpin_map = Dublin#Ireland , pushpin_label_position = left , ...

. In 1978 he began to retire. In 1984 the Folens family were held hostage by robbers who demanded a ransom. In 2001 he had a stroke and moved to the Dargle Valley Nursing Home, Enniskerry, where he died.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Folens, Albert 1916 births 2003 deaths Belgian expatriates in Ireland Belgian escapees Belgian prisoners of war in World War II Belgian Waffen-SS personnel Escapees from Belgian detention Nazi fugitives World War II prisoners of war held by the United Kingdom