Armand Albert (Bert) Eriksson (30 June 1931 – 2 October 2005) was a leading

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; ...

nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...

Biography

Born in

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

. His father was a sailor from Finland his mother was Flemish. Eriksson became a

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

at an early age and joined the

Hitler Youth The Hitler Youth (german: Hitlerjugend , often abbreviated as HJ, ) was the youth organisation of the Nazi Party in Germany. Its origins date back to 1922 and it received the name ("Hitler Youth, League of German Worker Youth") in July 1926. ...

before the end of 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 ...

. A staunch

anti-communist Anti-communism is Political movement, political and Ideology, ideological opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in the Russian Empire, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, w ...

, he went in 1950 to fight in the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

as a paratrooper. In 1968 he opened a cafe, 'Lokaal Odal', in Antwerp which became a leading centre for

neo-Nazis Neo-Nazism comprises the post–World War II militant, social, and political movements that seek to revive and reinstate Nazi ideology. Neo-Nazis employ their ideology to promote hatred and racial supremacy (often white supremacy), attack ...

after the War. He took command of the

Vlaamse Militanten Orde The Order of Flemish Militants ( nl, Vlaamse Militanten Orde or VMO) – originally the Flemish Militants Organisation (''Vlaamse Militanten Organisatie'') – was a Flanders, Flemish nationalism, nationalist activist group in Belgium defending fa ...

(VMO) in 1971 after it had been disbanded by founder Bob Maes and turned it towards a more extreme right path. After the VMO was outlawed in 1984 he started the Odal Group, which presented itself as the successor to the VMO. As VMO leader Eriksson had been brought to trial in 1981 on charges of leading a private army but, although initially found guilty, he was acquitted by the

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

court of appeal in June 1982. The VMO itself continued in defiance of the ban although Eriksson's leadership came to an end in 1985 when Jef Eggermont took over. Eriksson had come to attention in 1973 by going to

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

and digging up the remains of Belgian collaborator

Cyriel Verschaeve Cyriel Verschaeve (30 April 1874 – 8 November 1949) was a Flemish nationalist priest and writer who collaborated with the Nazis during the Second World War. He was recognised as the spiritual leader of Flemish nationalism by the ideology's adhere ...

, which he then reburied in

Alveringem Alveringem (; vls, Oalveringem) is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the towns of Alveringem proper, Beveren-aan-de-IJzer, Gijverinkhove, Hoogstade, Izenberge, Leisele, Oeren, Sint-Rijke ...

. He later claimed to have done the same with the remains of

Staf De Clercq Staf Declercq (16 September 1884 – 22 October 1942) was a Flemish nationalist collaborator, co-founder and leader of the Flemish nationalist Vlaamsch Nationaal Verbond (Flemish National League, or VNV). Biography He was born as Jeroom Gustaaf ...

and

Anton Mussert Anton may refer to: People *Anton (given name), including a list of people with the given name *Anton (surname) Places *Anton Municipality, Bulgaria **Anton, Sofia Province, a village *Antón District, Panama **Antón, a town and capital of th ...

. He also went on to be associated with the Wehrwolf-Verbond, an

anti-Semitic Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

group based in Antwerp, and addressed their rally in 1996. He died the 2nd of October,

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

Westdorpe Westdorpe is a village in the Dutch province of Zeeland. It is a part of the municipality of Terneuzen, and lies about 31 km southeast of Vlissingen. History The village was first mentioned in 1545 as Westdorp, and means "western village". ...

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

from lung disease, aged 73.

References

External links

Vlaamse Militanten Orde
1931 births 2005 deaths Politicians from Antwerp Belgian neo-Nazis 20th-century Belgian criminals Belgian people of Swedish descent Belgian anti-communists Deaths from lung cancer in the Netherlands Flemish nationalists Hitler Youth members Belgian military personnel of the Korean War {{Belgium-bio-stub