Abbé ''Abbé'' (from Latin ''abbas'', in turn from Greek , ''abbas'', from Aramaic ''abba'', a title of honour, literally meaning "the father, my father", emphatic state of ''abh'', "father") is the French word for an abbot. It is the title for lowe ...

Norbert Wallez (19 October 1882 – 24 September 1952) was a

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

priest and journalist. He was the editor of the newspaper ''

Le Vingtième Siècle ''Le Vingtième Siècle''Sometimes abbreviated ''Le XXe Siècle''. (, ''The Twentieth Century'') was a Belgian newspaper that was published from 1895 to 1940. Its supplement ''Le Petit Vingtième'' ("''The Little Twentieth'') is known as the firs ...

'' (''The Twentieth Century''), whose youth supplement, ''

Le Petit Vingtième ''Le Petit Vingtième'' (, ''The Little Twentieth'') was the weekly youth supplement to the Belgium, Belgian newspaper ''Le Vingtième Siècle'' ("The Twentieth Century") from 1928 to 1940. The comics series ''The Adventures of Tintin'' first app ...

'', first published ''

The Adventures of Tintin ''The Adventures of Tintin'' (french: Les Aventures de Tintin ) is a series of 24 bande dessinée#Formats, ''bande dessinée'' albums created by Belgians, Belgian cartoonist Georges Remi, who wrote under the pen name Hergé. The series was one ...

''. Wallez studied at the University of Leuven. Ordained a priest in 1906, he devoted himself to teaching, interrupted when he enlisted as a volunteer during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. After the armistice, he continued his teaching career at the religious ''Bonne Espérance'' school and at the School of Commerce in

Mons Mons (; German and nl, Bergen, ; Walloon and pcd, Mont) is a city and municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the province of Hainaut, Belgium. Mons was made into a fortified city by Count Baldwin IV of Hainaut in the 12th century. T ...

. In 1924, by order of Cardinal

Désiré-Joseph Mercier Désiré Félicien François Joseph Mercier (21 November 1851 – 23 January 1926) was a Belgian cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church and a noted scholar. A Thomist scholar, he had several of his works translated into other European languages. H ...

, he assumed the leadership of the conservative Catholic newspaper ''Le Vingtième Siècle''. His ultraconservative ideology was influenced by

Charles Maurras Charles-Marie-Photius Maurras (; ; 20 April 1868 – 16 November 1952) was a French author, politician, poet, and critic. He was an organizer and principal philosopher of ''Action Française'', a political movement that is monarchist, anti-parl ...

and the nationalist

Action Française Action may refer to: * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video game Film * Action film, a genre of film * ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford * ''Action'' (1980 f ...

. He was also a great admirer of

Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...

, whom he had visited during a trip to Italy in 1923; he had a signed portrait of the dictator on his office wall. His ideal, as expressed in his book ''Bélgique et Rhénanie. Quelques directives d'une politique'' (1923), was the federation of

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 north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

and the

Rhineland The Rhineland (german: Rheinland; french: Rhénanie; nl, Rijnland; ksh, Rhingland; Latinised name: ''Rhenania'') is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly its middle section. Term Historically, the Rhinelands ...

, a region of Germany that he considered essentially Catholic, in contrast to Protestant

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...

. In 1927 the young journalist Georges Remi started working for ''Le Vingtième Siècle''. A year later, Remi became editor-in-chief of ''

''. In 1929, Remi began publishing ''

Tintin in the Land of the Soviets ''Tintin in the Land of the Soviets'' (french: link=no, Tintin au pays des Soviets) is the first volume of ''The Adventures of Tintin'', the comics series by Belgian cartoonist Hergé. Commissioned by the conservative Belgian newspaper as ant ...

'', the first of ''

'', in the eleventh issue of ''Le Petit Vingtième'', under the name Hergé. Wallez was crucial in the choice of the first three destinations of Tintin:

Soviet Russia The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...

Belgian Congo The Belgian Congo (french: Congo belge, ; nl, Belgisch-Congo) was a Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960. The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), in 1964. Colo ...

and

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. They were all motivated by

propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded ...

motifs, to ''"inform"'' young readers about the benefits of

colonialism Colonialism is a practice or policy of control by one people or power over other people or areas, often by establishing colonies and generally with the aim of economic dominance. In the process of colonisation, colonisers may impose their relig ...

and criticize

communism Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

. He also facilitated Remi's marriage in 1932 to Germaine Kieckens, who was Wallez's secretary.Assouline, P. 56 Hergé's comic series

Quick & Flupke ''The exploits of Quick and Flupke'' (french: link=no, Quick et Flupke, gamins de Bruxelles, ) was a comics series by Belgian cartoonist Hergé. Serialised weekly from January 1930 to 1940 in , the children's supplement of conservative Belgian new ...

also began in ''Le Vingtième Siècle'', in 1930. In 1933, Wallez was removed from his position as head of ''Le Vingtième Siècle'' on the orders of his superiors, and named to head the preservation of the ruins of

Aulne Abbey Aulne Abbey was a Cistercian monastery located in Wallonia between Thuin and Landelies on the Sambre in the Bishopric of Liège in Belgium, now a Walloon Heritage Site. History It was originally founded as a Benedictine monastery in 656 on the ...

. With the German invasion of Belgium in 1940, he resumed writing, and supported the

Rexist Party The Rexist Party (french: Parti Rexiste), or simply Rex, was a far-right Catholic, nationalist, authoritarian and corporatist political party active in Belgium from 1935 until 1945. The party was founded by a journalist, Léon Degrelle,

led by

Léon Degrelle Léon Joseph Marie Ignace Degrelle (; 15 June 1906 – 31 March 1994) was a Belgian Walloon politician and Nazi collaborator. He rose to prominence in Belgium in the 1930s as the leader of the Rexist Party (Rex). During the German occupatio ...

. In 1947, he was accused of Nazi collaboration, and sentenced to four years in prison and a fine of 200,000 francs. He remained jailed in

Charleroi Charleroi ( , , ; wa, Tchålerwè ) is a city and a municipality of Wallonia, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. By 1 January 2008, the total population of Charleroi was 201,593.

until 1950. After being released, dying of cancer, he was met by Remi and his wife. He died on 24 September 1952.

Notes

Bibliography

* Assouline, Pierre: ''Hergé.'' Barcelona, Destiny, 1997. . * Lionel Baland, L’Abbé Norbert Wallez. dans Synthèse nationale N°31, Paris, avril 2013.

External links

"Wallez (l'abbé Norbert)"
''Objectif Tintin. Le site interactif des amis de Tintin'' (in French).
20081-Le dans le courant reactionnaire catholicisme belge francophone, 1918–1926. Première approach
by Eric Defoort (PDF file, in French). {{DEFAULTSORT:Wallez, Norbert 20th-century Belgian Roman Catholic priests Male journalists Belgian editors Belgian magazine editors Tintin Rexist Party politicians Christian fascists Belgian fascists Belgian collaborators with Nazi Germany 1882 births 1952 deaths Belgian anti-communists Belgian propagandists Nazi propagandists 20th-century Belgian journalists Religious controversies in Belgium