Robert van Genechten (25 October 1895 – 13 December 1945) 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 ...

-born

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

politician and writer and a leading collaborator during the

German occupation of the Netherlands Despite Dutch neutrality, Nazi Germany invaded the Netherlands on 10 May 1940 as part of Fall Gelb (Case Yellow). On 15 May 1940, one day after the bombing of Rotterdam, the Dutch forces surrendered. The Dutch government and the royal family re ...

Early years

Van Genechten was born in Antwerp and studied

jurisprudence Jurisprudence, or legal theory, is the theoretical study of the propriety of law. Scholars of jurisprudence seek to explain the nature of law in its most general form and they also seek to achieve a deeper understanding of legal reasoning a ...

at the

University of Ghent Ghent University ( nl, Universiteit Gent, abbreviated as UGent) is a public research university located in Ghent, Belgium. Established before the state of Belgium itself, the university was founded by the Dutch King William I in 1817, when the ...

. Rees 1991, p. 146. After the Imperial German forces invaded Belgium in the

Great 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 ...

, Van Genechten wasted no time in collaborating with the occupying German forces. After the armistice and end of the war, he fled to the Netherlands, receiving an eight-year prison sentence in absentia. In the Netherlands, he made a living as a lawyer and a teacher at

Utrecht University Utrecht University (UU; nl, Universiteit Utrecht, formerly ''Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht'') is a public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established , it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2018, it had an enrollme ...

, taking Dutch citizenship on 14 June 1930.

Return

When the statute of limitations ran out on Genechten's Belgium conviction he returned to his native country, but he later returned to the Netherlands to enter politics. Joining the

National Socialist Movement in the Netherlands The National Socialist Movement in the Netherlands ( nl, Nationaal-Socialistische Beweging in Nederland, ; NSB) was a Dutch fascist and later Nazi political party that called itself a " movement". As a parliamentary party participating in legisl ...

in 1934, he quickly rose through the party ranks, at one time acting as spokesman on education, and from 1938, editor-in-chief of ''Nieuw Nederland''. As a regular writer on the rightwing paper, he expounded at length on his hatred of

rationalism In philosophy, rationalism is the epistemological view that "regards reason as the chief source and test of knowledge" or "any view appealing to reason as a source of knowledge or justification".Lacey, A.R. (1996), ''A Dictionary of Philosophy ...

and

humanism Humanism is a philosophy, philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and Agency (philosophy), agency of Human, human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical in ...

. In 1937, he wrote a series of articles, ''Van den vos Reynaerde'', which was a re-interpretation of the

Reynard cycle Reynard the Fox is a literary cycle of medieval allegorical Dutch, English, French and German fables. The first extant versions of the cycle date from the second half of the 12th century. The genre was popular throughout the Late Middle Ages, as ...

attacking Jews. The articles went on to become a book in 1941, and an animated cartoon in 1943. Given his pro-

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 ...

stance, he was interned by the Dutch government in Hoorn prison during the 1940 invasion.

Under the Nazis

His fortunes changed once the Nazis took control, and he was released from jail to take a role as the appointed Solicitor-General to the Court of Justice in

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...

, where he presided over "peace courts" introduced by

Arthur Seyss-Inquart Arthur Seyss-Inquart (German: Seyß-Inquart, ; 22 July 1892 16 October 1946) was an Austrian Nazi politician who served as Chancellor of Austria in 1938 for two days before the ''Anschluss''. His positions in Nazi Germany included "deputy govern ...

. For a time he was also Minister for Education, Arts, and Science in

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 ...

's proposed cabinet, but he never took power as the Germans refused to devolve power to the NSB and thus the cabinet never took office. Littlejohn 1972, p. 117. As the occupation of the Netherlands wore on, he fell out of favor with the Germans, and in February 1943 was given the new role of Commissioner for South Holland, a demotion. Reacting badly to his reduced role, he attempted suicide, an act that saw him removed from all positions because of his perceived unstable nature.

Arrest and suicide

After the liberation of the Netherlands by

Canadian forces } The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; french: Forces armées canadiennes, ''FAC'') are the unified military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air elements referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Air Forc ...

, he was arrested and sentenced to death by the Special Court. He committed suicide by hanging himself in his prison cell before the sentence could be carried out. Littlejohn 1972, p. 350.

Bibliography

;Notes ;References * - Total pages: 400 * - Total pages: 422

External links