Victor Matthys (20 March 1914 – 10 November 1947) 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 ...
politician who served as both deputy and acting leader of 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, . He was later executed for
collaboration with Nazi Germany.
An early member of the Rexist movement, Matthys took over the editorship of the party newspaper, ''
Le Pays Réel'', in 1936 and in May 1941 was promoted to director of
propaganda.
Philip Rees
Philip Rees (born 1941) is a British writer and librarian formerly in charge of acquisitions at the J. B. Morrell Library, University of York. He has written books on fascism and the extreme right.
Works
*''Fascism in Britain'' (Harvester Pres ...
, ''Biographical Dictionary of the Extreme Right Since 1890
The ''Biographical Dictionary of the Extreme Right Since 1890'' is a reference book by Philip Rees, on leading people in the various far right movements since 1890.
It contains entries for what the author regards as "the 500 major figures on the r ...
'', 1990, p. 330. He became official leader of Rex that same July after
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 ...
left to serve in the
Waffen SS
The (, "Armed SS") was the combat branch of the Nazi Party's ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with volunteers and conscripts from both occupied and unoccupied lands.
The grew from th ...
. He was nominated for the position as he was a weak character who posed no real threat to Degrelle's position as leader. Matthys was also popular with the
Germans
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as he had a long standing admiration for
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
.
As Rexist leader Matthys proved as weak and ineffective as Degrelle had hoped, although he also demonstrated a propensity towards violence to mask his failings.
His position eventually came under scrutiny after he ordered the
massacre of 20 people in Courcelles as a reprisal against resistance activity. The move was roundly condemned as being too heavy-handed and Matthys gave up the leadership of the Rexists in favour of Louis Collard.
He was sentenced to death for
collaborationism
Wartime collaboration is cooperation with the enemy against one's country of citizenship in wartime, and in the words of historian Gerhard Hirschfeld, "is as old as war and the occupation of foreign territory".
The term ''collaborator'' dates to ...
and executed.
[Rees, ''Biographical Dictionary of the Extreme Right'', p. 331.]
References
External links
Victor Matthys at "BelgiumWWII" (
Cegesoma
The Centre for Historical Research and Documentation on War and Contemporary Society (french: Centre d'Études et de Documentation Guerre et Sociétés contemporaines; nl, Studie- en Documentatiecentrum Oorlog en Hedendaagse Maatschappij), known b ...
)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Matthys, Victor
1914 births
1947 deaths
Belgian fascists
Executed Belgian collaborators with Nazi Germany
Belgian collaborators with Nazi Germany
Walloon politicians
Belgian propagandists
20th-century Belgian criminals
People executed by Belgium
Rexist Party politicians