, Rexism was not essentially fascist, but an authoritarian and conservative Catholic nationalist movement ..., 1973 , Rexism was fascist in form and content. ref The Rexist movement attracted support mostly ... Fascism The Case of Rexism , American Sociological Review 53 .1 February 1988 , pp. 69 80. ref Rexism soon began to ally itself with the interests of Nazi Germany and to incorporate Nazism Nazi ... groups Closely affiliated with Rexism was the 5th SS Volunteer Sturmbrigade Wallonien L gion Wallonie ... to Victor Matthys . End of Rexism With the fall of Nazi Germany in 1945, Degrelle took refuge in Spain ... id Rexisme it Rexismo he nl Rex partij ja pl Christus Rex ugrupowanie ro Rexism ru sv Rexism tr Reksizm uk ... more details
Non free historic image Non free image data Description L on Degrelle , leader of Rexism , from a WWII era propaganda postcard Source Anonymous historical photograph Portion Entire portrait Low resolution yes Non free image rationale Article L on Degrelle Purpose Illustrates subject of article Replaceability Only by similar images from the period other information Image depicts the leader of a Fascist style leader in uniform. The image has considerable historical interest, minimal commercial value, and given the period in which the subject lived and the nature of his activities, is unlikely to be replaceable by a public domain image. Non free image rationale Article Rexism Portion Portrait Purpose Portrait of the leader of the movement Replaceability Only by similar images from the period other information Image depicts the leader of a Fascist style leader in uniform. The image has considerable historical interest, minimal commercial value, and given the period in which the subject lived and the nature of his activities, is unlikely to be replaceable by a public domain image. Non free image rationale Article Fascism Portion Portrait Purpose Portrait of the leader of the Rexism movement to accompany descriptive text in the article. Replaceability Only by similar images from the period other information Image depicts the leader of a Fascist style leader in uniform. The image has considerable historical interest, minimal commercial value, and given the period in which the subject lived and the nature of his activities, is unlikely to be replaceable by a public domain image. Non free use rationale Description Photo of L on Degrelle by anon. Source unknown Article List of foreign recipients of the Knight s Cross Portion entire picture Low resolution yes Purpose It is used to illustrate the article as L on Degrelle is one of the individuals listed. The image serves as the primary means of visual identification of the person and it cannot be replaced by a free alternative. Given ... more details
Politics of Belgium General elections were held in Belgium on 2 April 1939. ref Dieter Nohlen Nohlen, D & St ver, P 2010 Elections in Europe A data handbook , p289 ISBN 9873832956097 ref The result was a victory for the Catholic Party Belgium Catholic Party , which won 73 of the 202 seats in the Belgian Chamber of Representatives Chamber of Representatives . ref Nohlen & St ver, p ref Voter turnout was 93.3 . ref Nohlen & St ver, p290 ref Results Chamber of Deputies class wikitable style text align right Party Votes Seats align left Catholic Party Belgium Catholic Party 764,843 32.7 73 12 align left Belgian Labour Party 705,969 30.2 64 6 align left Liberal Party Belgium Liberal Party 401,991 17.2 33 10 align left Flemish National Union 185,470 8.3 17 1 align left Communist Party of Belgium 125,428 5.4 9 0 align left Rexism Rexist Party 103,821 4.4 4 17 align left Other parties 50,915 1.8 2 0 align left Invalid blank votes 150,442 align left Total 2,488,879 100 202 0 align left colspan 5 Source Nohlen & St ver Senate class wikitable style text align right Party Votes Seats align left Catholic Party Belgium Catholic Party 703,250 30.7 35 1 align left Belgian Labour Party 701,552 30.6 35 4 align left Liberal Party Belgium Liberal Party 402,326 17.6 16 5 align left Flemish National Union 177,666 7.8 8 3 align left Communist Party of Belgium 115,308 5.0 3 1 align left Rexism Rexist Party 94,543 4.1 1 7 align left Catholic Flemmish People s Party 62,976 2.6 3 New align left Other parties 32,209 1.4 0 align left Invalid blank votes align left Total 2,289,830 100 101 0 References reflist Belgian elections Category 1939 elections in Europe Category Elections in Belgium Category 1939 in Belgium ca Eleccions legislatives belgues de 1939 cs Belgick v eobecn volby 1939 nl Belgische verkiezingen 1939 ... more details
Politics of Belgium General elections were held in Belgium on 24 May 1936. ref name NS Cite book title Elections in Europe A data handbook last1 Nohlen first1 Dieter authorlink Dieter Nohlen last2 St ver first2 Philip date 31 May 2010 publisher Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft page 289 isbn 9783832956097 ref The result was a victory for the Belgian Labour Party , which won 70 of the 202 seats in the Belgian Chamber of Representatives Chamber of Representatives and 39 of the 101 seats in the Belgian Senate Senate . ref Nohlen & St ver, pp308 310 ref Voter turnout was 94.7 . ref Nohlen & St ver, p290 ref Results Chamber of Deputies class wikitable style text align right Party Votes Seats align left Belgian Labour Party 758,485 32.1 70 3 align left Catholic Party Belgium Catholic Party 653,717 27.7 61 18 align left Liberal Party Belgium Liberal Party 292,970 12.4 23 1 align left Rexism Rexist Party 271,481 11.5 21 New align left Flemish National Union 166,737 7.1 16 8 align left Communist Party of Belgium 143,223 6.1 9 6 align left Catholic Dissidents rowspan 2 75,823 rowspan 2 3.2 2 2 align left Other parties 0 0 align left Invalid blank votes 167,830 align left Total 2,511,266 100 202 15 align left colspan 5 Source Nohlen & St ver Senate class wikitable style text align right Party Votes Seats align left Belgian Labour Party 769,498 33.5 39 0 align left Catholic Party Belgium Catholic Party 667,739 29.0 34 8 align left Liberal Party Belgium Liberal Party 297,280 12.9 11 0 align left Rexism Rexist Party 250,272 10.9 8 New align left Flemish National Union 160,212 7.0 5 4 align left Communist Party of Belgium 110,855 0.8 4 4 align left Christene Volkspartij 19,477 0.8 0 0 align left Other parties 24,175 1.2 0 0 align left Invalid blank votes 211,750 align left Total 2,511,258 100 101 8 align left colspan 5 Source Nohlen & St ver References reflist Belgian elections Category 1936 elections in Europe Category Elections in Belgium Category 1936 in Belgium ... more details
Pierre Daye Schaerbeek , 1892 Buenos Aires , 1960 was a Belgian Nazi collaborator and follower of Rexism , who exiled himself to Juan Peron s Argentina after World War II . Pierre Daye was in charge of foreign politics in the Nouveau Journal , a newspaper supporting the National Socialist thesis created in October 1940 by Paul Colin journalist Paul Colin and under the direction of Robert Poulet . ref http www.revue contextes.net textyles pdf 15 Schurmans 15.pdf Les d buts du Nouveau Journal sous l occupation 1940 1941 . Analyse critique du t moignage de Robert Poulet , Fabrice Schurmans, Universidade de Coimbra , Centre d tude des lettres belges CELBUC fr icon ref Daye was one of the shareholders of the Editions de la Toison d Or created during the war out of a total of 150 shares, 135 were owned by the Slovak Republic 1939 1945 Slovak group Mundus, which was responsible to the Reich Foreign Affairs Minister headed by Joachim von Ribbentrop . ref http 139.165.7.240 textyles pdf HSOccupations MichelBFincoeur.pdf Le Monde de l dition en Belgique durant la Seconde guerre mondiale l exemple de l dition de la Toison d Or , par Michel B. Fincoeur fr icon ref Daye was also a correspondent of Je suis partout , the ultra collaborationist French language review headed by Robert Brasillach . He was sentenced to death as a collaborator on December 18, 1946, by the Brussels War Council. ref name extradiciones http www.argentina rree.com portal archivos justicia01.htm Extradiciones es icon ref After the war, he fled to Argentina with the help of Charles Lescat , also collaborator of Je suis partout . ref name extradiciones There, he took part in the meeting organized by Juan Peron in the Casa Rosada during which a network colloquially called ratlines history ratlines was created, to organize the escape of collaborationists and ex Nazis former Nazis . ref name PaginaUki http www.pagina12.com.ar ... his memoirs. ref name extradiciones See also Rexism Footnotes reflist Nazis South America state collapsed ... more details
Infobox person name Jean Denis image image size alt caption birth name Jean Denis birth date birth date 1902 11 10 df y birth place Chastre Villeroux Blanmont death date unknown death place body discovered death cause resting place resting place coordinates coord LAT LONG display inline,title residence nationality Belgium Belgian ethnicity Walloons Walloon citizenship other names known for Political ideologue education alma mater employer notable works Principes Rexistes , Bases Doctrinales de Rex occupation years active home town salary networth height weight title term predecessor successor party Rexist Party opponents boards religion Roman Catholic Church Catholic spouse partner children parents relations callsign awards signature signature alt website footnotes box width misc Jean Denis 10 November 1902 ? was a Belgium Belgian politician and writer. Through his written work he was the chief ideology ideologue of the Rexist movement. A native of Chastre Villeroux Blanmont in Walloon Brabant , Denis was educated to doctorate level. ref name Rees Philip Rees , Biographical Dictionary of the Extreme Right Since 1890 , 1990, p. 89 ref He first became involved in politics with the radical Roman Catholic Church Catholic movements, serving as secretary to Monsignor Louis Picard. ref name Rees L on Degrelle had also been a member of Picard s Action Catholique de la Jeunesse Belge and it was that movement s publishing house, ditions Rex , that inspired the name of Rexism. ref Richard Griffiths, Fascism , p. 119 ref As such Denis was almost inevitably drawn to Rexism and he served as a deputy for Namur city Namur between 1936 and 1939. ref name PRees Rees, Biographical Dictionary of the Extreme Right , p. 90 ref Denis two main books were Principes Rexistes and Bases Doctrinales de Rex , both published in 1936. Within these books he argued that Rex was more of a popular movement than a political party and endorsed a policy that sought to restore dignity to Belgium through ... more details
Refimprove date June 2010 Infobox person name Jules Hiernaux image Charleroi Jules Hiernaux Biblioth que de l UT.jpg image size 150px alt caption birth name birth date birth date df yes 1881 8 29 birth place Berchem , Belgium death date circa death date and age df yes 1944 7 29 1881 8 29 death place Montigny le Tilleul , Belgium nationality BEL other names known for occupation politician Use dmy dates date September 2010 Jules Hiernaux Berchem , 29 August 1881 Montigny le Tilleul , circa 29 July 1944 , was a Belgium Belgian politician. He was the founder, and later, director of Universit du Travail E university of Labor in Charleroi. Jules Hiernaux was assassinated by members of the Rexism rexist movement at his home in during the night of 28 to 29 July 1944. He was Minister of Public Education and Grand Master of the Grand Orient of Belgium ref http www.mason.be en hie.htm Jules Hiernaux Accessed 21 August 2008. ref from 1937 until 1939. Source http www.utpp.be mainpage.asp?setpage ut historique.htm University of Labor history http books.google.com books?id bt13I7vYgF8C&pg PA254&lpg PA254&source bl&ots Wrmb6w0FfV&ei bdQKTMatNYaglAfan5CaDg&sa X&oi book result Lodge of the Double Headed Eagle two centuries of Scottish Rite Freemasonry ... by William L. Fox , refers to Hiernaux s assassination References references Persondata Metadata see Wikipedia Persondata . NAME Hiernaux, Jules ALTERNATIVE NAMES SHORT DESCRIPTION DATE OF BIRTH 29 August 1881 PLACE OF BIRTH Berchem , Belgium DATE OF DEATH 29 July 1944 PLACE OF DEATH Montigny le Tilleul , Belgium DEFAULTSORT Hiernaux, Jules Category 1881 births Category 1944 deaths Category Belgian politicians Category People from Berchem Belgium politician stub fr Jules Hiernaux nl Jules Hiernaux ... more details
Georges Delfanne , called Christian Masuy 22 January 1913, Brussels 1 October 1947 was a Belgian collaborator and spy during the German occupation in World War II . Life Prior to the war, Delfanne was a far right Rexism Rexist militant and gained the confidence of L on Degrelle later a general in the Waffen SS . ref name mallez According to Pierre Mallez, a member of the Turma Vengeance network and head spy. He was arrested on 3 October 1943 by Delfanne, and tortured by him, before being deported. See http chantran.vengeance.free.fr Doc P. 20Mallez 2026.pdf ses m moires ref In the 1930s, he got Jews out of Germany in return for money but was in the process arrested in Cologne and recruited by the German intelligence services. Arriving in France in 1940, he bought the services of the politicians Jacques Doriot and Marcel Bucard , becoming their handler. Under the occupation, he became an auxiliary of the Gestapo in France, sometimes presenting himself as head of counter espionage ref name mallez in his sector. He infiltrated or organised the infiltration of French Resistance networks, notably the Parsifal and D fense de la France networks, and arrested more than 800 Resistance workers, some of whom he interrogated and tortured, notably Simone Michel L vy . ref http www.ordredelaliberation.fr fr compagnon 678.html Ordre de la Lib ration Bot generated title ref At the end of the war, he fled to Spain but was tracked down by the Americans, tried in France, condemned to death and shot by firing squad on 1 October 1947 at Fort de Montrouge Hauts de Seine . References references Persondata Metadata see Wikipedia Persondata . NAME Delfanne, Georges ALTERNATIVE NAMES SHORT DESCRIPTION DATE OF BIRTH 22 January 1913 PLACE OF BIRTH DATE OF DEATH 1 October 1947 PLACE OF DEATH DEFAULTSORT Delfanne, Georges Category 1913 births Category 1947 deaths Category People from Brussels Category Belgian Nazi collaborators Category French Nazi collaborators fr Georges Delfanne no Georges De ... more details
Lucien Alphonse Joseph Streel commonly known as Jos Streel 1911 in Seraing 1946 in Saint Gilles, Belgium Sint Gillis was a Belgium Belgian journalist and supporter of Rexism . Background and political activities From a Roman Catholic Church Catholic background, Streel became an associate of L on Degrelle after meeting him in 1930. His 1932 work, Les Jeunes Gens et la Politique , underlined his distaste for the modern world and soon Streel had been appointed editor in chief of all the Rexist publications. He had reservations about Nazism due to his strong Catholic faith, although he was ultimately reconciled to collaboration . Differences with Degrelle A strong advocate of Belgian independence, he called for joint action between the Rexists and the Flemish National Union but when Degrelle rejected this policy he resigned from Rex in 1943. Exile and death He eventually fled to Germany in 1944, although he took no political role here and instead worked in a factory. He returned to Belgium after the war and surrendered to the authorities. Having already been sentenced to death in absentia he was killed by a firing squad on 21 February 1946. Bibliography Philip Rees , Biographical Dictionary of the Extreme Right Since 1890 Books of Jos Streel Streel Jos , La r volution du XX me si cle new edition of the book which was published in 1942 by the la NSE in Bruxelles , preface of Lionel Baland, D terna, Paris, 2010. Persondata Metadata see Wikipedia Persondata NAME Streel, Jose ALTERNATIVE NAMES Streel, Lucien Alphonse Joseph SHORT DESCRIPTION journalist, Rexist DATE OF BIRTH 1911 PLACE OF BIRTH Seraing DATE OF DEATH 1946 PLACE OF DEATH Saint Gilles, Belgium dmy date January 2011 DEFAULTSORT Streel, Jose Category 1911 births Category 1946 deaths Category People from Li ge province Category Belgian journalists Category Belgian Roman Catholics Category Belgian fascists Category People sentenced to death in absentia Category People executed by firing squad Category Executed Be ... more details
Unreferenced date December 2009 Use dmy dates date September 2010 Infobox Officeholder name Paul van Zeeland office Prime Minister of Belgium monarch Leopold III of Belgium Leopold III term start 25 March 1935 term end 23 November 1937 predecessor Georges Theunis successor Paul Emile Janson birth date birth date 1893 11 11 df y birth place Soignies , Belgium death date death date and age 1973 9 22 1893 11 11 df y death place party Catholic Party Belgium Catholic Party Paul Guillaume van Zeeland 11 November 1893 &ndash 22 September 1973 was a Belgium Belgian lawyer, economist, Catholic politician and statesman born in Soignies . Van Zeeland was a professor of law and later director of the Institute of Economic Science at the Universite Catholique de Louvain Leuven , and vice governor of the National Bank of Belgium . In March 1935, he became the List of Prime Ministers of Belgium Prime Minister of a government of national unity a coalition comprising the three major parties Catholic Party Belgium Catholics , Liberal Party Belgium Liberals and Belgian Labour Party Socialists . Given decree powers, he was able to abate the economic crisis the country was going through, by devaluing the currency and resorting to expansive bugdetary policies. Van Zeeland s government resigned in the spring of 1936 due to the agitation of Rexism a Belgian fascist party , but he was able to start a new term June 1936 November 1937 . After proclaiming martial law, the government was able to suppress the Rexists. The second Van Zeeland government carried through a progressive social reform programme, introducing the 40 h working week and measures against unemployment, which helped to ease the political tensions. Also during his second term, Belgium gave up its military alliance with France and reverted to its traditional neutrality policy, now dubbed policy of independence . In 1939, Van Zeeland became president of the Committee on Refugees, established in London, and was made High Commissio ... more details
Infobox person name Victor Matthys image image size alt caption birth name Victor Matthys birth date birth date 1914 3 20 df y birth place death date death date and age 1947 11 10 1914 3 20 df y death place body discovered death cause Executed resting place resting place coordinates coord LAT LONG display inline,title residence nationality Belgium Belgian ethnicity Walloons Walloon citizenship other names known for Politician, propagandist education alma mater employer notable works occupation years active home town salary networth height weight title Acting leader of the Rexist Party term predecessor L on Degrelle successor Louis Collard party opponents boards religion spouse partner children parents relations callsign awards signature signature alt website footnotes box width misc Victor Matthys 20 March 1914 10 November 1947 was a Belgium Belgian politician who served as both deputy and acting leader of Rexism . He was later executed for Collaboration with the Axis Powers during World War II collaboration with Nazi Germany . An early member of the Rexist movement, Matthys took over the editorship of the movement s journal, Le Pays R el , in 1936 and in May 1941 was promoted to director of propaganda . ref name Rees1 Philip Rees , Biographical Dictionary of the Extreme Right Since 1890 , 1990, p. 330. ref He became official leader of Rex that same July after L on Degrelle left to serve in the Waffen SS . ref R. J. B. Bosworth, The Oxford Handbook of Fascism , Oxford University Press, 2009, p. 485. ref He was nominated for the position as he was a weak character who posed no real threat to Degrelle s position as leader. ref David Littlejohn, The Patriotic Traitors , London Heinemann, 1972, p. 168. ref Matthys was also popular with the Germany Germans as he had a long standing admiration for Adolf Hitler . ref name Rees1 As Rexist leader Matthys proved as weak and ineffective as Degrelle had hoped, although he also demonstrated a propensity towards violence to mask ... more details
Jean Pierre Maxence 20 August 1906 16 May 1956 was a France French writer who was one of the so called Non conformists of the 1930s . Maxence was a leading figure within the so called Jeune Droite tendency and was associated with other Roman Catholic Church Catholic writers such as Jean de Fabr gues and Ren Vincent . ref Paul Mazgaj, Imagining Fascism The Cultural Politics of the French Young Right, 1930 1945 , University of Delaware Press, 2007, p. 13 ref Born in Paris as Pierre Godm he adopted his name after a character in Ernest Psichari s book Le Voyage du centurion . ref name Rees1 Philip Rees , Biographical Dictionary of the Extreme Right Since 1890 , 1990, p. 259 ref He was close to the Action fran aise without ever actually joining the group and also wrote for the neo Thomist La Gazette Francais . ref name Rees1 He did not come to prominence until the 1930s when he wrote on myriad topics for the various reviews produced by the non conformists. ref name Rees2 Rees, Biographical Dictionary of the Extreme Right , p. 260 ref He was at this time a member of Solidarit Fran aise , albeit a fairly inactive one. ref name Rees2 He was critical of the far right group of writers based around the newspaper Je suis partout and had a personal hatred of Germany , although he was equally disdainful of L on Blum . ref name Rees2 A devout Roman Catholic , his own writings revealed an empathy towards a fascism rooted firmly in Catholicism, effectively a French version of Rexism . ref name Rees2 He felt that democracy in France was having a stagnating effect in contrast to what he perceived as the dynaims of Europe s dictatorships and accused the French government of seeking to transform France into an insurance company instead of embracing the adventurist spirit of fascism. ref Tony Judt, Past Imperfect French Intellectuals, 1944 1956 , University of California Press, 1994, p. 17 ref From 1933 up to the war his main polemical outlet was his regular column, ostensibly about l ... more details
multiple issues lead missing October 2011 wikify October 2011 refimprove October 2011 copyedit October 2011 orphan November 2011 Rexist Movement In the Depression era 1936 Belgian legislative election, the Rexism Rexists garnered over 30 per cent of the popular vote in the French speaking province of Luxembourg, compared to 9 per cent in equally French speaking Hainaut. Then the rexist ideology was near to nazism and with the help of Nazi Germany rise to the power. German Occupation Rexists supported Nazi Germany at Battle of Belgium and with his help, rise to the power, under German occupation. Some rexist of the puppet government joined at the resistance. The Germans sent out patrols of men with dogs and motorcycles to search for any Allied airman who was shot down. The resistance groups were quick to beat the Germans to the downed flyers. Parachutes needed to be immediately buried and pilots were hidden from the Germans. The Comet Line had a series of safe houses throughout Belgium. Allied airmen were given civilian clothes and frequently moved from house to house, staying with Belgian families who supported the resistance. ref cite web url http home.clara.net clinchy neeb2.htm title Com te Line work Escape Line Research and Remembrance author John Clinch year 2004 accessdate 16 October 2010 ref The resistance would aid the airmen by giving them false papers and guiding them to either neutral or Allied occupied territory. German soldiers would fail to recognize that some of the men passing through their checkpoints were actually allied pilots who were being transported out of Belgium. One incident was captured on film where a German soldier was shown lighting the cigarette of an American Navigator who was disguised as a Belgian civilian. Though many airmen were able to escape successfully, many others were caught by the Germans, sometimes after months of successful evasion. Captured airmen were interrogated by the Gestapo before being imprisoned in Belgium or tra ... more details
, Bruxelles, 1965, pp. Annexe III, pp. 85 86. ref Rexism had a Flanders Flemish ideological competitor ... language . In 1936, Degrelle met Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler , both of them providing Rexism ... Occupation began. Degrelle returned to Belgium and proclaimed reconstructed Rexism to be in close union ... more details
Je suis partout IPA fr s i pa tu , I m Everywhere was a France French newspaper founded by Jean Fayard , first published on 29 November 1930. It was placed under the direction of Pierre Gaxotte until 1939. Journalists of the paper included Lucien Rebatet , Alain Laubreaux , the illustrator Ralph Soupault , and the Belgium Belgian correspondent Pierre Daye . Interwar In its very beginning, Je suis partout was centered on covering international topics, without displaying extremism, antisemitism , or even a consistently right wing approach. However, the group of editors was heavily influenced by the ideas of Charles Maurras and the Integralism integralist Action Fran aise , and the ideology quickly spilled into the editorial content, as the more moderate journalists quit in protest. The paper became a staple of anti Parliamentary system parliamentarianism , nationalism , and criticism of decadent French Third Republic Third Republic institutions and culture, becoming close to Fascism fascist movements of the era, French and foreign alike. It clearly supported Benito Mussolini as of October 1932, when Italy Italian politics were awarded a special issue. Je suis partout was favorable to the Spain Spanish Falange , the Romania n Iron Guard , the Belgian L on Degrelle s Rexism , as well as to Oswald Mosley and his tiny British Union of Fascists . From 1936, it also opened to Nazism and Adolf Hitler . Despite its international connections, Je suis partout did not recommend copying over local origin in establishing a Fascist r gime We will regard foreign fascism only through French fascism, the only real fascism 14 April 1939 . Thus, it held Jacques Doriot in esteem for his attempts to unite the French far right into a single Front. The antisemitic rhetoric of the paper exploded after the Stavisky Affair and the attempted coup d tat introduced by the far right rally in front of the Palais Bourbon on 6 February 1934 see 6 February 1934 crisis . It turned vitriolic after t ... more details
Infobox person name Paul Hoornaert image image size alt caption birth name birth date 1888 birth place death date death date df yes 1944 2 2 death place nationality BEL other names known for occupation activist, lawyer Use dmy dates date September 2010 Paul Hoornaert 1888 &ndash 2 February 1944 was a Belgium Belgian far right political activist. Although a pioneer of fascism in the country he was an opponent of Nazism and died in a Nazi concentration camp. A lawyer by profession and native of Li ge city Li ge , ref cite book title The European Right publisher University of California Press author Hans Rogger & Eugen Weber editors year 1965 location p. 149 ref Hoornaert was a veteran of the First World War where his combat record was highly distinguished. ref name David Littlejohn 1972, p. 142 David Littlejohn, The Patriotic Traitors , London Heinemann , 1972, p. 142 ref A strong admirer of Benito Mussolini , but equally demonstrating a staunch hatred of Germany , Hoornaert was a member of the far right veterans group National Legion , known by both its French language French name of the L gion Nationale and its Dutch language Dutch name of the Nationaal Legioen , which was set up in 1922. ref name R.J.B. Bosworth, 2009, p. 472 R.J.B. Bosworth, The Oxford Handbook of Fascism , Oxford University Press, 2009, p. 472 ref Initially a minor group it grew rapidly from 1927 when Hoornaert became leader and converted it into a paramilitary militia. ref Giovanni Capoccia, Defending Democracy , 2005, p. 281 ref The militia, which staunchly opposed Rexism despite sharing some aims, was strongly opposed to political party activity and for this reason Hoornaert broke from his sometime supporter, the writer Pierre Nothomb when he returned to the Catholic Party Belgium Catholic Party . ref name R.J.B. Bosworth, 2009, p. 472 His opponent Leon Degrelle suggested that Hoornaert never had more than 300 followers ref name David Littlejohn 1972, p. 142 although more recent estimates have ... more details
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