LEON DEGRELLE – A GOOD EUROPEAN
by Constantin von Hoffmeister
In the middle of World War II, Leon Degrelle, born in 1906 in the small Belgian town of Bouillon, joined 600,000 other non-German volunteers to participate in the battles on the Eastern Front. After enduring severe hardships and having been wounded several times, Degrelle became the commander of a Waffen-SS division, the "Legion Wallonie." In 1941 Hitler approved of national divisions to be raised as antibolshevist units participating in the struggle against Communism in each country of Western Europe, as well as among the populations of the Axis countries, such as Croatia, Spain and Italy. Despite the past efforts of Napoleon, the Waffen-SS represented the first true pan-European army to ever exist. The monumental struggle of this army is described in Degrelle's famous epic "Campaign in Russia," which earned him fame in Europe to such an extent that he has been labeled the "Homer of the Twentieth Century."
Degrelle himself said about the Waffen-SS:
If the Waffen-SS had not existed, Europe would have been overrun entirely by the Soviets by 1944. They would have reached Paris long before the Americans. […] Without SS resistance the Soviets would have been in Normandy before General Dwight David Eisenhower. The people showed deep gratitude to the young men who sacrificed their lives. Not since the great religious orders of the Middle Ages had there been such selfless idealism and heroism. In this century of materialism, the SS stand out as a shining light of spirituality. I have no doubt whatever that the sacrifices and incredible feats of the Waffen-SS will have their own epic poets like Schiller. Greatness in adversity is the distinction of the SS.
Degrelle did not know
at the time that he himself would become the epic chronicler of the incredible feats of the Waffen-SS.
Degrelle was already 35 years old when he joined the Wehrmacht along with other Walloon volunteers. After his contingent had been involved in numerous battles with considerable success, Reichsfuehrer-SS Heinrich Himmler was persuaded to incorporate the Walloons into the Waffen-SS. In 1944 Degrelle was highly decorated (including the Oak Leaves to the Knights Cross).
Degrelle was a friend and close associate of Adolf Hitler and a propaganda image among National Socialists for promoting their cause among foreigners. He became the most famous foreign volunteer in the entire German army, working his way up through the ranks from private to general.
Degrelle was able to get to know the most striking personalities of the Twentieth Century: Mussolini invited Degrelle to Rome, Churchill saw him in London and Hitler received him in Berlin. He was also a great visionary himself. At the end of World War One he already had the strong desire to win over his people and shape their destiny. Less than thirty years old, Degrelle was already deeply entrenched in the great struggle that would eventually shape the fate of Europe.
In 1918 Degrelle became the leader of the Rexists (after Christus Rex), a political party closely associated with Fascism and National Socialism, but essentially a movement of Christian renewal. After all, Degrelle was a devout Catholic. The Rexist reforms were aimed at creating social justice – the pillar of peace in a nation -, and strength within a system of collectivism. The argument was that an individual should always strive to work for the benefit of the whole. Rexism understood itself as being democratic and authoritarian with a strong social and moral character.
Degrelle realized that the outbreak of World War II could only lead to a socio-political renewal of Europe, especially since the struggle was directed against the inhumane system of Communism. It would become a battle of good versus evil, freedom versus oriental despotism.
After the collapse of National Socialist Germany, Degrelle fled to Norway where he boarded a plane with which he flew over Allied-occupied Europe, only to crash land in Spain. After the war, the Belgian government condemned Degrelle to death in absentia on charges of treason. The Spanish government under General Francisco Franco refused to extradite him. Leon Degrelle died in Malaga, Spain on April 1, 1994 at the age of 87.
"We are the true democrats ... Rex is the realm of total souls, which do not bargain, which march straight ahead, certain of the road. This is the true Rexist miracle; this faith, this unspoiled, burning confidence, this complete lack of selfishness and individualism, this tension of the whole being towards the service -- however ungrateful, no matter where, no matter how -- of a cause which transcends the individual, demanding all, promising nothing." – Leon Degrelle
