René Lagrou
René Lagrou | |
---|---|
Born | Flemish National Union | 15 April 1904
René Lagrou (15 April 1904 – 1 April 1969) was a Belgian politician and collaborator with Nazi Germany.
Pre-occupation
Lagrou was born in
German occupation, and capture
Following the
Lagrou saw action with the
In exile, ratlines, and death
In May 1946 his was one of three names on a 'black list' sent by the government of Belgium to Spain where he was in hiding, along with Léon Degrelle and Pierre Daye.[5] Soon after he was condemned to death in absentia by the war crimes tribunal in Antwerp. With the possibility of extradition from Spain looming, Lagrou arrived in Argentina in July 1947 and adopted the false name Reinaldo van Groede.[4] Here he became a leading figure in the ratlines sponsored by Juan Perón to rescue Nazis from prosecution in Europe.[6] Given wide powers within the immigration service in Argentina, Lagrou drew up ambitious plans to move as many as 2 million people from Belgium, all either Nazi collaborators or their families.[6] He was also a member of the Rodolfo Freude-led División de Informaciones and in this capacity initiated the cases for resettlement for a number of Nazis.[7]
Lagrou died from cancer in Barcelona, Spain on 1 April 1969.[4]
References
- ^ Dan Mikhman, Belgium and the Holocaust: Jews, Belgians, Germans, Berghahn Books, 1998, p. 176
- ^ a b c David Littlejohn, The Patriotic Traitors, London: Heinemann, 1972, p. 155
- ^ Mikhman, Belgium and the Holocaust, p. 172
- ^ a b c Uki Goñi, The Real ODESSA, London: Granta Books, 2003, p. 112
- ^ Goñi, The Real ODESSA, p. 89
- ^ a b Goñi, The Real ODESSA, p. 113
- ^ Goñi, The Real ODESSA, p. 175