Victor Matthys
Victor Matthys | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Victor Matthys 20 March 1914 |
| Died | 10 November 1947 (aged 33) |
| Cause of death | Execution by firing squad |
| Nationality | Belgian |
| Known for | Politician, propagandist |
| Title | Acting leader of the Rexist Party |
| Predecessor | Léon Degrelle |
| Successor | Louis Collard |
Victor Matthys (20 March 1914 – 10 November 1947) was a Belgian politician who served as both deputy and acting leader of the Rexist Party. 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, Waffen SS.[2] He was nominated for the position as he was a weak character who posed no real threat to Degrelle's position as leader.[3] Matthys was also popular with the Germans as he had a long standing admiration for Adolf Hitler.[1]
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.collaborationism and executed.[4]
References
- ^ a b c d Philip Rees, Biographical Dictionary of the Extreme Right Since 1890, 1990, p. 330.
- ^ R. J. B. Bosworth, The Oxford Handbook of Fascism, Oxford University Press, 2009, p. 485.
- ^ David Littlejohn, The Patriotic Traitors, London: Heinemann, 1972, p. 168.
- ^ Rees, Biographical Dictionary of the Extreme Right, p. 331.
External links
- Victor Matthys Archived 2019-05-17 at the Cegesoma)