Former Belgian resistance fighters denounced today the forthcoming naming of Belgian Catholic Senator Victor Leemans as president of the European Parliament, citing the Senator’s active Nazi past.
Jean Duieusart has resigned the post. European Parliamentary rules require that the vacancy be filled by a member of the Belgian delegation to the Parliament, and Sen. Leemans is expected to receive the position.
Since 1930, informed sources reported, Sen. Leemans has been known as a warm propagandist of Nazism. During World War II, Nazi occupation authorities named him secretary-general of the Belgian Ministry of Economy. In that post, he provided important help to the German war effort.
The Belgian section of the European Union of Resistance called a press conference to protest strongly against the prospect of Sen. Leeman’s appointment, and appealed “to the members of Parliament faithful to the resistance spirit to checkmate such an indecent candidature.”
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
