"Submissive Belgium"

Belgium apologizes for role in Nazi persecution of Jews
May 10, 2007

Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt faced frail men in dark fedoras and children in bright skullcaps yesterday and apologized for Belgian authorities’ involvement in the deportation of Jews to Nazi extermination camps during World War II.

“Only by recognizing the responsibility of the authorities at the time, can we build a future where this will never happen again,” he told a gathering of Jewish and government officials before unveiling a plaque to commemorate Belgians who saved Jews from the Holocaust.
The apology came on the day that the government-backed report “Submissive Belgium” was published. It lays bare the responsibility of high-ranking officials and municipalities in collaborating with the Nazi persecution of the Jews.

Verhoftadt said such collaboration extended to many parts of Europe.
“We have to remember that a number - a big number of official people everywhere in Europe in the public administration have collaborated, have worked together with the Nazi regime in the deportation of Jewish people,” he told The Associated Press. “We have to recognize that and say sorry. Otherwise it is impossible to go forward.”

Some 50,000 Jews lived in Belgium in the 1930s, and about half were exterminated in the Holocaust.
“Submissive Belgium” documents how an influx of Jewish refugees from Germany in the 1930s and a swerve to the right in politics created the breeding ground for anti-Semitism and right-wing extremism to take root.

After the Nazi invasion in May 1940, the Belgian government fled to Britain, but issued instructions authorizing civil servants who stayed to work with the Nazis to keep services running and prevent the economic breakdown that occurred during the German occupation in WWI. During the war, it often deteriorated into collaboration with the persecution of Jews.

The Jewish community welcomed Verhofstadt’s move.
“It’s very important for the Jewish community in Belgium to hear these apologies on behalf of the government for what happened in Belgium during the collaboration with the Nazi occupation,” said Rabbi Samuel Pinson of Uccle.

Source: Intercessors.Network@Comhem.se

UPDATED: 09:33, May 09, 2007
Belgian PM apologizes for Holocaust deportations


Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt reiterated the apology to the Jewish community on Tuesday for the deportation of Belgian Jews during the Holocaust.

Speaking at a ceremony in Brussels to mark the 62nd anniversary of the end of the Second World War, Verhofstadt said "it is impossible to go forward" without recognizing the role Belgian officials played in the murder of European Jewry.

He told local Jews that he is committed to "a future where this will never happen again."

The prime minister also said that the compensation process for the Jewish victims would be completed by the end of the year. The 5,640 requests for compensation introduced by Jewish victims for the event between 2001 and 2006 would be entirely treated by the end of the year. "The sums which will not have been refunded individually will be transmitted to the Foundation of the Judaism of Belgium," it added.

Verhofstadt made the apology on the day when a government- backed report titled "Submissive Belgium" was released. The report concluded that top Belgian officials collaborated with the Nazis during World War II.

"This report indicates that the authorities were too flexible. Worse, in several cases, they collaborated with the deportation and the continuation of the Jews of Belgium," he said.

Verhofstadt then unveiled a memorial to Belgians who worked to save Jews during the Holocaust.

Source: Xinhua