Reimond Tollenaere (June 29, 1909 – January 22, 1942) was a member of the

Vlaamsch Nationaal Verbond The (, "Flemish National Union" or "Flemish National League"), widely known by its acronym VNV, was a Flemish nationalist political party active in Belgium between 1933 and 1945.

(VNV), a right-wing Flemish nationalist party in

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

. He was an active collaborator with

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Tollenaere became active in the Flemish nationalist movement during his law studies at the

University of Ghent Ghent University (, abbreviated as UGent) is a Public university, public research university located in Ghent, in the East Flanders province of Belgium. Located in Flanders, Ghent University is the second largest Belgian university, consisting o ...

. He was appointed as propaganda leader of the VNV and, in 1936, became a VNV member of parliament. During the German invasion of Belgium in May 1940 he was arrested by the Belgian authorities as a potential subversive and spent some time in prison in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. After being freed following the French defeat, he resumed his political activities in Flanders. Tollenaere was active in encouraging recruitment for the

Flemish Legion The Flemish Legion (, ) was a collaborationist military formation recruited among Dutch-speaking volunteers from German-occupied Belgium, notably from Flanders, during World War II. It was formed in the aftermath of the German invasion of th ...

attached to the

Waffen-SS The (; ) was the military branch, combat branch of the Nazi Party's paramilitary ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts, volunteers and conscr ...

following the

German invasion of the Soviet Union Operation Barbarossa was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and several of its European Axis allies starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during World War II. More than 3.8 million Axis troops invaded the western Soviet Union along a ...

in June 1941 and later enlisted himself. He was killed by

friendly fire In military terminology, friendly fire or fratricide is an attack by belligerent or neutral forces on friendly troops while attempting to attack enemy or hostile targets. Examples include misidentifying the target as hostile, cross-fire while ...

from the Spanish Blue Division in January 1942 at Kopsy near

Leningrad Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

in the region of

Veliky Novgorod Veliky Novgorod ( ; , ; ), also known simply as Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the oldest cities in Russia, being first mentioned in the 9th century. The city lies along the ...

. After his death, he was "cannonized" by the VNV as a political martyr.

References

Bibliography

* ''Biographical Dictionary of the Extreme Right Since 1890'' edited by Philip Rees, 1991, * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tollenaere, Reimond 1909 births 1942 deaths Belgian fascists SS-Untersturmführer Politicians from Ghent Flemish politicians Belgian Waffen-SS personnel Military personnel killed by friendly fire Waffen-SS personnel killed in action Friendly fire incidents of World War II Belgian Fascist propagandists Belgian Nazi propagandists Prisoners and detainees of Belgium Foreign nationals imprisoned in France