Robert van Genechten (25 October 1895 – 13 December 1945) was a Belgian-born

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

politician, writer, Nazi sympathizer, and a leading collaborator during the

German occupation of the Netherlands Despite Dutch neutrality, Nazi Germany German invasion of the Netherlands, invaded the Netherlands on 10 May 1940 as part of ''Fall Gelb'' (Case Yellow). On 15 May 1940, one day after the Rotterdam Blitz, bombing of Rotterdam, the Dutch forces ...

Early years

Van Genechten was born in

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

and studied

jurisprudence Jurisprudence, also known as theory of law or philosophy of law, is the examination in a general perspective of what law is and what it ought to be. It investigates issues such as the definition of law; legal validity; legal norms and values ...

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 ...

. Rees 1991, p. 146. After the

Imperial German (, literally translated ) is an archaic term for those ethnic Germans who resided within the German state that was founded in 1871. In contemporary usage, it referred to German citizens, the word signifying people from the German ', i.e., Imp ...

forces invaded Belgium in the

Great War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Van Genechten wasted no time in collaborating with the occupying German forces. After the armistice and end of the war, he fled to the Netherlands, receiving an eight-year prison sentence in absentia. In the Netherlands, he made a living as a lawyer and a teacher at

Utrecht University Utrecht University (UU; , formerly ''Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht'') is a public university, public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established , it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2023, it had an enrollment of ...

, taking Dutch citizenship on 14 June 1930.

Return

When the statute of limitations ran out on Genechten's Belgium conviction he returned to his native country, but he later returned to the Netherlands to enter politics. Joining the

National Socialist Movement in the Netherlands The National Socialist Movement in the Netherlands (, ; NSB) was a Dutch fascist and later Nazi political organisation that eventually became a political party. As a parliamentary party participating in legislative elections, the NSB had some suc ...

in 1934, he quickly rose through the party ranks, at one time acting as spokesman on education, and from 1938, editor-in-chief of ''Nieuw Nederland''. As a regular writer on the rightwing paper, he expounded at length on his hatred of

rationalism In philosophy, rationalism is the Epistemology, epistemological view that "regards reason as the chief source and test of knowledge" or "the position that reason has precedence over other ways of acquiring knowledge", often in contrast to ot ...

and

humanism Humanism is a philosophy, philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential, and Agency (philosophy), agency of human beings, whom it considers the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The me ...

. In 1937, he wrote a series of Nazi propaganda articles, ''Van den vos Reynaerde'', which was a re-interpretation of the

Reynard cycle Reynard the Fox is a literary cycle of medieval allegorical Dutch, English, French and German fables. The first extant versions of the cycle date from the second half of the 12th century. The genre was popular throughout the Late Middle Ages, ...

attacking Jews. The articles went on to become a book in 1941, and an

animated cartoon Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby still images are manipulated to create moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Animati ...

in 1943. Given his pro-

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

stance, he was interned by the Dutch government in

Hoorn Hoorn () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the northwest of the Netherlands, in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Holland. It is the largest town an ...

prison during the 1940 invasion.

Under the Nazis

His fortunes changed once the Nazis took control, and he was released from jail to take a role as the appointed Solicitor-General to the Court of Justice in

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

, where he presided over "peace courts" introduced by

Arthur Seyss-Inquart Arthur Seyss-Inquart (; ; 22 July 1892 16 October 1946) was an Austrian Nazi politician who served as Chancellor of Austria in 1938 for two days before the ''Anschluss''. His positions in Nazi Germany included deputy governor to Hans Frank in t ...

. For a time he was also Minister for Education, Arts, and Science in

Anton Mussert Anton Adriaan Mussert (; 11 May 1894 – 7 May 1946) was a Dutch politician who co-founded the National Socialist Movement in the Netherlands (NSB) in 1931 and served as its leader until the party was banned in 1945. As such, he was the most pro ...

's proposed cabinet, but he never took power as the Germans refused to devolve power to the NSB and thus the cabinet never took office. Littlejohn 1972, p. 117. As the occupation of the Netherlands wore on, he fell out of favor with the Germans, and in February 1943 was given the new role of Commissioner for

South Holland South Holland ( ) is a province of the Netherlands with a population of over 3.8 million as of January 2023 and a population density of about , making it the country's most populous province and one of the world's most densely populated areas. ...

, a demotion. Reacting badly to his reduced role, he attempted suicide, an act that saw him removed from all positions because of his perceived unstable nature.

Arrest and suicide

After the liberation of the Netherlands by

Canadian forces The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; , FAC) are the unified Military, military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air commands referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army and the Royal Canadian Air Force. Under the ''National Defenc ...

, he was arrested and sentenced to death by the Special Court. He committed suicide by hanging himself in his prison cell before the sentence could be carried out. Littlejohn 1972, p. 350.

Bibliography

;Notes ;References * - Total pages: 400 * - Total pages: 422

External links