Study accuses Belgium of Nazi collaboration
BRUSSELS -- A government-backed report released Tuesday blamed Belgian authorities and the ruling elite for collaborating with the Nazi persecution of Jews during World War II.
Although Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt has already recognized the level of collaboration, the report was the first time it had been presented in such detail.
"The Belgian authorities cooperated with the racial anti-Jewish policies during the occupation," and acted in a way "unworthy for a democracy," said the study.
The report documents how an influx of Jewish refugees from Germany in the 1930s combined with a turn to the political right because of an economic crisis created an unsavory mix where anti-Semitism and right-wing extremism could rise.
Parliamentarians and Jewish representatives sat in silence as chief researcher Rudi Van Doorslaer read the conclusions of the report, "Submissive Belgium," for 50 minutes in the Senate.
"It presents a mirror of ourselves," said Senate chairwoman Anne-Marie Lizin, who condemned the "cowardliness of our administration" during the 1940-1944 occupation.
Some 50,000 Jews lived in Belgium in the 1930s and about half were exterminated in the Holocaust.
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Although Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt has already recognized the level of collaboration, the report was the first time it had been presented in such detail.
"The Belgian authorities cooperated with the racial anti-Jewish policies during the occupation," and acted in a way "unworthy for a democracy," said the study.
The report documents how an influx of Jewish refugees from Germany in the 1930s combined with a turn to the political right because of an economic crisis created an unsavory mix where anti-Semitism and right-wing extremism could rise.
Parliamentarians and Jewish representatives sat in silence as chief researcher Rudi Van Doorslaer read the conclusions of the report, "Submissive Belgium," for 50 minutes in the Senate.
"It presents a mirror of ourselves," said Senate chairwoman Anne-Marie Lizin, who condemned the "cowardliness of our administration" during the 1940-1944 occupation.
Some 50,000 Jews lived in Belgium in the 1930s and about half were exterminated in the Holocaust.