Léon Joseph Marie Ignace Degrelle was a Belgian Walloon politician and Nazi collaborator. He rose to prominence in Belgium in the 1930s as the leader of the Rexist Party (Rex). During the German occupation of Belgium during World War II, he enlisted in the German army and fought in the Walloon Legion on the Eastern Front. After the collapse of the Nazi regime, Degrelle escaped and went into exile in Francoist Spain, where he remained a prominent figure in neo-Nazi politics.
Degrelle during WWII
Degrelle giving a speech.
Degrelle during the Brigade parade in Charleroi following its return from Tcherkassy
Degrelle at the Eastern Front
Walloons are a Gallo-Romance ethnic group native to Wallonia and the immediate adjacent regions of Flanders, France, Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. Walloons primarily speak langues d'oïl such as Belgian French, Picard and Walloon. Walloons are primarily Roman Catholic, with a historical minority of Protestantism which dates back to the Reformation era.
Walloons wearing Gilles masks in Binche
Georges Simenon, 1963
César Franck
Godfrey of Bouillon, 1330