Antwerp mayor says 'sorry' to Jewish community - has anything really changed?

29/10/2007

Interesting news item:

Yesterday our mayor, socialist Patrick Janssens, apologized to the Jewish community for the municipal government's role during World War II in a video message to a congress on the Nazi extermination of Jews during WWII.
Recent research seems to indicate that Antwerp officials and police were actively collaborating with the German occupying forces at the time. With more than 1,200 Jews rounded up for subsequent deportation to various concentration camps in Europe, it would seem that the Antwerp police assisted the Germans during the summer of 1942 in tracking down Jewish people in Antwerp and later actively rounding them up.
The Brussels municipal council and police apparently refused any collaboration.
About 65 percent of Antwerp's Jewish community were deported during the Nazi occupation.

All this during the same weekend that thousands of members of the white supremacy organization Blood and Honour converged on Wolfsdonk in Aarschot for a concert featuring neo-nazi bands... There is currently no ban on such meetings and organizations in Belgium, which is why this meet could take place.

Sometimes I think this country just doesn't get it and is unable to looks its war past in the face.
I should probably say something here about communitaurian differences (Walloon vs. Flemish) and link it to the current problems that the various parties are having trying to form a coalition and subsequently a government, but frankly, I am so exasperated and ashamed about the lack of unity at political level that I don't want to talk about it.

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