Educational purpose only. This post documents historical events related to World War II and condemns the Nazi regime, war crimes, and all totalitarian ideologies. We do not glorify violence or hate.
The Final Reckoning: How Belgium Dealt with Nazi Collaborators – The Courcelles Reprisals and Post-War Justice
In August 1944, one year before the end of the Second World War, in German-occupied Belgium, the death of a local political figure set in motion a series of events that reflected the tensions of life under occupation. This documentary examines the life of Oswald Englebin, a member of the Rexist movement and mayor of Greater Charleroi, and the wider historical context in which he lived.
Englebin rose to prominence during World War II as part of a collaborationist administration that worked alongside the German authorities. His position placed him at the centre of political life in the region at a time when Belgium was facing increasing pressure from occupation policies, resistance activity, and social division.
This film explores how individual events could have wider consequences in occupied Europe, where authority, resistance, and uncertainty shaped everyday life. It also considers the role of collaborationist movements such as Rex, and how their actions influenced both local communities and post-war justice.
1. The Rise of Rexism in Belgium
Oswald Englebin
The Rexist Party, or simply Rex, was a far-right Catholic authoritarian and corporatist political party active in Belgium from 1935 until 1945. Founded by journalist Léon Degrelle, the party advocated Belgian unitarism and royalism. Initially modelled on Italian Fascism and Spanish Falangism, it later drew closer to German Nazism.
The party’s highest electoral achievement came in 1936, winning 21 out of 202 deputies with 11.4% of the vote. Never a mass movement, Rex was on the decline by 1938. During the German occupation of Belgium in World War II, Rex became the most significant collaborationist group in French-speaking Belgium.
2. The Assassination of Oswald Englebin
Léon Degrelle
Oswald Englebin, a Rexist member and mayor of Greater Charleroi, had replaced Prosper Teughels, another Rexist mayor who had been assassinated earlier in the war. Attacks against Rexists had been increasing throughout 1944, with homes devastated and lists of names distributed by the resistance.
On August 17, 1944, Englebin, his wife, and his son were assassinated by members of the resistance at a location called “Bois du Rognac” on the boundary between Courcelles and Monceau-sur-Sambre. The five perpetrators of the attack were never identified.
3. The Courcelles Reprisals: Retaliation Without Mercy
The news of Englebin’s death triggered an immediate and brutal response from the Rexist leadership. The Brussels headquarters of Rex and Charleroi members decided to avenge his death. Rexist leaders, including Victor Matthys (interim head of Rex) and Louis Collard, mobilized their security services to orchestrate bloody reprisals.
Between the evening of August 17 and the morning of August 18, Rexist militiamen carried out a wave of terror. Multiple civilians were killed in the area, and the judicial police offices were set on fire.
That night, Rexists arrested 21 local dignitaries — including police officers, doctors, architects, lawyers, and the Dean of Charleroi, Canon Pierre Harmignie. At dawn on August 18, nineteen of the hostages were executed. In total, dozens of people lost their lives in the reprisals.
4. A Pattern of Violence
The Courcelles reprisals were not an isolated incident. Following the liberation of Belgium in September 1944, the Rexist party was banned. However, the violence continued in other forms. In 1947, a Belgian court sentenced Robert Jan Verbelen, head of a Nazi SS security force in Belgium, to death for the deaths of 101 resistance fighters.
The post-war justice system also pursued Rexists involved in the Courcelles reprisals. Of the estimated 150 Rexists who participated, 97 were identified, 80 were arrested, and 27 were executed by firing squad on November 10, 1947.
5. The Legacy of Collaboration
The Courcelles reprisals and the subsequent trials highlighted the difficult questions of collaboration and justice in post-war Belgium. Léon Degrelle, the founder of Rex, fled to Francoist Spain, was sentenced to death in absentia, and died in exile in 1994.
The Rexist movement was officially dissolved on March 30, 1945, in a meeting in Germany between Degrelle, Matthys, and Collard. Its legacy remains a painful chapter in Belgian history, illustrating the devastating consequences of collaboration with totalitarian regimes and the difficult path toward accountability.
Primary Sources:
Belgium WWII — Assassination of the Mayor of Charleroi
Belgium WWII — Courcelles Massacre
Europe Remembers — Courcelles Massacre
Historical studies on the Rexist Party and collaboration in Belgium
Post-war trial records of Rexist collaborators