We won the fight against the "Latvian Bee-Hive" of Zedelgem: It has been recently removed!
It was almost two years ago that I discovered that a monument had been erected in memory of members of the Waffen SS from Latvia. They were part of the 15th and 19th Latische Waffen SS Grenadier Division which were operational in the Baltic States and Russia (former USSR) from 1941 to 1945. As such, the men who composed these units were guilty of war crimes, mass massacres by bullets, etc.
Taken prisoners on the Eastern Front after the surrender of Germany, they had been brought to Belgium as prisoners by the Allies. Circumstances have allowed these war criminals to never be tried or convicted.
This monument was therefore an insult to the victims of the Nazis and a shame for Belgium.
With the Minister of State André Flahaut and my friends of the association «Groupe Mémoire-Herinnering Groep», I worked to dismantle this instrument of revisionism and neo-Nazism in Europe. During the months of actions against the existence of this infamy, it was necessary to fight against the inaction and deafening silence of the Belgian and European political authorities and against the numerous complaints and appeals filed by the Latvian authorities for the maintenance of the monument.
Finally, the Zedelgem Community College, led by Mayor Annick Vermeulen, took the decision to remove the controversial monument and put it temporarily in a municipal depot. I salute the courage of this decision and hope that the «Latvian Hive» will no longer be exhibited in Belgium.
We are always attentive to ensure that this monument no longer appears on Belgian public space. It will be the same for all the other demonstrations honoring in one way or another totalitarianism and the denial of democracy.
Wilfred Burie,
President of "The Belgians Remember Them"
Dear visitors to this page,
End of 2020, I discovered on the Internet that there was a monument located in the city of Zedelgem (West Flanders) dedicated to individuals of Latvian origin who fought in the 15th and 19th Divisions of the Waffen SS during the Second World War. I’m not going to tell you the whole story, the many articles below will do it much better.
However, there remains a major question: Is it normal for a democratic country like Belgium, which welcomes international institutions such as the European Community and NATO, to be listed as a nation allowing the worship of Nazis?
As President of a patriotic association, it was my duty to react so that this degrading situation would cease. For this monument called «the Hive» is an infamy. It is an insult to all the Victims of Nazism: the populations of the countries invaded by Hitler’s Germany, the Belgian and Allied soldiers Prisoners of War in the hundreds of Stalags, the Deportees in the concentration and extermination camps, the Resistance’s men and women of the occupied and German countries who fought the repression and the exactions of the adversary, the Jewish, Roma and other populations ruthlessly exterminated because they did not coincide with racial criteria, the victims of "Nacht & Nebel" and of the Holocaust.
They all cry out from mass graves or graves where they have been resting for 80 years:
"DO NOT FORGET OUR SUFFERING AND OUR DEATH!"
For that, this monument must disappear. It does not matter to disappoint the sponsors of this filth; it does not matter the political future of those responsible for its installation: It have to be removed.
For the memory of the victims of Nazism and for the honour of my country.
Wilfred Burie,
President of "The Belgians Remember Them"
Diplomatic quarrel over a monument to Latvian men of the Waffen-SS
Latvia increases diplomatic tensions around the Monument “The Latvian Hive for Freedom” in Zedelgem. The municipality of West Flanders removed the monument in honor of the prisoners of war of the Latvian Legionnaires Waffen-SS. The Latvian ambassador protests against this in a note to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Last week, Latvia already steppe”d up pressure on Flemish Minister-President Jan Jambon.
To read more in English, click here to download the PDF
and in French, click here to download the PDF
"Au Bout du Jour - Monument polémique aux SS lettons"
Eddy Caekelberghs interviews historians Pieter Lagrou and Pierre Müller about the monument "the Latvian hive" of Zedelgem and the controversy it engenders.
Listen more by clicking on the picture (in French)
"Nazi collaborator monuments in Belgium"
A group of historians, journalists and activists has convinced the Zedelgem municipality to remove the “explanatory board” whitewashing the Latvian SS unit honored by the monument, while an international panel of historians condemned the beehive. However, this issue is very much ongoing, with heavy pressure coming from the Latvian government to keep the monument to the Waffen-SS...
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"The Minister of Culture calls on the municipality of Zedelgem to respect the agreement on the monument to prisoners of war with respect and respect."
If the Latvian authorities are trying to safeguard the monument of shame at all costs, we believe that this matter is the exclusive responsibility of the Belgian authorities and in particular the Mayor of Zedelgem. The latter should quickly take the decision to return the monument "Latvian Hive" to its sponsors because of what it represents both historically and morally.
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Another reaction concerning the Latvian hive of Zedelgem, always in the same revisionist spirit of History consented to in Latvia.
It is sad to see that so-called Belgians are saying the same thing. This is a disgrace to Belgium and an insult to the victims of Nazism.
Once again, let us never forget that the Latvian detainees, even if they managed to escape the judgment of the post-war courts, were guilty of crimes against humanity.
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"An honourable monument to freedom – Why the Zedelgem Beehive should stay"
Can we advise the Latvians to take back their bloody Latvian Bee Hive at their home in Latvia and leave it up to the Zedelgem commune to decide for itself what to do?
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Open letter addressed to the Belgian Federal Government - Concerning: Monument "The Latvian Hive" of Zedelgem
Dear Prime Minister,
Honourable Ministers
On 6 March 2021, I sent you a letter entitled "Alert concerning a monument dedicated to Latvian legionnaires, members of the 15th and 19th divisions of the Waffen Einsatzgruppen SS in Zedelgem (West Flanders). " in which I expressed my concern about this controversial building.
I regret that my communication did not elicit any response from you.
Since then, I have never ceased to fight by all the honourable means at my disposal for the definitive removal of this monument from the Belgian public space. The shame it represents and the dishonour into which it has plunged our country since its construction, three years ago, requires that measures to that effect be taken urgently...
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Zedelgem wants to get rid of 'Latvian Bijenkorf' that honors SS soldiers, but even Latvian ministers get involved: "Heavy insult"
The fact that the municipality of Zedelgem wants to remove the controversial monument for SS soldiers from Latvia is heating up.
The Latvian Defense Minister even addressed a letter to his Belgian colleague Ludivine Dedonder (PS): the removal “will be interpreted as a very serious insult and humiliation of the Latvian people”.
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Cold War flares up in Zedelgem
The controversy surrounding the Zedelgem monument to SS soldiers from Latvia escalates. The West Flemish municipality wants to get rid of it, ministers get involved, historians are threatened...
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A history committee concludes after extensive investigation that a monument "Latvian Bijenkorf for Freedom" in Zedelgem in honor of the Latvian Waffen-SS is inappropriate.
It must be demolished. The local CD&V municipal council follows this conclusion, also under pressure from many Flemish organizations...
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Notice about the controversial monument erected in Belgium in September 2018, in memory of Latvian Waffen SS
As part of my struggle against the existence of the monument called "the Latvian Hive", erected in Zedelgem, West Flanders, I am pleased to announce a first victory.
On the recommendation of an international college of expert historians(1), the authorities decided to remove this controversial monument from its location.
The Mayor writes to me(2):
"As advised by the experts and after coordination with the Latvian partners, the hive will be removed from its current place and a phase of reflection, in which the experts will continue to support the municipality, will be introduced. »
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Mrs. Annick Vermeulen, Mayor of and Zedelgem
Concern: Response to your letter of December 3, 2021
Dear Mrs. the Mayor,
We have received your letter relaying the opinion of the experts of the panel that studied the relevance and future of the monument "the Latvian hive", and we wanted to thank you for the follow-up.
If the municipality never wanted to pay tribute to the Nazi regime, nor to excuse certain war crimes or knowingly hurt the citizens with the creation of the Latvian hive, the fact is that this monument erected by your municipality has caused an awareness. It is summed up by historians in very clear terms: "It risks becoming a place of pilgrimage for (inter)national militants and a source of inspiration for revisionist accounts of the SS legacy."
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Dear Mr Burie,
With this letter, the municipality would like to inform you of the results of last week's expert workshop (26 & 27/11) concerning 'The Latvian Hive' and the prisoner of war camp in Vloethemveld.
In response to the controversy over the 'Latvian Hive' artwork, an international group of historians met last week at the request of the municipality of Zedelgem. This is with the aim of formulating independent and motivated advice on the future of the 'Latvian hive' and the public development of the prisoner of war camp in Vloethemveld.
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Controversial 'Nazi monument' is removed after international media storm: "It was never our intention to hurt people"...
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Zedelgem: The municipal authorities are going to debunk the Latvian beehive but ...
This decision responds to the recommendations of an international group of historians. However, the municipality announces the start of a " phase of reflection " (sic) aiming in particular to find a " permanent place " in which to reinstall the monument ...
Reed more here:
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The Latvian Bijenkorf', a monument on Zedelgem village,
has been stirring up dust since June. Historians and Jewish associations, among others, believe that Latvian soldiers who fought with Nazi Germany are commemorated with it. Alderman Dehaemers names the column as a symbol for freedom in general and shows understanding.
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The controversial artwork De Letse Bijenkorf disappears from the zedelgem street scene.
At least temporarily, because the municipality is looking for a permanent solution and location for the monument, which according to some would be a tribute to the Latvian Nazi collaboration. "We don't want to rush the work," says Alderman of Heritage Jurgen Dehaemers.
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Municipality of Zedelgem removes controversial war monument after international advice
Historians examined a controversial war memorial in Zedelgem. 'Inappropriate', they think. The municipality takes the criticism to heart and removes 'The Latvian Bijenkorf'. The municipal council announced this on Friday .
As concluded by the experts, it was never the intention of the municipality with the creation of this work of art to pay tribute to the Nazi regime, to justify certain war crimes or to deliberately hurt people.
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The Latvian beehive will be withdrawn!
Following the recommendations of an international panel of experts on the monument erected in 2018 in memory of the Latvian SS fighters detained in this municipality between 1945 and 1946, the municipality of Zedelgem decided to proceed with the removal of this controversial monument
Read more here:
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THE LEGACY OF THE BRITISH POW CAMP AT THE VLOETHEMVELD SITE
At the request of the Belgian municipality of Zedelgem, an international panel of fifteen experts specializing in the history of the Second World War and its heritage met on Friday 26 and Saturday 27 November 2021. The municipality has in fact asked to this panel to formulate recommendations on two questions: on the one hand, the recent controversy surrounding the Latvian Hive monumentinaugurated on its territory in 2018 and, on the other hand, the development of the former site of a large prisoner of war camp located in Vloethemveld, a project in which the municipality is a partner. None of the panel members received any form of financial compensation for their contribution...
Reed more here:
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"Beehive of Zedelgem": 15 historians recommend the removal of the monument
For these experts specializing in the history of the Second World War, “the removal of the monument is the only option to put an end to the ambiguities it perpetuates”...
Read more here:
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Last weekend, the municipality of Zedelgem organized a conference to gather from international experts the detailed opinions on the monument "the Latvian Hive".
This eminent cenacle has published a recommendation note, the contents of which you can read by clicking on the image here on the left.
Since the discovery of the existence of this controversial monument at the end of 2020, we have constantly fought for its complete dismantling because it is an insult to the memory of the victims of Nazism and means the disgrace of Belgium.
Let us hope that the Commune of Zedelgem will respond with dignity to the recommendations of the international experts who voted for its withdrawal from the place where it was erected and that it will completely declassify it by returning it to its author.
By trying to preserve any track of this infamy, the commune of Zedelgem will continue to plunge our country and Flanders into disgrace
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Over In Zedelgem, Town in Belgium where Latvian Waffen SS Veterans Feel Most at Home
With Zedelgem, a quiet Flemish town in West Flanders, was occupied by the Nazis between May 1940 and September 1944. During World War I it had also been under German yoke for over four years...
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In Belgium, a "Beehive" in memory of Nazi soldiers is debated
More and more voices are calling for the dismantling of a monument to freedom in Zedelgem, near Bruges. Erected in 2018, the work pays tribute to Latvian prisoners of war who belonged to the Waffen SS.
By Jean-Pierre Stroobants (Brussels, Correspondent)
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LATVIA RECOGNISES ANTI-FASCIST BELIEFS AS A CRIMINAL OFFENCE
On September 8, the Riga District Court confirmed the decision of the Vidzeme District Court that human rights activist and scientist Aleksandr Gaponenko committed a criminal offence by spreading anti-fascist statements.
For these “crimes”, the court punished the scientist with 10 months in prison. He was awarded a suspended sentence and two years of probation.
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West Flanders: a monument in homage to Nazi soldiers funded by the municipality of Zedelgem
In September 2018, at the instigation of the far-right municipal councilor Vlaams Belang Pol Denys, the municipality of Zedelgem erected a monument paying tribute to 12,000 Latvian soldiers of the Waffen-SS (fighters for Nazi Germany), who had were imprisoned in war camps in Zedelgem during World War II.
It has now been more than 2 years that this monument celebrating Nazi soldiers who participated in the Jewish genocide as well as in war crimes exists and this in a voluntary silence by elected Belgian politicians.
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When Jewish youth mobilize and act.
On 21st July, members of the Hashomer Hatzai Belgium went to Zedelgem to denounce the existence of the monument erected in memory of the Latvian SS held in this commune between 1945 and 1946.
A look back at this initiative led with the support of the "Union des étudiants juifs de Belgique" (UEJB) and the "Centre Communautaire Laïc Juif" (CCLJ).
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A negationist monument to be dismantled
The commune decided to remove the plaque presenting the Latvian SS in Zedelgem between 1945 and 1946 as freedom fighters and rename the place «Brivibaplein» (Place de la Liberté).
The monument erected in memory of these SS fighters is still in place, even if its dismantling is imposed as the only possible way out
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Letter of President of National Confederation of Politic Prisoners of Belgium (CNPPA-NCPGR) addressed to the communal Council of Zedelgem requiring a quick removal of the monument of shame.
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On wednesday September 29th 2021, M. André Flahaut, Minister of State pronounced his speech during the ceremony of solemn tribute dedicated to the aircrews fallen in Belgium during WW2 and to the Resistance s'people who helped the survivors of crashes to escape from the Nazis.
The Minister clearly mentioned the Latvian hive as a dishonour for Belgium an an insult to the victims of the Nazi's repression.
Click here to download the text of the speech in French and English
A stele to the glory of Nazi soldiers of the 17th SS Panzergrenadier Division, erected on a private plot, in Volmunster, Lorraine, had been discovered by a walker in early 2018.
The owner, an extreme right-wing activist, was sentenced by the Sarreguemines Criminal Court to 18 months in prison, 9 of which were suspended, for apologies for war crimes and apologies for crimes against humanity. He had decided to appeal. The Metz Court of Appeal has definitively sentenced him to 18 months in prison with a suspended sentence and a €10,000 fine. He will also have to pay €1,000 to the Licra, the International League Against Racism and Anti-Semitism, which was a civil party.
The monument was removed the night of its discovery by the gendarmes, placed under seal, and was definitively destroyed on 16 April 2021.
When will the commune of Zedelgem take the decision to remove its monument of dishonour? Besides insulting the Memory of the victims of Nazism, it casts a great discredit on the municipality and consequently on its inhabitants!
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Ongoing Jewish protest against SS monument in Zedelgem
The protest against the Freedom Monument in Zedelgem, known as the Latvian beehive, continues. The Belgian branch of Hashomer Hatzair, a socialist Zionist youth movement, posted a video of their protest on YouTube last Thursday. By distributing a film of their protest, they want to reinforce their demand to remove the monument.
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Belgium: Hashomer Hatzair denounces a monument honouring the Latvian SS
The group displayed the names of ten people murdered by the SS legionaries to whom the monument pays tribute.
In July, the Hashomer Hatzair Jewish Youth Movement, with the support of the Union of Jewish Students of Belgium (UEJB) and the Jewish Lay Community Centre (CCLJ), organized an action in front of a monument, built in 2018 in Zedelgem, honouring the memory of the Latvian SS Legions, reported a statement from the organization, sent last week.
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An action was carried out by the youth movement Hashomer Hatzaïr, with the support of the Belgian Union of Jewish Students (UEJB) and the Jewish Seculat Community Center (CCLJ).
Young Belgian students demonstrated in front of this monument their refusal to see erected in their country such an insult to the victims of the Nazis, wherever they came from.
See the report of this action on Youtubeby clicking on the picture
Forgetfulness and revisionism are emerging trends not only in the Baltic States, Poland and Ukraine, but also in Western Europe. The municipality of Zedelgem in West Flanders is particularly notable in this area.
There, three years ago, it was decided to erect a monument to the glory of the Latvian SS volunteers who had been detained there as prisoners of war in an allied camp…
Click on the picture to download and click here to read the article in English
There is a hardcore of men in Latvia - members of the Legionnaires and their worshippers - who still adhere to Nazi ideology, the latest being the erection of a monument in honor of Latvian Waffen SS POWs in Zedelgem/West-Flanders-Belgium.
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ZEDELGEM FREEDOM MONUMENT, A BITTERSWEET FREEDOM
Abdon Bardiaux, a resistant and survivor of the Breendonk fort in Belgium, said “Democracy is an everyday struggle”. Today, the fight is on the monument De Letse Bijenkorf («The Latvian hive») of Zedelgem, commune of West-Flanders.
Inaugurated in 2018, it provokes many reactions in memory circles but very little in the political sphere...
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Intolerable glorification of the SS in Belgium
Does Europe forget its history?
This question must be asked seriously, given the recent events in the Belgian commune of Zedelgem (West Flanders)
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Zedelgem – SS – Rehabilitation in Belgium
The FIR and its member federations are frightened about beginnings of the history forgetfulness, as it is to be experienced for some time also in Western Europe. For years Dutch anti-fascists – supported by the FIR – protest against the public honors at the gravesites for SS members and war criminals on the military cemetery of Ysselsteyn in the city of Venray. Recently, the Simon Wiesenthal Center has also joined this protest with an unequivocal statement.
Another scandal exists in the small West Flemish town of Zedelgem (Belgium), which only three years ago erected a monument (“The Latvian Beehive”) at the site of an Allied internment camp for prisoners of war – together with official Latvian authorities – in honor of the Latvian SS volunteers who were interned and perished here. It commemorates the “Latvian Legion” who, according to the present Latvian government, were “anti-Bolshevik freedom fighters”...
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Madam President of the Commission,
Dear Mrs von der Leyen,
Subject: Latvia’s apology of the Latvian SS Waffen
Monument in honour of Waffen SS Latvian in Zedelgem/Belgium
I have always admired the German Federal Republic for the way in which, after the war, it was able to recognize the faults committed under the Third Reich, and was able, through appropriate teaching, to visit concentration camps by German students, by a prosecution of war criminals and by a policy of «Wiedergutmachung» and aid to Israel, by the important research on Nazism by German historians, to help restore the new democratic Germany to its rightful place among nations.
When I visited Latvia for the first time, the very first thing that struck me during my visits to the War Museum and the Occupation Museum was the apology of the Latvian Waffen SS with photos on the walls of the museums and books for sale at the reception. In 2009, I wrote an outraged article on this subject which appeared in Belgian «La Libre Belgique» both in paper version and in internet version (copy in appendix). Then, in 2012, I decided to go to the annual Legionaries march of March 16th, and this shameless spectacle of a crowd admiring the valiant Latvian Waffen SS stunned me. The same year, the EU had expressed reservations against Latvia to allow the organization of such an apology of men who had fought for and under the uniform of Hitler’s elite troops. However, Latvia continued this unworthy practice in the EU, and this year the march did not take place because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Click on the picture to download or to read more - (Translated from French by W. Burie)
The International Federation of Anti-Fascist Resistance Fighters (FIR) and its member unions fear that history has been forgotten for some time in Western Europe. Dutch antifascists have been protesting for years against public honours at the graves of the SS and war criminals at the Ysselsteyn military cemetery in Venray...
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Belgian city removes references to Latvian Nazi collaborators.
A Belgian town removed from a local square most of its references to a group of Latvian soldiers who were part of Nazi Germany SS troops after it was claimed the square honored them...
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Latvian Government Again Claims that Waffen SS Monument is “Not a Nazi Memorial”...
At a public event last month, speaking of the painfully disputed monument glorifying Latvian Waffen SS forces in the Belgian town of Zedelgem, the Latvian Acting Under Secretary of State Atis Lots proclaimed that ” an erroneous interpretation of those historical events has appeared in the Belgian media”, and he called on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belgium to engage with the Zedelgem municipality in the resolution of the problem.”...
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According to the author, in 1942 in Slonim, Belarus, a Latvian battalion under the command of Major Friedrich Rubenis participated in the destruction of the ghetto. According to the information we received, before the executions, the people were stripped naked, their gold teeth had been torn from them.
Later, Corporal Edgar Woolnis sold them for five marks apiece. These scenes were captured in photographs, one of which is this:
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Reply to the letter of interpellation of the Minister of State and Federal Deputy André Flahaut of 1/07/2021 concerning the suppression of the monument of Zedelgem erected in memory of Latvian SS legionaries.
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The FIR and its member federations are frightened about beginnings of the history forgetfulness, as it is to be experienced for some time also in Western Europe.
For years Dutch anti-fascists – supported by the FIR – protest against the public honors at the gravesites for SS members and war criminals on the military cemetery of Ysselsteyn in the city of Venray. Recently, the Simon Wiesenthal Center has also joined this protest with an unequivocal statement...
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To those who have Memory,
On 23 July, the Latvian media outlet Jauns.lv published an article on its website about the controversial Zedelgem monument.
The title is: “In Belgium, scandal around a monument to the Latvian legionaries. Our Department of Foreign Affairs is protesting”...
Read the text translated in English, French and Dutch.
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In Belgium, a scandal over a monument to Latvian legionnaires.We want to tear it down, our Foreign Ministry is protesting...
Download here the translation in English of the article
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Under Secretary of State, Atis Lots, welcomes the Ambassador of Belgium on a farewell visit
On 15 July 2021, the Under Secretary of State of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Atis Lots, welcomed a farewell visit from the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Belgium to Latvia, Hugo
Brauwers...
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Briefing by Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, Moscow, July 22, 2021
We have noted a Belgian public discussion concerning a monument to Waffen SS’ Latvian Legion soldiers, unveiled in 2018 in the Zedelgem Municipality, West Flanders.
I would just like to remind you that, for more than two years now, despite the repeated protests coming from Belgian citizens and public organisations, including veterans’ associations, a monument to Waffen SS’ Latvian Legion soldiers who were incarcerated in a local POWcamp in 1945 and 1946 is still standing in the Zedelgem Municipality, in West Flanders.
Download the complete article here
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Belgium - Flemish town erects monument honouring Latvian SS
News from Communities March 9, 2021 - A monument has been erected in a Flemish town in memory of Nazi fighters belonging to the Latvian Legion. The monument is dedicated officially to “the idea of freedom” and pays tribute to 12.000 soldiers belonging to two Latvian SS units imprisoned as POWs in Zedelgem, near Bruges by the British.
These units, the 15th and 19th Latvian SS Divisions, made up the Waffen-SS Latvian Legion.
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On May 8, L-Post published an article relating to the monument erected in memory of the Latvian legionaries, prisoners of war at Camp 2227 in Zedelgem, but having served in divisions of the Waffen SS during the Second World War.
Faced with the controversy, the municipal authorities indicated that the information panel of the controversial monument will be replaced by another sign. But the deputy André Flahaut (PS) and the patriotic associations demand that the monument be purely and simply removed.
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In Zedelgem a monument has been in honor since 2018 (!) Of the Latvian Legion of the Waffen-SS, the military arm of the former German Nazi Party which, among other things, committed numerous terrible war crimes, including the genocide of the Jews during WWII, killings of ordinary civilians, etc...
Many of us have lost family and ancestors through Nazism.
A monument that is dedicated to the worst Nazi criminals & mass murderers, spits (!) The memory of those who then gave their lives to defend our freedom and our people against Hitler’s nazis.
Moreover, it is shameful cynical that the advocates of this SS memorial dare to link it with "common European values" and with "freedom".
This is reprehensible and an absolute disgrace on the blazon of the municipality of Zedelgem.
Sign this petition and let the city Council of Zedelgem know that this Pole of Disgrace needs to...!
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I fear that there are still accidents like with the Latvian statue will happen
According to the American writer Lev Golinkin, the image is Latvian "bijenkorf" for freedom in Zedelgem a "undefensible attempt to white wash after-work technicians".
Historian Pieter Lagrou (ULB) is two weeks ago already visited the local government to discuss this matter advise. "The way the monument stood there was not
acceptable."
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Zedelgem will replace the information board at its controversial monument.
Correct explanation is important, Pieter Lagrou believes, for the story
The Latvian collaboration is complex.
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Published by "Defending History"
Latest on Latvian SS Monument in Belgium: Latvia’s Well-Oiled Propaganda Machine is On the Job.
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Change of the name of the square where the monument is located which refers to the Latvian legionaries of the Waffen SS, removal of the current nameplate. By these decisions, the municipality hopes to put an end to the controversy. Not sure it will be enough...
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The Brivibaplein of Zedelgem changes name after criticisms, the council of aldermen decides
In Zedelgem, the college of aldermen decided to change the name of Brivibaplein. The square has received many criticisms in the past two weeks, as well as the monument "The Latvian Bijenkorf".
The municipality will meet with historian Pieter Lagrou to change the name and frame of the monument.
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Report: Monument to the SS with the approval of the authorities
Listen to the French radio "Fréquence Terre" the report of Pierre Guelff, done on May 27th, 2021.
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Flemish Parliament - Plenary meeting
Chairman: Liesbeth Homans
Current question about the monument to Latvian prisoners of war in Zedelgem from Tom De Meester to minister Bart Somers
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In Belgium was created around a monument commemorated by Latvian legionaires who were caught in camp Vloethemveld after the Second World War. These Latvian soldiers served in the German Waffen-SS during the war.
The French magazine Paris-Match recently addressed this issue, after which the Belgian media has also picked up the matter.
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Zedelgem Commune’s declaration to replace the explanatory plaque of the controversial monument with a more appropriate new one is equivalent to putting mercurochrome on a cancerous tumor
A citizen respectful of his country and its history cannot compromise in this regard; history which touches on the SS and Nazism must be taught without disguising what it represents as horror and not by so-called «monuments elevated to freedom».
By organizing an in extremis «rescue» of its bloody Hive, the commune of Zedelgem only highlights those who have committed war crimes and crimes against humanity. This is unacceptable. There are international laws prohibiting these praiseworthy reminders of Nazi barbaric acts, even if they are sprinkled with new phrases.
If the communal authorities have been abused at some point by nostalgic for collaboration, they can only blame themselves. A little common sense on their part at the time by sheltering themselves by the expertise of Historians would have avoided the inconveniences they know today. And it is not by disguising history that they will succeed in finding the tranquility of a good conscience.
While they propose a pseudo compromise, it is urgent to recall that this monument, even «disarmed» from its original explanatory plaque remains a building erected in the 21st century, ours, and not in 1940-1944. It is not a relic; it is an unacceptable reality.
Our objective is not to destroy everything. Allow me to launch an idea at the local Municipal College: The prison camp located on its territory could be taken over by a competent authority, endowed with true Historians and become a pole of History and Memory accessible to all generations, especially the youngest. And as the historian Lev Golinkin suggests, ... to replace the Latvian hive, the authorities of Zedelgem would launch an appeal to the artists to submit ideas for a new sculpture that honours the Belgian soldiers or the Resistance, etc. They can easily turn it into a positive story and I’m sure there are plenty of amazing artists who would work with them effectively.” I am not alone in this.
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BELGA: Zedelgem has information board replaced at controversial monument - Zedelgem 07/07/2021 16:48 (BELGA)
In Zedelgem, the information board at the controversial monument 'The Latvian beehive for freedom' will be replaced. Mayor Annick Vermeulen (CD&V) confirms this on Wednesday. The monument caused a stir because it would be a tribute to collaborators of the Nazi regime. The city is working with historians to put up a correct information board.
The monument in Zedelgem has caused quite a stir in recent weeks. It was built three years ago to commemorate the Second World War. A file in the Belgian edition of the French magazine Paris-Match suddenly caused a commotion. The statue is said to honor Latvian prisoners of war from the former camp in Zedelgem who fought with the Germans on the Eastern Front. In addition, the square on which the statue stands was renamed Brivida Square, which is Latvian for 'freedom'. After the commotion, the college of mayor and aldermen decides to provide correct information on a placard near the statue and to change the name of the square. This is done in collaboration with historian Pieter Lagrou (ULB). Meanwhile, the original board has been removed. Mayor Vermeulen emphasizes that it was never the intention to give the wrong signal. (BIN, ALG, COR170, PLS, nl)
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* The article is initially published by the newspaper "De Standaart"
An indefensible attempt to launder Nazi collaborators
It takes an extraordinary degree of arrogance to erect a monument to the Third Reich and then maintain that it is a monument to freedom, writes Lev Golinkin.
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The Minister and federal Deputy sent a letter to the Belgian federal Minister ot Juctice in which he requires the monument to disappear.
“The existence of this "Latvian hive" {Editor’s note: the name of the work) seriously harms the image of Belgium. is written in the letter signed by André Flahaut. It is unacceptable that Belgium continues to pay tribute to these Latvian prisoners of war who participated in war crimes under the uniform of the Waffen SS”. André Flahaut believes that this tribute encourages revisionism and therefore asks the Minister to inform him of the steps taken to deliver Belgium from this monument of shame and dishonour
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Federal MP and former Defence Minister André Flahaut (PS) goes back to the front lines. He again called on the Minister of Justice, Vincent Van Quickenborne (Open VLD) to learn about the steps taken to deliver Belgium from this monument erected in memory of the Latvian legionaries. He believes that this monument disgraces Belgium because of the Nazi past of the legionaries.
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War criminals de facto rehabilitated
Belgium: Resistance to memorial honoring SS volunteers. City council defends memorial site
... Our answer to this can only be that with this illegal encroachment on freedom of the press and freedom of expression, you achieve exactly the opposite! That is why we urge all friends, readers, supporters, authors and cooperative members: Let us do everything to strengthen the “breeding ground” of the young world - especially now!
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As the far right progresses across Europe and hate speech is legitimized, the Secular Action Center strongly denounces the monument erected by the municipality of Zedelgem in explicit homage to the 12,000 Latvian legionaries who served Hitler in the within the Waffen SS. The Center d'Action Laïque asks the authorities to initiate a judicial investigation under the law of 23 March 1995 which seeks to repress the denial, minimization, justification or approval of the genocide committed by the German National Socialist regime. during the Second World War.
This "monument to the Latvian SS" erected two years ago under the leadership of a municipal representative of Vlaams Belang must be demolished as soon as possible...
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How Zedelgem with his beehive a Pandora's box opened
Zedelgem commemorates the Second World War with one monument that SS’ers from Latvia honors as victims of the lack of freedom. It uses the language of the right Latvian for this purpose nationalism.
For three years this remained unnoticed.
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Vooruit wants to get rid of 'the shame of Zedelgem': “This monument is linked to the SS!”
he 'Freedom Monument' on Brivibaplein in Zedelgem, better known as the Latvian beehive, has recently become the object of a controversy. In the magazine Paris Match, among others, historians speak of the 'shame of Zedelgem', because of an alleged link with the SS troops of Adolf Hitler.
Opposition party Vooruit wants to remove the monument as soon as possible.
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Outrage over Zedelgem's monument honoring 12,000 Latvian collaborators
Almost three years after the inauguration, 'The Latvian Bijenkorf for Freedom', a monument in Zedelgem in West Flanders, is damaging the image of the municipality at home and abroad. The 12,000 Latvians who are commemorated and who fought with the Nazis against Russia during WWII are now also linked to the persecution of the Jews.
Opposition party Vooruit wants the artwork gone.
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"Beehive" of Zedelgem: Flanders is waking up ... Slowly
he Flemish socialists want this book, which celebrates Latvian SS legionaries, to disappear from public space. The municipal majority evokes the track of a recontextualization.
“A seemingly innocent monument in Zedelgem in West Flanders tarnished the image of the municipality locally and internationally almost three years after its inauguration” , one could read this morning in the daily “Het Nieuwsblad”...
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Three years after being inaugurated, a monument in Zedelgem is controversial: "A terrible mistake which insults the soldiers who fought the Nazis"
Almost three years after its inauguration, a monument in Zedelgem, in West Flanders, is unworthy in Belgium and abroad. Critics say this work insults the Allied soldiers who fought the Nazis.
The opposition party Vooruit wants the artwork to be removed. “This is not acceptable,” said historian Koen Aerts (UGent)...
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Zedelgem's “Beehive”: Outrage in the United States, Germany and… Belgium
The small town of Zedelgem, near Bruges, is making an international reputation… Its “hive” which celebrates unworthy Latvian SS as far as the United States. A sad advertisement for Belgium, the only country in Western Europe that spends public money to showcase people who collaborated with the Nazis...
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"Beehive" by Zedelgem: "An incomprehensible tribute, which has no place in our society"
In Zedelgem, near Bruges, a famous monument of the Latvian SS. After his colleague André Flahaut (PS), it is the deputy Michel De Maegd (MR) who calls on the Minister of Justice...
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Zedelgem "Beehive" Latvian SS commemorated in Flanders
In 1945, nearly 12,000 Latvian SS legionaries were detained in a prisoner of war camp in Zedelgem. In this municipality of West Flanders, for more than two years now, a monument has been dedicated to them.
Expressions of indignation and calls for debate coming from civil society have been ignored (or almost) by the Belgian political world.
Yet these voices denounce an unbearable insult to the memory of the victims of Nazism. Local authorities say they only want to celebrate "freedom" (sic).
A far-right municipal councilor (Vlaams Belang) who played an important role in this “memorial” project, was decorated in Riga for his “ exceptional work carried out for the benefit of Latvia. "...
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Why this monument to the glory of the Waffen SS in Zedelgem? Some in Flanders still regard collaboration with the Nazi regime with a benevolent eye.
An opinion of Roland Binet, researcher on the Holocaust.
.... I am half Flemish, my grandfather fought for 4 years in Flanders for Belgium. And I now live in Flanders. This black Flanders, collabo and facho, I don't want it. Even though I know she is not in the majority.
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Belgium: Jewish group denounces statue commemorating SS prisoners
The statue, erected in 2018, commemorates the SS prisoners of war held by the British army in the municipality of Zedelgem between 1945 and 1946.
A “monument of freedom” paying homage to SS fighters: in the new issue of its magazine Regards , the Belgian Secular Jewish Community Center (CCLJ) denounces this building in the city of Zedelgem, in West Flanders, near Bruges
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THE MONUMENT OF FREEDOM IN ZEDELGEM: A HISTORICAL-POLITICAL CONTROVERSY
Not long ago, the monuments dedicated to Leopold II were the subject of numerous disputes. Recent events have also highlighted another monument subject to controversy: the monument De Letse Bijenkorf ("The Latvian Beehive / The Latvian Beehive") in Zedelgem. Dedicated to freedom in all its forms, but also to the 12,000 Latvian legionaries detained at the Zedelgem camp after the Second World War, this monument, inaugurated in 2018, has indeed aroused the ire of Jewish associations, as well as patriotic associations.
North wind of Pierre Havaux: Waffen-SS in the spotlight (chronicle)
It is a small corner of Latvia nestled in the land of West Flanders. With its bronze hive dotted with gold-plated bees, prominently in the middle of a grassy esplanade, thus perched on a white column. The place exudes tranquility, hardly disturbed by the slight hum that leaves the work of art.
Everything became Latvian in this district of Zedelgem - 22,000 inhabitants -, until the name given to the square, "Briviba" or "Liberty".
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IN FLANDERS, A MONUMENT GLORIFIES THE WAFFEN SS
Proposed by the Vlaams Belang and inaugurated in 2018, a sculpture pays tribute to the Latvian Legion, a Nazi unit that has authored numerous war crimes.
These tributes are not of vulgar provocations but the result of a strategy.
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ZEDELGEM, ITS CHURCH, ITS CASTLE AND HIS MONUMENT IN MEMORY OF THE SS
With the “Freedom Monument” erected in Zedelgem in 2018, in honour of the Latvian legionaries held in this commune between 1945 and 1946, Belgium is the only country in Western Europe to honour the memory of these SS fighters.
An insulting memory initiative that escaped the Democrats' radar The Flemish people, however, pride themselves on fighting the extreme right.
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... First of all, I would like to thank you for your official communication in both national languages following my “alert”. This makes it easy to assimilate your point of view.
However, I would like to make a comment on the third sentence of the first paragraph where you say: “Therefore you will understand that we are particularly touched and saddened when it is implied that our commune would honour the members of the Waffen SS and/or would like to pay tribute to them with the symbol of the hive, this artwork evoked.”...
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The commune of Zedelgem is primarily patriotic and strongly attached to heritage and archives, which results in various commemorative activities. We Will Remember Them.
In Zedelgem the college of the mayor and aldermen understands perfectly the sensitivity of Veterans Affairs and their families in all matters related to wars and rightly so.
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FLANDERS: A MONUMENT PAYING TRIBUTE TO WAFFEN SS
A monument erected in Flanders pays tribute to Latvian legionaries.
Problem, they were in the Waffen SS...
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Alert about a monument dedicated to members of the 15th and 19th divisions of the Waffen Einsatzgruppen SS in Zedelgem (West Flanders)
On September 28, 2018, a monument to the “Latvian Legionaries” was unveiled in a British military camp open at Zedelgem at the end of the war.
It appears that the individuals placed in this camp had been part of the German troops and had operated in the Baltic countries as well as on the Eastern Front.
Among these were about 15,000 Latvians who were part of the 15th and 19th divisions of the Waffen Einsatzgruppen SS...
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PROPOSAL FOR AN ACT TO STRENGTHEN DEMOCRACY AGAINST ANY ACT TAKEN IN CONNECTION WITH NAZISM OR RELATED IDEOLOGICAL REFERENCES
Opening statement by André Flahaut – Member of Parliament, Minister of State...
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THE NAZI MONUMENT PROJECT: How many monuments honor fascists, Nazis and murderers of Jews? You’ll be shocked.
The most curious thing about last year’s protests that toppled statues of slavers and colonizers is that the monuments of Holocaust perpetrators didn’t even make headlines...
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Letter of Wilfred Burie, president of the patriotic association "The Belgians Remember Them" sent to Mr. André Flahaut, Minister of State and Deputy to the Chamber of the Representatives by which he advises the Minsiter of the existence of the monument of Zedelgem.
Recently, I was struck by information discovered by chance on the Internet. In doing further research, I discovered that a monument dedicated to former Baltic Waffen SS had been inaugurated in Zedelgem two years ago.
Below is a summary of my research...
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