Joris Van Severen

Joris Van Severen
Joris Van Severen
Born	Georges Edmond Eduard Van Severen (1894-07-19)19 July 1894 Wakken, Belgium
Died	20 May 1940(1940-05-20) (aged 45) Abbeville, France
Nationality	Belgium
Education	Law degree
Alma mater	University of Ghent
Occupation	Politician
Political party	Frontpartij Verdinaso

Joris Van Severen (19 July 1894 – 20 May 1940) was a Belgian politician and ideologue of the Flemish Movement. A leading figure of pre-World War II Flemish nationalism, he co-founded the extreme-right group Verdinaso.

Van Severen was born in the Flemish town of Wakken as Georges Edmond Eduard Van Severen. His family was Flemish but, in keeping with a number of leading Flemings, spoke the French language and as such were given the derogatory nickname Fransquillon by Dutch speakers. Van Severen's father was a prominent lawyer who also served as mayor of Wakken. Van Severen was educated by Jesuits in the Sint-Barbaracollege, who taught in French, before studying law at the University of Ghent.

Following the outbreak of the First World War Van Severen was called up to the Belgian Army. Initially a sergeant, he was promoted to second lieutenant in January 1917. While in the army Van Severen became part of the Front Beweging, a secret Flemish nationalist group active within the Belgian Army, and also wrote an open letter to King Albert calling for greater autonomy for Flanders. The latter, which was the work of Van Severen and other intellectual soldiers such as Corporal Adiel de Beuckelaere, included calls for internal self-government and a separate Flemish Army. When this was discovered Van Severen was interrogated by Military Police about his Flemish nationalist activities and after informing them that he was supported the terms of the letter he was sentenced to eight days of house arrest. His ultimate punishment was to be demoted back into the ranks in June 1918.

Already involved in the Flemish Movement, Van Severen began to develop his own wider ideology and world view. Towards the end of the war he became a convinced Russophile and reacted positively towards the Russian Revolution. He combined this with a strong Germanophobia, dismissing Germany as "a gang of bandits with no soul". Alongside this he had a strong faith in the Roman Catholic Church, and in particular admired the Catholic authors Léon Bloy and Albrecht Rodenbach, who was also an important figure of inspiration for the Flemish Movement. His ideas began to take shape in the journal Ons Vaterland, which Van Severen and other like-minded soldiers produced from the front.