King Leopold III, the Nazis and Herge

I came across this picture of an interesting moment in Belgium history, the abdication of King Leopold III of Belgium.

It comes from the highly recommended Iconic Photos blog:

On July 16, 1951, King Leopold III of Belgium renounced the throne of Belgium, the throne he hadn’t occupied since the end of the WWII. Following the liberation of Belgium, the king was unable to return to Belgium due to a political controversy surrounding his actions during the conflict; many accused him of having betrayed the Allies by a premature surrender, and of collaborating with the Nazis.

King Leopold’s actions at the start of the war had a huge impact on Herge’s attitude to the occupation and lead to him being accused of collaboration. TintinMovie.org will have more details of this part in Herge’s life next Tuesday and Wednesday in extracts from Herge,: The Man who Created Tintin (American Edition) dealing with the war and its aftermath.

When considering Herge’s actions during the war, the historical context must always be considered. It is too easy to criticize him now given what we know of the Nazi regime but at the time, the situation was far from clear. The King had surrendered but did not flea the country. Instead he met with Hitler and tried to assert his position as monarch. Against such events, is it surprising that a young, pro-monarchy, cartoonist decided that there was no crime in working for German controlled newspapers?

Source: Leopold III abdicates