Robert de Foy
Encyclopedia
Robert Herman Alfred de Foy (Geraardsbergen
23 March 1893 - Brussels
15 August 1960 ) was a Belgian
magistrate
, and head of the Belgian State Security Service
, before and after the Second World War.
In 1941, Robert de Foy married Françoise du Monceau de Bergendal (b. 1910), sister of Count Ivan du Monceau de Bergendal (1909-2005), deputy Prosecutor in Brussels during the war (removed in 1994, reinstated in 1956, founder of the satirical weekly called Pan). They divorced in 1943. In 1946 he married the widow Marguerite Tallon (1893-1960). Both marriages remained childless.
during World War I
, Robert studied law, obtaining a Ph.d. He decided to become a magistrate. From 1922 to 1925 he was a judge within the military court in the Belgian army of occupation
of the Ruhr
, Germany
. From 1925 to 1929 he was first substitute of the Public Prosecutor in Antwerp.
He then became deputy administrator in the Department of Belgian Public Security. From August 8, 1933, after the sudden death of his predecessor, Baron René Beltjens (1879-1933) he became acting administrator.
Many countries considered communism as the most important threat. Security services of neutral countries like the Netherlands, Switzerland and Belgium attended conferences with other nations, including nazi-Germany, to consider their position towards communism. Such a conference took place in Berlin from August 30 until September 3 1937. De Foy attended only at the end. He was rather reserved about such meetings, and reduced his own participation to a minimum. After the war he declared to an investigating magistrate and to a journalist of 'Associated Press' that never there had been deals made between the Gestapo and Belgian police services for a joint battle against communism.
In June 1938, de Foy and J. Schneider, the Director in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, represented Belgium at the Evian Conference
in France
. By March 1938, after Germany
had annexed Austria
in the Anschluss
, the number of non-Belgian resident Jews had risen to 30,000. The Evian Conference was seen by all as a failure, failing to reach agreement on the number of Jews that would pass to both the United Kingdom
and the United States.
With war approaching, the Belgian government, represented by the then minister of Justice Charles du Bus de Warnaffe ordered De Foy to draw up lists of "suspect Belgians and foreigners." On the list were the leaders of extreme right and fascist movements, such as REX (Leon Degrelle), Flemish nationalist movement, Verdinaso (Joris van Severen), etc. but also communist leaders. If the Germans attacked they would have to be arrested and confined into safe places. The list mentioned also Germans or other foreigners of whom it was not certain if they sympathized with the nazis. On May 10 1940, the Germans having invaded Belgium, telegrams were sent to local police authorities, signed 'de Foy' (it is still disputed if he actually sent them) to set in motion the arrests and the deportation to France.
chose not to install a civilian government (as he had done in the Netherlands), but a military occupation, headed by general Alexander von Falkenhausen
of the Wehrmacht
. The Belgian administration remained in place and, under German supervision, governed Belgium, according to the developed theory of 'the lesser evil'.
Upon the return in July 1940 of the deported Flemish-Nationalists, De Foy and other civil servants branded as responsible, were arrested. He was transported to Germany, initially held in a hotel in Münster
and then transferred to Berlin. Questioned and held for a few weeks, he was released and returned to Belgium. Police Chief Reinhard Heydrich
communicated directly to General Eggert Reeder that de Foy was to remain untouched and resume his activities.
In fact, the Secret service department was abolished and only remained the Service of police regarding foreigners. From this point on a relationship of tension existed between de Foy and the occupying forces in Belgium.
On October 1, 1943, De Foy succeeded Gaston Schuind as Secretary General of the Department of Justice. At the same time, the Wehrmacht took over the policing of foreigners in Belgium, and arrests and deportation greatly escalated.
After the Allied Forces invasion of Normandy
in June, the Nazis relieved De Foy of his position. In part this was driven by the rumours that he was "London's man," having made contacts, according to post-War records, with the Belgian Resistance
via both Walter Ganshof van der Meersch and William Ugeux.
After Robert Jan Verbelen
was made head of the De Vlag Veiligheidscorps, a Nazi SS security force in Belgium, an attempt on the life of de Foy failed. During the last weeks of the occupation, he went into hiding.
.
Upon his return in Belgium, De Foy resumed his duties as head of the State Security Service. Again, the major part of his activities consisted in tracking soviet agents and spies, as a part of cold war
NATO activities. State Security was also tasked with organising "stay behind" groups, who would have resisted any Russian Army
invading force. De Foy retired in 1958, handing over operations to Ludovic Caeymaex.
.
On December 1, 1975 he was posthumously recognized as "Righteous Among the Nations" by Yad Vashem, for the help he had provided to Jews in Belgium.
He was the beneficiary of many honours, mainly after World War II, including:
Geraardsbergen
Geraardsbergen is a city and municipality located in the Denderstreek and in the Flemish Ardennes, the hilly southern part of the Belgian province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Geraardsbergen proper and the following towns:...
23 March 1893 - Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
15 August 1960 ) was a Belgian
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
magistrate
Magistrate
A magistrate is an officer of the state; in modern usage the term usually refers to a judge or prosecutor. This was not always the case; in ancient Rome, a magistratus was one of the highest government officers and possessed both judicial and executive powers. Today, in common law systems, a...
, and head of the Belgian State Security Service
Belgian State Security Service
The Belgian State Security Service, known in Dutch as Veiligheid van de Staat, or Staatsveiligheid , and in French as Sûreté de l'État , is a Belgian intelligence agency...
, before and after the Second World War.
Personal life
He was the son of the civil servant Léon de Foy (1852-1942) and Mathilde de Vos (1860-1943). His brother Marcel de Foy (1890-1964) ended his career as President of the Court of Appeal in Brussels, and his brother Joseph de Foy (1897-1967) was an officer in the Belgian army. In 1919 Léon obtained the change of his name from 'Defoy' into 'de Foy' and in 1934 he acquired hereditary nobility.In 1941, Robert de Foy married Françoise du Monceau de Bergendal (b. 1910), sister of Count Ivan du Monceau de Bergendal (1909-2005), deputy Prosecutor in Brussels during the war (removed in 1994, reinstated in 1956, founder of the satirical weekly called Pan). They divorced in 1943. In 1946 he married the widow Marguerite Tallon (1893-1960). Both marriages remained childless.
Early career
After serving in the Belgian ArmyBelgian Army
The Land Component is organised using the concept of capacities, whereby units are gathered together according to their function and material. Within this framework, there are five capacities: the command capacity, the combat capacity, the support capacity, the services capacity and the training...
during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, Robert studied law, obtaining a Ph.d. He decided to become a magistrate. From 1922 to 1925 he was a judge within the military court in the Belgian army of occupation
Occupation of the Ruhr
The Occupation of the Ruhr between 1923 and 1925, by troops from France and Belgium, was a response to the failure of the German Weimar Republic under Chancellor Cuno to pay reparations in the aftermath of World War I.-Background:...
of the Ruhr
Ruhr
The Ruhr is a medium-size river in western Germany , a right tributary of the Rhine.-Description:The source of the Ruhr is near the town of Winterberg in the mountainous Sauerland region, at an elevation of approximately 2,200 feet...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. From 1925 to 1929 he was first substitute of the Public Prosecutor in Antwerp.
He then became deputy administrator in the Department of Belgian Public Security. From August 8, 1933, after the sudden death of his predecessor, Baron René Beltjens (1879-1933) he became acting administrator.
Belgian State Security Service: 1933-1940
Appointed as head of the Belgian State Security Service on December 30 1934, de Foy had to deal with the problems of rising international tensions.Many countries considered communism as the most important threat. Security services of neutral countries like the Netherlands, Switzerland and Belgium attended conferences with other nations, including nazi-Germany, to consider their position towards communism. Such a conference took place in Berlin from August 30 until September 3 1937. De Foy attended only at the end. He was rather reserved about such meetings, and reduced his own participation to a minimum. After the war he declared to an investigating magistrate and to a journalist of 'Associated Press' that never there had been deals made between the Gestapo and Belgian police services for a joint battle against communism.
In June 1938, de Foy and J. Schneider, the Director in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, represented Belgium at the Evian Conference
Evian Conference
The Évian Conference was convened at the initiative of US President Franklin D. Roosevelt in July 1938 to discuss the issue of increasing numbers of Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi persecution. For eight days, from July 6 to July 13, representatives from 31 countries met at Évian-les-Bains, France...
in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. By March 1938, after Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
had annexed Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
in the Anschluss
Anschluss
The Anschluss , also known as the ', was the occupation and annexation of Austria into Nazi Germany in 1938....
, the number of non-Belgian resident Jews had risen to 30,000. The Evian Conference was seen by all as a failure, failing to reach agreement on the number of Jews that would pass to both the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and the United States.
With war approaching, the Belgian government, represented by the then minister of Justice Charles du Bus de Warnaffe ordered De Foy to draw up lists of "suspect Belgians and foreigners." On the list were the leaders of extreme right and fascist movements, such as REX (Leon Degrelle), Flemish nationalist movement, Verdinaso (Joris van Severen), etc. but also communist leaders. If the Germans attacked they would have to be arrested and confined into safe places. The list mentioned also Germans or other foreigners of whom it was not certain if they sympathized with the nazis. On May 10 1940, the Germans having invaded Belgium, telegrams were sent to local police authorities, signed 'de Foy' (it is still disputed if he actually sent them) to set in motion the arrests and the deportation to France.
During the war
After Belgium was attacked and its army surrendered on 28 May 1940, Adolf HitlerAdolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
chose not to install a civilian government (as he had done in the Netherlands), but a military occupation, headed by general Alexander von Falkenhausen
Alexander von Falkenhausen
Alexander Ernst Alfred Hermann Freiherr von Falkenhausen was a German general. He was the head of the military government of Belgium from 1940–44 during its occupation by Germany in World War II....
of the Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
. The Belgian administration remained in place and, under German supervision, governed Belgium, according to the developed theory of 'the lesser evil'.
Upon the return in July 1940 of the deported Flemish-Nationalists, De Foy and other civil servants branded as responsible, were arrested. He was transported to Germany, initially held in a hotel in Münster
Münster
Münster is an independent city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also capital of the local government region Münsterland...
and then transferred to Berlin. Questioned and held for a few weeks, he was released and returned to Belgium. Police Chief Reinhard Heydrich
Reinhard Heydrich
Reinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich , also known as The Hangman, was a high-ranking German Nazi official.He was SS-Obergruppenführer and General der Polizei, chief of the Reich Main Security Office and Stellvertretender Reichsprotektor of Bohemia and Moravia...
communicated directly to General Eggert Reeder that de Foy was to remain untouched and resume his activities.
In fact, the Secret service department was abolished and only remained the Service of police regarding foreigners. From this point on a relationship of tension existed between de Foy and the occupying forces in Belgium.
On October 1, 1943, De Foy succeeded Gaston Schuind as Secretary General of the Department of Justice. At the same time, the Wehrmacht took over the policing of foreigners in Belgium, and arrests and deportation greatly escalated.
After the Allied Forces invasion of Normandy
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
in June, the Nazis relieved De Foy of his position. In part this was driven by the rumours that he was "London's man," having made contacts, according to post-War records, with the Belgian Resistance
Belgian resistance
Belgian resistance during World War II to the occupation of Belgium by Nazi Germany took different forms. "The Belgian Resistance" was the common name for the Netwerk van de weerstand - Réseau de Résistance or Resistance Network , a group of partisans fighting the Nazis...
via both Walter Ganshof van der Meersch and William Ugeux.
After Robert Jan Verbelen
Robert Jan Verbelen
Robert Jan Verbelen was a Belgian Nazi collaborator. After the liberation of Belgium in the Second World War, Verbelen fled through Germany to Austria, where for eight years he worked for the Counter Intelligence Corps of the US Army, while he already was convicted as war criminal in Belgium...
was made head of the De Vlag Veiligheidscorps, a Nazi SS security force in Belgium, an attempt on the life of de Foy failed. During the last weeks of the occupation, he went into hiding.
After World War Two
On 1 September 1944, like most other Belgian officials in the administration, de Foy was suspended by the Belgian government returning from its exile in London, although it was stated that he had handled correctly. A judicial investigation was opened against him, but unlike many others, he was not jailed. The result was that his conduct was judged as having been blameless. From April 1946 to March 1947, he was appointed a judge in the international court seated in TangierTangier
Tangier, also Tangiers is a city in northern Morocco with a population of about 700,000 . It lies on the North African coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar where the Mediterranean meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel...
.
Upon his return in Belgium, De Foy resumed his duties as head of the State Security Service. Again, the major part of his activities consisted in tracking soviet agents and spies, as a part of cold war
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
NATO activities. State Security was also tasked with organising "stay behind" groups, who would have resisted any Russian Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
invading force. De Foy retired in 1958, handing over operations to Ludovic Caeymaex.
Honours
De Foy was vice president of the Carnegie Hero FundCarnegie Hero Fund
The Carnegie Hero Fund Commission, also known as Carnegie Hero Fund, was established to recognize persons who perform extraordinary acts of heroism in civilian life in the United States and Canada, and to provide financial assistance for those disabled and the dependents of those killed saving or...
.
On December 1, 1975 he was posthumously recognized as "Righteous Among the Nations" by Yad Vashem, for the help he had provided to Jews in Belgium.
He was the beneficiary of many honours, mainly after World War II, including:
- Belgium:
- Grand Officer of the Order of Leopold II
- Commander of the Order of Leopold
- Commander of the Order of the Crown
- Civic Cross First Class
- Other Countries
- Grand Officer of the Order of Ouissam Alaouite (Morocco)
- Grand Officer of the Ordo di Merito (Italy)
- Grand Officer of the Order of Orange-NassauOrder of Orange-NassauThe Order of Orange-Nassau is a military and civil order of the Netherlands which was created on 4 April 1892 by the Queen regent Emma of the Netherlands, acting on behalf of her under-age daughter Queen Wilhelmina. The Order is a chivalry order open to "everyone who have earned special merits for...
(Netherlands) - Grand Officer of the Wasaorde (Sweden)
- Grand Officer of the Crown (Romania)
- Grand Officer of the Order of Phoenix (Greece)
- Commander of the Order of the Redeemer (Greece)
- Commander of the Legion d'HonneurLégion d'honneurThe Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
(France) - Commander of the British Empire (CBE)
- Commander of the Order of the White Eagle (Estonia)
- Commander of the Order of Merit (Austria)
- Commander of the Order of Polonia Restituta (Poland)
Literature
- J. GERARD-LIBOIS & José GOTOVICH, L'an 40. La Belgique occupée, Brussels, 1971
- Albert DE JONGHE, De strijd Himmler-Reeder om de benoeming van een HSSPF te Brussel. Deel 3, Bijdragen tot de geschiedenis van de Tweede Wereldoorlog, 5, 1978, p. 133-147.
- Jean VANWELKENHUYZEN, Les avertissements qui venaient de Berlin, 9 octobre 1939 - 10 mai 1940, Brussels, 1982
- Maurice DE WILDE, België in de Tweede wereldoorlog, Deel 3, Kapellen, 1982
- Rudi VAN DOORSLAER & Etienne VERHOEYEN, L'Allemagne nazie, la police belge et l'anticommunisme en Belgique (1936-1944) - Aspects des relations belgo-allemandes, in: Belgisch Tijdschrift voor Nieuwste Geschiedenis, 1986, blz. 61-121
- M. VAN DEN WIJNGAERT, Tussen vijand en volk. Het bestuur van de secretarissen-generaal tijdens de Duitse bezetting 1940-1944, in: België in de Tweede Wereldoorlog. Deel 9, Het minste kwaad, uitg. DNB, Pelckmans, Kapellen, 1990
- Rudi VAN DOORSLAER, De Belgische politie en magistratuur en het probleem van de ordehandhaving, in: België in de Tweede Wereldoorlog. Deel 9, Het minste kwaad, uitg. DNB, Pelckmans, Kapellen, 1990
- Fred ERDMAN & Hervé HASQUIN (rapporteurs), Parlementair onderzoek naar het bestaan in België van een geheim internationaal inlichtingennetwerk, Belgische Senaat, 1990-1991 (referentie: 1117-4)
- Guy BEAUJOUAN, Anne-Marie BOURGOIN, Pierre CEZARD, Marie-Thérèse CHABORD, Élisabeth DUNAN, Jean-Daniel PARISET, Christian WILSDORF, La France et la Belgique sous l’occupation allemande 1940–1944. Les fonds allemands conservés au Centre Historique des Archives nationales. Inventaire de la sous-série AJ 40, (revu par Christine Douyère-Demeulenaere avec la collaboration de Michèle Conchon. Index établi par Sandrine Bula. Introduction par Stefan Martens et Andreas Nielen), Paris 2002.
- Maxime STEINBERG, La persécution des Juifs en Belgique (1940-1945), Brussels, 2004
- Nico WOUTERS, Oorlogsburgemeesters 40-44. Lokaal bestuur en collaboratie in België, Tielt, 2004
- Dan MIKHAM, Israel GUTMAN, Sara BENDER, The encyclopedia of the righteous among the nations: rescuers of Jews during the Holocaust. Belgium, Volume 2, Yad Vashem, 2005
- Emmanuel DEBRUYNE, Un service secret en exil. L’Administration de la Sûreté de l’État à Londres, novembre 1940 – septembre 1944, in: Cahiers d'Histoire du Temps présent, n° 15, 2005, p. 335-355.
- P. PONSAERTS, M. COOLS, K. DASSEN, R. LIBERT, La Sûreté. Essais sur les 175 ans de la Sûreté de l'État, Politeia, 2005
- Nico WOUTERS, De Führerstaat. Overheid en Collaboratie in België, 1940-1944, Tielt, 2006
- Humbert DE MARNIX DE SAINTE ALDEGONDE, État présent de la noblesse belge. Annuaire de 2006, Brussels, 2006
- Rudi VAN DOORSLAER e. a., La Belgique docile, les autorités belges et la persécution des Juifs en Belgique, Volume 1, Antwerp, 2007
- Emmanuel DEBRUYNE, La guerre secrète des espions belges, 1940-1944, Brussel, 2008