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Sunday, September 24, 2023

Heinkel He 111 of Léon Degrelle Crash-Landed in Spain


The pictures posted here show the accident that Léon Degrelle suffered when he was running away from the allies at the end of the World War II. Léon Joseph Marie Ignace Degrelle (Bouillon, 15 June 1906 – 31 March 1994) was a Walloon Belgian politician, who founded Rexism and later joined the Waffen SS (becoming a leader of its Walloon contingent) which were front-line troops in the fight against the Soviet Union. After World War II, he was a prominent figure in neo-nazi movements.

After Germany's defeat, Degrelle fled to Denmark and eventually Norway, where he commandeered a Heinkel He 111 aircraft, allegedly provided by Albert Speer. He was severely wounded in a crash-landing on the beach at San Sebastian in Northern Spain. The government of Franco in Spain initially refused to hand him over to the Allies (or extradite him to Belgium) by citing his health condition. After further international pressures, Francisco Franco permitted his escape from hospital, while handing over a look-alike; in the meanwhile, José Finat y Escrivá de Romaní helped Degrelle obtain false papers. In 1954, in order to ensure his stay, Spain granted him Spanish citizenship under the name José León Ramírez Reina, and the Falange assigned him the leadership of a construction firm that benefited from state contracts. Belgium convicted him of treason in absentia and condemned him to death by firing squad. While in Spain, during the time of Franco, Degrelle maintained a high standard of living and would frequently appear in public and in private meetings in a white uniform featuring his German decorations, while expressing his pride over his close contacts and "thinking bond" with Adolf Hitler. He continued to live undisturbed when Spain became democratic after the death of Franco.







Source :
https://ww2aircraft.net/forum/threads/interned-aircrafts-in-spain-during-the-world-war-ii.30264/page-2

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