Leopold III is a controversial personality of his story Belgium. He ruled in a troubled period during which extreme ideologies and totalitarian regimes dominated Europe. His decision, however, not to follow the Belgian government in exile after the occupation of the country by them Sausagecaused the month of his compatriots, marking the beginning of the end of his reign.
Leopold was born in November 1901 in Brussels. He was the firstborn son of the successor – then – of the Belgian throne Albert and the Duchess Elizabeth of Bavaria. Growing up, he received good education, attending lessons of great Teachers of Belgium at that time. Although he expressed a desire to fight alongside his father, in the fields of World War I in Flanders, his parents decided to send him to the United Kingdomwhere he completed secondary education while studying at ITON, the college of British aristocrats.
In the summer of 1935, his wife lost her life in an accident in Switzerland.
In 1926 he married Princess Astrid of Sweden, with whom he had three children. After his father’s death on February 17, 1934, Leopold became King of Belgium, accepting the crown on February 23. In the summer of 1935 he traveled to Switzerland with his wife for vacation. The couple liked to ride a car on the streets around the lake and admire the idyllic landscape of the Swiss countryside. During such a walk, Leopold lost control of his car, driving it to the waters of the lake. He managed to get out alive from the submerged vehicle, but not Astrid. The blow for him was great.
In 1940, Leopold was handed over to the Germans, but without working with the occupation forces.
Leopold III faced the greatest judgment of his reign during his period World War II. On May 10, 1940, the Nazi forces invaded Belgium. The Belgian government fled to France and then to the United Kingdom. Instead of following the government in exile, as most of the kings of the states under the occupation of the Axis forces did, he preferred to surrender to the Germans while remaining in his country. Although he did not work with the occupation forces, his compatriots believed that his attitude had weakened the Belgian resistance.
At the retreat of the Germans, Leopold was transferred to Germany and then to Austria, where he was liberated by the allies in May 1945. His return to his home country was not an easy task, as many were opposed to his return to the throne. Because Belgian society was divided on the issue of Leopold’s return to the country, In 1950 a referendum was held With this question. Although 57% of the Belgians came in favor of the return of Leopold III, he chose to resign in 1951 in favor of the son of Baldwin in order to achieve inner peace in the country.
Column: Myrto Katsigera, Vassilis Minakakis, Antigoni-Despina Poumenidou, Athanasios Syroplakis
