Remi Schrijnen

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SS-Unterscharführer Remy Schrijnen with Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, Iron Cross I and II, Infantry Assault Badge and Wound Badge in Gold, the "Last Knight of Flanders".

Remi Schrijnen (also: Remy; b. 24 December 1921 in Kumtich, Flanders; d. 27 July 2006 in Hagen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany) was a Belgian volunteer of the Waffen-SS in WW II. He was a Flemish nationalist and the only Flemish volunteer in the SS Flandern to have been awarded the German Knight's cross. He is also one of only a handful of privates to have received the Knights Cross.[1] He later became a citizen of the Federal Republic of Germany.

Life

Richard „Remy“ Schrijnen.jpg

Born in Kumtich on 24 December 1921, Schrijnen was a fervent Flemish nationalist and joined the Vlaams Nationaal Verbond or VNV before the war.

World War II

Germany addressed its allies for soldiers to make up its losses in manpower. In order not to be abandoned in favour of more radical groups and of French speaking Rex, the VNV sanctioned the creation of a "Flemish Legion" to operate as part of the German Army.

When first applying as a volunteer to the Flemish legion, Remi Schrijnen was refused because he was too small. Other volunteers called him the "Strumpf-Deutscher" (German tehe size of a sock), but he showed his courage in the Battle of Leningrad in February 1943. He served as an anti-tank grenadier in the 27th SS Volunteer Division Langemarck and was promoted to Unterscharführer in the 4th SS Volunteer Panzer Grenadier Brigade Nederland.

During the Battle of Narva on 3 March 1944, he single-handedly destroyed eleven enemy tanks with a 7.5 cm Pak 40[1] He was found unconscious and close to death the following day and brought to Swinemünde and eventually Berlin, where he received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and a congratulatory telegram from VNV leader Hendrik Elias.

Post war

After the war, the highly decorated warrior returned to Belgium, where he was arrested, tried and symbolically convicted to death. This was immediately commuted to lifelong imprisonment. He was released in 1950 on condition of good behaviour. However, he participated in so called "amnesty marches" (demanding amnesty for those comrades and heros who had fought on the Eastern Front) which often ended in brawls and scuffles with the police. Flemish volunteers were terrorized by the people of Belgium, beaten, spit upon and degraded. They had had enough and started to defend themselves politically and physically. After one such brawl, in 1953, he was arrested and held in prison for almost two years.

In 1962, he emigrated to the Federal Republic of Germany, took German nationality and lived in Hagen with his wife. Flemish patriots and national socialists continued to revere him as "The Last Knight of Flanders" (which was also the title of a renowned book by Allen Brandt on Flemish soldiers in the SS legions).

Death

  • Remy Schrijnen died in Hagen, North Rhine-Westphalia on 27 July 2006.

Awards and decorations

Literature

  • Allen Brandt: The last Knight of Flanders. Remy Schrijnen and his SS-Legion „Flandern“ / Sturmbrigade „Langemarck“ comrades on the Eastern Front, 1941-1945. Schiffer Publishing, Atglen PA 1998, ISBN 0-7643-0588-3.
  • Jonathan Trigg: Hitler's Flemish Lions: The History of the 27th SS-Freiwilligen Grenadier Division Langemarck (Flämische NR. 1),[5] Spellmount (2007), ISBN 978-1862273856

External links

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Stephen Hart & Matthew Hughes. The German Soldier in World War II, 90. 
  2. ↑ The Walloon Honor Rexist Badge, known as the Blood Order, was instituted in 1941. In November 1944, RFSS H. Himmler authorized the award to be worn on German uniform when the Walloon Army formation was transfered to the Waffen-SS. The bronze badge has the Walloon Bergundy Cross with a sword crossing it surrounded by a circle. The French inscription reads Bravery, Honor and Loyalty.
  3. ↑ The Tollenaere Honor badge was the second most prestigious award and was rendered in two classes silver and bronze, although their is no evidence shown that the silver class was ever worn. The badge honors the death of the VNV Black Brigade Leader Dr. Reimond Tollenaere who was killed in action at Kopzy, near Leningrad on 22 January 1942. The badge shows the Dutch wolf's hook, a small rectangular box with the motto "TROUW" (Loyalty) and a sword in the background crossing it. The bottom part shows a circular ring with the Flemish motto "AANR TOLLENAERE KOPZY JAN 1942," indicating the date and place where he was killed. The VNV Black Brigade members were awarded this badge for loyalty and sacrifice. The badge is cast, semi hollow on the back and has the same style loop rings.
  4. ↑ The Flemish VNV War Merit Award shown on your right is another extremely rare decoration instituted in June 1944. This award is known as the "Eer en Trouw" (Honor and Loyalty) Badge. It was awarded in bronze only for special acts of courage at home or at the Eastern Front. The badge was also awarded for those killed in action or by terrorist. It was die stamped with the two loop style hinge, and mounted on a commemorate plaque.
  5. ↑ Following the sell-out success of his first volume in this series, "Hitler's Gauls", the author examines in depth the Langemarck division, composed entirely of fighters drawn from the Flemish lands of Northern Belgium. Motivated by a powerful anti-communist zeal and a desire to escape forever the interference of their traditional enemy, France, these men fought at Stalingrad and in the encircling battles of the Volkhov pocket. They fought the bitter campaign in the Ukraine in 1943-44, then in Estonia at the Narva. The Division was destroyed by the Russian juggernaut in 1945. Illustrated with rare photographs, many previously unpublished, and with close analysis of the key figures such as Flemish Knight's Cross winner Remy Schrijnen, this is a fascinating study of fanatical courage.
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