Shooting of Grace-Berleur

The shooting of Grace-Berleur is a bloody incident which precipitated the epilog of the royal Question in Belgium.

The July 30th 1950, the Belgian gendarmerie made fire on the crowd which, in this village heights of Liege protested against the return of Léopold III. There were three died and a fourth victim succumbed to its wounds. Aggravating circumstance, the first three dead was old resistant to the Nazism. The incident made assemble the tension and allowed at the same time as concluded the royal question by the withdrawal from Léopold III. Following this bloody repression, several Walloon political personalities considered the creation of a separatist Walloon Gouvernement.

The fatal demonstration

Six hundred people are gathered on the place of the Martyrs of the Résistance to Grace-Berleur. Around five hours of the afternoon, the socialist deputy Simon Passover must inform the population of the evolution of the events. Crowd counts as well men as women and children.

The speech of Simon Passover and the arrival of the gendarmes

But an anonymous telephone call denounces the gathering with the gendarmerie of Hollogne-with-Stones (any gathering being prohibited by order of the Police chief of district): eleven gendarmes embark in a combi. Simon Passover has just finished his speech when the gendarmes arrive. The deputy preaches the calm one: “ Here gendarmes, but I nevertheless finished my speech; remain calm and return on your premise ”.

The incident

The gendarmes spread the weapon with the fist. On their arrival, a great number of demonstrators are withdrawn. But the situation however will worsen. The deputy Passover parlemente with the chief of the detachment of gendarmes and is finally enmmené towards their vehicle. Arthur Samson, burgomaster of Grace-Berleur, is opposed to this arrest. But seeing crowd again in anger, it tries to calm it. It is however stopped in its turn. The demonstrators are done more threatening. The chief of the detachment takes the pin out a grenade of dissuasion and the lance behind him. Some take fear, others rise. 36 years a miner, Houbbrechts, old resistant, challenges the warrant officer. It is not known why. The two men come to the hands.

The four dead ones

The fray is confused. The warrant officer seizes his gun, draws twice on Houbbrechts which collapses, mortally reached. Then the gendarme still directs his weapon towards the demonstrators. The ball reaches in the back a workman electrician, Joseph Thomas. He will die of his wounds. Another ball strikes Henri Vervaeren, truck-driver a 26 year old and also kills it. Inexplicably, one of the gendarmes present aims another person who did not form part of the demonstration but observed it at a certain distance by curiosity, supported on her bicycle Pierre Sérapana. The rifle shot kills it instantaneously.

Withdrawal of the king Léopold III

This incident played a key role in the withdrawal of the king Léopold III because the policies, even in favor of its maintenance (in theory), wanted to avoid the showdown at all costs and ended up convincing the fourth king of the Belgians to abdicate. A differed abdication, because it took place later only one year, but the king delegated all his powers to his wire Baudouin Ier.

Legal continuations

A bachelor in history, Manu Dolhet, collecting the sketches established following the autopsies practiced on the four dead ones (files of IHOES), could show in a final way that the thesis of the gendarmes claiming that they were in a state of self-defense, did not hold.

Nevertheless the parents of the victims, being made up civil parts, were déboutés a few years later, in the name of the thesis of the self-defense. The report of this student was deposited with UCL in 2001 under the title the outcome of the royal question, July, August 1950 .

A more detailed account

One will read the detailed account of the events by the historian Thierry Goossens who, however, at the time of the publication of his study, does not provide the elements of the file of repression which largely accredit the thesis of a lack of coolness on behalf of the gendarmes, misses coolness which is explained by the fact why these men were exténués by the maintenance of law and order in the extremely violent context of the insurgent Wallonia against the king.

Died for the freedom of the Walloon people

The commune of Grace-Berleur made post the photographs of the victims where it was proclaimed that they had died “for the freedom of the Walloon people”. They is the same the Walloon Drapeau which preceded tens of thousands by people who led the four killed out of Grace-Berleur to their last residence. A monument was set up at the fateful place which says simply that these four men (including three old resistant), died to safeguard the rights of the people .

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