World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseRené Lagrou was born in Blankenberge, West Flanders, Belgium, in 1904. He was a lawyer by training. He was a member of the nationalist political party Flemish National Union (Vlaams Nationaal Verbond, or VNV for short) who was known for his anti-Semistic stance. During the period of German occupation in WW2, he co-founded the Belgian SS organization Algemeene-SS Vlaanderen in 1940. He saw action fighting under the German banner on the Eastern Front. After the war, he was captured by the Allies, but he escaped, settling in Spain. He was found guilty of treason and was sentenced to death in absentia. In Jul 1947, he moved to Argentina under the false name of Reinaldo van Groede. He was an employee of the División de Informaciones and immigration offices; in these roles he planned the migration of Nazi Party members and Belgian Nazi collaborators to Argentina. He passed away in Barcelona, Spain in 1969.