Now Richard Miniter has decided to jump into the Vlaams Belang controversy: Actually, Hitler liked Islam.

I’m not sure how the fact that Adolf Hitler formed alliances with Islamists (a fact covered many times at LGF) is supposed to prove anything about the Vlaams Belang today. Maybe Miniter can clarify that for me? Certainly, Hitler used Muslims to do his dirty work, but does Miniter doubt that the Nazis would have turned on the Muslims when their usefulness was over?

But the following statement from Miniter is simply ridiculous, and shows that he really hasn’t paid much attention to what I’ve posted on this issue:

I suspect that Charles Johnson has not met any of the Vlaams Belang leadership or even interviewed them. He is simply following a left-wing link. He does not offer evidence, based not on his own experience, reporting or careful deliberation, but simply links to web sites of virulent critics—virtually all of whom have not interviewed party leaders or spent any time understanding the nuances of Belgian politics. The blind leading the blind.

“Simply following a left-wing link?” That’s absurd, to the point of being a complete misrepresentation. Here are the posts at LGF in chronological order; some of them do refer to left-wing sites, but there is so much more here, from so many other sources, that Miniter’s accusation looks extremely silly.

And please notice that one post contains the full audio file of a lengthy interview with Vlaams Belang leader Filip DeWinter.

That last link draws on images from the official Vlaams Belang youth magazine. Is that a “left-wing link” too?

Since Miniter’s point seems to be that the Nazi connection to Vlaams Belang is all a fantasy, let’s examine another piece of evidence that I haven’t posted before, some photographs emailed by a right wing Dutch reader who’s been following the controversy (unlike Miniter).

Here’s the official page for Vlaams Belang parliamentarian Koen Dillen.

And here’s Koen Dillen enjoying the company of Belgian Nazi collaborator Leon Degrelle, ranking Standartenf�hrer in the Waffen SS:

Another picture of Dillen with Degrelle:

Here’s a picture of Degrelle with someone else you may recognize:

And here’s one more photo of Degrelle, in his younger days:

Leon Degrelle, founder of Belgium’s Rexist movement, remained an unrepentant Nazi and Holocaust denier until he died in 1994. After the war he bounced around several Scandinavian countries before ending up in Spain, where he escaped justice for the rest of his life. During the time of the Franco regime, Degrelle would show up at official occasions wearing a white uniform with his Waffen SS decorations, bragging about his close relationship with Adolf Hitler.

Belgium convicted him of treason in absentia, and sentenced him to death by firing squad.

About Degrelle’s meeting with Vlaams Belang official Koen Dillen, Wikipedia’s Dutch edition has this information (translated by Babelfish):

On 11 July 1992 L�on Degrelle had a meeting with Koen Dillen, current euro-parlementari�r for the Vlaams Belang, to whom he gave a signed photograph of himself with Adolf Hitler. Filip Dewinter also has a photograph signed by Degrelle.

Here’s the photograph signed by Leon Degrelle for Koen Dillen:

There’s more where that came from—a lot more. Richard Miniter should be careful about throwing around accusations of blindness, because it takes a certain kind of willful blindness to ignore the disturbing connections and shady past of the Vlaams Belang.

UPDATE at 11/8/07 9:29:29 am:

Video of Degrelle being decorated by Adolf Hitler. (Hat tip: WriterMom.)

Youtube Video

And almost every comment for this video at YouTube openly supports Degrelle and the Nazis.