Died 1999 | ||
Jozef de vroey aarschot bpg 2015
Jozef De Vroey (1912–1999) was a Catholic priest and child survivor of the 19 August 1914 Aarschot massacre that occurred in World War I during the rape of Belgium and whose book about this atrocity, Aarschot op Woensdag 19 Augustus 1914 (Aarschot on Wednesday, 19 August 1914) (published 1964, republished 2014), has been cited by many historians, including Trinity College, Dublin, Professor Alan Kramer in his 2002 Yale University Press published book German Atrocities, 1914: A History of Denial that he co-wrote with John N. Horne. After World War II, Vroey, also, published a book about the life, exploits and execution of Belgium spy Jozef Raskin.
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Early life and education
Vroey was born in 1912 in Aarschot, Belgium and whose father was one of the victims of the Aarschot massacre after he was shot and killed by German soldiers during World War I in 1914. When he was 10-years-old, his mother died leaving him to be raised by his aunt and uncle in what is described as a convoluted family. He later became a Roman Catholic priest and taught in both Antwerp and Leuven. His hatred of the Germans continued throughout his life.
Book about Aarschot massacre
In 1964, Vroey wrote his book Aarschot op Woensdag 19 Augustus 1914 in which he described the Aarschot massacre as being in retaliation for the murder of the German Colonel Stenger. He, also in this book, described his father's death as being caused by a bullet that pierced the Sacred Heart medallion around his neck, and ended the book with a letter to the Germans he signed and that stated that he was "one of the two hundred and thirty-four war orphans from Aarschot 1914".
Book about Jozef Raskin
After World War II, Vroey wrote the book titled Pater Raskin in de beide wereldoorlogen (Father Raskin in both world wars) detailing the life and exploits of the Belgium Roman Catholic Church priest Jozef Raskin who was a spy in both World War I and World War II and was guillotined by the Nazi Germans on 31 August 1943.