Norbert Wallez

Abbot Norbert Wallez (born October 19, 1882 , † September 24, 1952 ) was a Belgian journalist and priest . He was the editor of the newspaper Le Vingtième Siècle (The Twentieth Century) and founder of the children's supplement Le Petit Vingtième (The Little Twentieth), in which Tintin appeared.

Life

Norbert Wallez studied at the University of Leuven . In 1906 he was ordained a priest and worked as a teacher. After he volunteered for the First World War and returned healthy, he continued his teaching career. He taught at the Catholic school Bonne Espérance . At the request of Cardinal Désiré-Joseph Mercier , he took over the Catholic newspaper Le Vingtième Siècle in 1924 .

In 1927 the young Hergé (Georges Prosper Remi) started to work for the newspaper in the service department. A year later, Hergé became editor-in-chief for the children's supplement Le Petit Vingtième founded by Wallez. The comics drawn by Hergé, such as Tintin and Struppi , appeared in Wallez's children's supplement . Wallez always decided which countries "Tintin" should travel to. He later founded two more supplements for Le Vingtième Siècle . Hergé Wallez's secretary married Germaine Kieckens in 1932 .

In 1933, Wallez was transferred to Aulne Abbey by his superior , where he was supposed to manage the preservation of the ruins.

After the German occupation of Belgium in 1940, he supported Léon Degrelle's Rexism party .

In 1947 he was sentenced to four years imprisonment and a fine of 200,000 francs for collaboration . He remained in custody in Charleroi until 1950 . There he fell ill with cancer. Before he died, he met Hergé and his wife again.

Wallez died on September 24, 1952.

literature

• Benoît Peeters : Hergé - A life for the comics. Carlsen Verlag , Reinbek 1983