Row over “Ireland’s Nazis” settled in court
January 15th, 2007 by Zsofia
An RTE documentary on the lives of Nazis fugitives and collaborators in Ireland had to be re-edited before going on air after complaints from family members about the documentary’s allegations. The widow of one the alleged fugitives won a ‘right to reply’ in a court settlement, which led to the removal of the second part of the programme from the RTE schedule.
The widow of the late Albert Folens, a former member of the SS-affiliated Flemish Legion and founder of Ireland’s largest publisher of schoolbooks, had sought an injunction preventing RTE from broadcasting the portion of the documentary which deals with her husband’s wartime activities.
The program was reworked to include her statement that she and her family do not accept that Folens was a member of the Nazi party or employed by the Gestapo, as the film claims. Folens was sentenced to 10 years in prison by British authorities for his participation in the Flemish Legion, but escaped custody in 1946 to Ireland, where he lived until his death four years ago.
The film was directed by veteran Irish filmmaker Cathal O’Shannon.
