The Book Is Closed

All over Belgium last week the judges were on strike. The Germans were arresting them by scores, holding many as hostages, shipping others off to concentration camps.

Three magistrates of Brussels reversed a German-enforced incorporation of the town's suburbs in a Greater Antwerp. The Germans had asked for a deferment; when the request was ignored, the judges were arrested. Belgium's judiciary, as it had done 25 years ago,* used the only weapon it had, walked out of the courts in protest.

Wrote News From Belgium, published by the Belgian Information Center: "The now silent and empty courtrooms of Belgium have acquired a new majesty. The book of Belgian law is closed. . . ."

*In January 1918, when a German-sponsored separatist movement proclaimed the autonomy of the Flemish provinces, the Belgian High Court ordered the immediate arrest of the political leaders concerned. The Germans freed their proteges, sent the magistrates to jail. In protest, the entire judiciary struck.

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