Henri Story - World War II

World War II

He returns to his business and becomes more active than ever. He continues to serve his mandates in several enterprises, and becomes a director of the Bank van Brussel on the Kouter in Ghent and becomes chairman of the Intifil cooperative and attempts to navigate the textile industry of Ghent through the war. At the surface he behaves as a strictly neutral citizen, but form the start of the Nazi occupation he commits himselve to help the prisoners of war, the deportees and the people forced to work in Germany. He refuses to pass on the lists of his employees to the Nazis, what brings him in 1942, for the Court martial. His commitment to resisting the occupation goes even further. Already in 1940, he joins the local resistance. He founded the Ghent department of the information service Zero and is provincial agent for the Socrates group which supports people hiding from the Nazis and organised flight routes. He helps his future son-in-law, Charles Waegemans, to escape to London. Through Albert Maertens he gets involved in the distribution of underground newspapers such as The Belfort and at the activities of the Onafhankelijkheidsfront (E: Independence Front). His contacts in the financial and industrial world and his leading position within freemasonry (as chairing master of Le Septentrion) also mean an important support for the resistance movement.

Also in the policy domain he continues his work in the underground. Against the German prohibition on political activities, the liberal party shortly after the outbreak of World War II starts to the make plans for a blueprint for a new post war liberal party. As from 1941 Henri plays an increasingly important role in the preparations. Under supervision of wartime Presidents Jane Brigode and Fernand Demets and with a whole range of post-war Liberal leaders such as Van Glabbeke, Mundeleer and Buisseret they reflect on a modernised liberal party and in the texts which were prepared, one can clearly see the ideas which Henri stood for and had implemented in Ghent. The new party programme for the Liberal Party which was presented by Roger Motz in 1945-1946, was clearly inspired by Henri Story.

His work for the underground resistance during the war would lead to his capture and death. On 22 October 1943 he is arrested in his office at the Kouter in Ghent. He becomes a member of the Masonic Lodge Liberté chérie (French: "Cherished Liberty") inside Hut 6 of Emslandlager VII (Esterwegen). Attempts to get him released fail and in March 1944 he is transported to Germany. Henri Story dies in the Nazi concentration camp of Grosz Rosen near Breslau on 5 December 1944.