All the fallen resistance people in Limburg

Leonardus Mattheus Verdonschot (Leo)

Het Grote Gebod – L.O.

Vicar Verdonschot began his resistance work by helping French-speaking prisoners of war who had escaped from Germany. They were taken to Belgium via Wessem/Maasbracht-Stevensweert. (Cammaert III [1],p. 195) Since the summer of 1943 he led the L.O. in Koningsbosch and for this purpose he was in contact with A. Engelen in Echt, vicar P.A.H. Römkens in Pey-Echt and father Bleijs in Roermond. (Cammaert VIb [2], p. 626.)
Arrested in the church [3#13] during a large-scale action on February 23, 1944, as a result of the carelessness of a 17-year-old German hider. That was H. Greune from Mönchen-Gladbach, who was wanted as a member of the Edelweiss Pirates [4]. He was incautious. He traveled around and wrote everything down. Vicar Verdonschot was the only one who still wanted to take him in. Every time he was arrested, he managed to escape and so he survived Verdonschot, unfortunately, did not. (Cammaert VIb [2], pp. 626-627)

The mayor of the municipality of Echt wrote after the war:
The person in question was captured during the evacuation of this municipality (November 1944 to March 1945) by German soldiers in Montfort in connection with illegal work and transported to Germany with unknown destination. [3#15]

Verdonschot was deported from Vught to Sachsenhausen in early September 1944. In February 1945 he arrived in Bergen-Belsen severely weakened, where he died on March 2, 1945. (Cammaert VIb [2], p. 627.)

The mayor of the municipality of Echt continued:
The residential address of the person concerned was formerly Echt-Koningsbosch, Breberderweg Oost 14. This street has since been renamed Kapelaan Verdonschotstraat. [3#15]

Footnotes

Footnotes

1. Cammaert, Alfred Paul Marie, Het Verborgen Front 3, Hulpverlening aan uit Duitsland ontvluchte (Franstalige) krijgsgevangenen
2. Cammaert, Alfred Paul Marie, Het Verborgen Front 6b, De Landelijke Organisatie voor hulp aan onderduikers
3. Dossier Oorlogsgravensichting, Leonardus Mattheus Verdonschot • #13 • #15
4. Edelweißpiraten, Wikipedia • Nederlands • Deutsch • English • Français • Português
5. Oorlogsgravenstichting.nl