The fallen resistance fighters in the dutch province of Limburg

Mayors

The position of a (non-fascist) mayor was difficult during World War II. Under the Land War Regulations, an international treaty of 1899, they had to assist the German occupiers, but these in turn had to respect the law and legal order of the occupied territories. Nothing came of the latter. The mayors were therefore faced with a dilemma. They could resign and would then be replaced by a fascist who would cause even more damage. They could also stay on to protect their citizens as much as possible and then run the risk of being compromised by acceding to the demands of the occupying power. [1] Of course, also police officers and other officials had to face this problem.
In the first months they were still optimistic about the positive role they could play. The mayors and police usually tried to gain the trust of the Germans by maintaining public order and calling on their population to exercise restraint and calmness, in order to avoid repercussions against their citizens.
They therefore often acted as dampers of anti-German protest. It was only from the spring of 1943 that the remaining mayors turned more actively against the plans of the occupiers. [2]
A number of mayors chose a different strategy and did openly oppose the Germans in those first months. They were fired and usually replaced by NSB mayors. [3]
Typical of this dilemma are the two Valkenburg mayors during the occupation period. The pre-war (and post-war) mayor Hens endured until 1943. [4] In that year, about half of the Dutch mayors gave up, realizing that they could not do anything anymore, for example against the deportation of the Jews to the extermination camps and of the male population to slavery in Germany.
Below the footnotes you can see the names of some mayors who paid for their principled stand with their lives.

1. Peter Romijn, Burgemeesters in oorlogstijd. Besturen onder Duitse bezetting, Bürgermeister in Kriegszeit. Regieren unter deutscher Besatzung, Verlag Boom, Amsterdam, 2006. ISBN 9050187714
2. https://www.tweedewereldoorlog.nl/kennis/themas/ondermijning-rechtstaat-en-bezetting/burgemeester-in-oorlogstijd/
3. anderetijden.nl: Burgemeester in oorlogstijd Bürgermeister in Kriegszeit
4. Two mayors of ValkenburgZ
   On the right you can see the then city hall of Valkenburg-Houthem, where both gentlemen resided ⇒
5. There are two, not identical, Dutch Wikipedia articles on the subject of mayors in wartime:
   Burgemeesters in oorlogstijd
   nl.wikipedia: Burgemeesters in oorlogstijd, Mayors in wartime
6. nl.wikipedia: Oorlogsburgemeester

Mayors – 2 pers.   ⇒All the fallen resistance people in Limburg
Cann, van Frans P.M.	∗ 1886-12-22 Melick en Herkenbosc † 1945-03-31 Bergen-Belsen	Helden - mayor - Mayor of Helden. He became a victim of the big raid on May 17, 1944 in Helden en Sevenum. More than 50 people were arrested. Seven of them did not survive the war or died shortly after, amongst them Frans van Cann. See the text above the  … wall: left, row 20-03
Luske, Jacques Joseph Carlos Marie Jacques	∗ 1901-08-31 Baarn † 1944-12-27 Hamburg-Neuengamme	L.O. - mayor - The outskirts of Limburg - Mayor and member of LO-Bergharen [1], which was part of the LO-District Maas en Waal. Arrested on March 6, 1944, because captured people in hiding had talked after severe torture. Read the following story from the Jan van Gelderstichting: [2] He did not hesitate … This person is not (yet?) listed on the walls of the chapel.