Library Jesuits Valkenburg, 1936
In and around Valkenburg, there had been some foundations of German cloisters in the time of the so called Kulturkampf (cultural struggle) under Bismarck. Since 1894 the so called Jesuit monastery was one of them. It was actually their university, the Collegium Maximum and it was moved to Valkenburg under the name Ignatiuscollege. It was seized by the Nazis, to set up there a Reichsschule der SS (school for nazi boys).
In her article Niet zeuren maar werken – Twee generaties Eck vanaf 1873, Het Land van Herle, jaargang 65 (2015), nr.3, p.98-126 Christine W.M. Schunck wrote in the paragraph about rector Eck: It soon became a center of science and housed among other things a library with 180,000 books, an astronomical observatory and also the famous entomological collection of the biologist Erich Weissmann s.j.
In April 1942 the Jesuits of Valkenburg were forced by the SS to return immediately to their home country without their possessions.
About the precious objects that should not fall into the hands of the SS she wrote: 38 golden chalices, several reliquaries with content, a magnificent set of three liturgical vestments with gold brocade, including a choir cope as well as a monstrance, which was covereded with round diamonds (a gift from emperor Wilhelm II to a Jesuit from the Hohenzollern family), and also precious vestments and altar paraments..
Pierre Schunck