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The eight people in Limburg 1940-’45 whose data were last added or edited: • Dirk Hage • Guido “Kamiel” Droitcourt • Frans Schaaks • Henk Hovens • Tante Coba Pulskens • Pater Sebaldus Linders • Thei Heltzel • Jacques/Jacob Janssen •
National Socialism and Racism | The genocide of the Jews in Limburg | The genocide of the Romani in Limburg and elsewhere | The resistance in Valkenburg | SiPo Maastricht | The Englandspiel | The OD trial of Maastricht | The Danger of Lists | The Hannibal game | The strikes of April-May 1943 | A military training camp for people in hiding | Between Maas and Peel | The Treason of Maastricht | The Raid of Weert | The Raid on the Distribution Office in Valkenburg | The Strike of Wittem | Eleven imprisoned resistance fighters from Nijmegen murdered | The raid on the Maastricht prison | Revenge actions during the liberation of southern Limburg | Winter ’44-’45 in the liberated territory | The Tears of Roermond | The forced evacuation to Friesland, Groningen and Drente |This is the translation of an excerpt of De jacht op het verzet (The Hunt for the Resistance), chapter: The tragedy of the ‘small’ resistance by Ad van Liempt.
A particularly poignant case occurred in the Limburg villages of Schaesberg, Nieuwenhagen and Ubach over Worms, which form what is now Landgraaf.
At the end of May 1942, a man was arrested in Schaesberg on suspicion of theft. The officers soon realized that there was more: the arrested man not only had a picture of Lenin with him, but also a copy of the communist magazine De Vonk. The case was referred to the SD/SiPo in Maastricht. When they came and searched the arrested man’s house, they found a very suspicious piece of paper: a list with names of people who paid subscriptions or were active in a communist group. The members on the list were all residents of Schaesberg, Nieuwenhagen or Ubach over Worms.
The three nazi mayors of these villages acted immediately: on May 30 and 31, 1942, they organized a mass arrest. With a number of collaborators, they combed the streets of their villages and arrested dozens of suspects. All the men whose names were on the ‘communist list’ were taken to the SD headquarters in Maastricht. There they were subjected to lengthy and often violent interrogations by the notorious Richard Nitsch and his boss Max Strobel.
Most of those arrested were probably actually involved in the production of De Vonk and De Waarheid. The 49-year-old Waltherus van den Beemd from Schaesberg, for example, was a member of the CPN (Communist Party of the Netherlands) even before the war, organized editorial meetings and helped with the printing of the newspapers. But to Nitsch he emphatically denied this. “Nitsch was not satisfied with that”, Van den Beemd recalled after the war. “He put handcuffs on me that had sharp iron teeth. He squeezed them tightly so that the blood ran out of my wrists. The next day he warned me and said, ‘You will talk, even if this fight lasts another fortnight.’”
It is unclear whether Van den Beemd revealed anything during these violent interrogations.
It will hardly have made a difference: All but a few of those arrested were found guilty of membership in a communist group. Via the Amersfoort concentration camp, they ended up in camps such as Neuengamme, Buchenwald and Rathenau. Among them are at least seven men who had read such a newspaper only once or twice. According to his brother Dirk, 27-year-old Johan Veldhoven, for example, had read a copy of De Vonk only once: “He didn’t sell this newspaper”, Dirk Veldhoven stated emphatically after the war. Johan Veldhoven was no longer able to express himself, because he died in Neuengamme on November 6, 1942.
A total of sixteen men died in this matter. Waltherus van den Beemd was one of the few prisoners who returned after the war: In April 1945, he was liberated from the Rathenau camp by Russian troops. His left thigh had been frostbitten by the long hours of roll call, and “due to the mistreatment by Nitsch and in the camps, I am no longer able to do heavy work,” he stated. Maricus van de Wetering (37), Heinrich Tholen and Albert Koenders (54) from Schaesberg, Johannes Tersteeg (52) and Cornelis Rombouts (53) from Nieuwenhagen and Gerrit Jansen (54) from Ubach over Worms, they all died in Neuengamme or Buchenwald. Their crime: reading a single issue of De Vonk or De Waarheid.
Limburgse monumenten vertellen 1940-1945
83
Digital name memorial Oranjehotel
It is one of the most frequently asked questions: who was imprisoned in the Orange Hotel? Unfortunately, there is no complete list of all prisoners. Much of the prison records were destroyed by the German occupiers shortly before the liberation.
See also Oranjehotel & Waalsdorpervlakte82
Jan van Lieshout, Het Hannibalspiel
A sinister game during World War II of the counterintelligence service of the Kriegsmarine (Marineabwehr), which led to the downfall of three Dutch-Belgian resistance groups, ISBN 10: 9026945744 ISBN 13: 978902694574880
Loenen Field of Honour
Over 3,900 war victims are buried at Loenen Field of Honour and include those who lost their lives in different places around the world due to various circumstances. There are military personnel, members of the resistance, people who escaped the Netherlands and went to England during the first years of the WWII to join the Allies (‘Engelandvaarders’), victims of reprisal and forced labour and …79
Markante feiten in Limburg tijdens de Tweede Wereldoorlog
Remarkable facts in (Belgian) Limburg during the Second World War
Anyone who thinks that hardly any resistance took place in the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium should definitely read this document. The emphasis is on the armed resistance. Author: Mathieu Rutten.78
Stichting Struikelstenen Valkenburg
Also 45 Jews deported from Valkenburg did not return. The Stichting Struikelstenen Valkenburg (“Foundation Stumbling Stones Valkenburg”) was established to place so-called stumbling stones in the sidewalk in front of the house from which they were deported, in memory of the murdered Jews from Valkenburg. With a complete list.
See also Stolperstein on Wikipedia.77
Roermond Front City
Series of stories by Eric Munnicks about the last months of the war.
See also the other War Stories of the Roermond Municipal Archives. Unfortunately no translation available. 76
Belgium WWII
A virtual platform on Belgium and its inhabitants during the Second World War74
Former concentration camp Natzweiler-Struthof, Alsace
European Centre of Deported Resistance Members. Camp and museum73
The Jewish Victims of National Socialism in Cologne | A–Z
72
Documentation Center on the National-Socialism in Cologne
Virtual visit of the museum and the memorial in 8 languages, amongst them Hebrew and Spanish71
Camp Vught National Memorial
The Camp Vught National Memorial (Nationaal Monument Kamp Vught) is located on a part of the former SS camp Konzentrationslager Herzogenbusch, also known as Camp Vught (January 1943 – September 1944).70
The Margraten Boys - About the US War Cemetery
Harrowing and redeeming, this is the history of a unique ‘adoption’ system. For generations, local families, grateful for the sacrifice of their liberators from Nazi occupation, have cared for not only the graves, but the memories, of over 10,000 US soldiers in the cemetery of Margraten in the Netherlands.
Free e-book by Peter Schrijvers. More e-books on WWII, in English and Dutch, by this author: https://www.google.de/search?hl=de&tbo=p&tbm=bks&q=inauthor:%22Peter+Schrijvers%2268
The Jewish Monument
Every victim of the Holocaust who was murdered is memorialised on the Joods Monument with a personal profile. The Jewish Monument is not only suitable for searching and commemorating. You can supplement the monument with photos, documents and stories, by making family connections and adding members of families. To place a call and get in touch with other users. You can also add information about stumbling stones and important other external links.67
When the miners go on strike against the German occupiers
The mine strike in Limburg started on April 29th, 1943. The workload was rising and rising. The first Dutch men were forced to work in Germany. The immediate reason was General Christiansen’s order to arrest all released prisoners of war from the Dutch army again and to transport them to Germany. The strike is broken up by means of executions.66
Persecuted in Limburg
Jews and Sinti in Dutch Limburg during the Second World War
ISBN 978-90-8704-353-7
Dissertation by Herman van Rens on 03/22/2013, University of Amsterdam, slightly edited
© 2013 Hilversum65
Ons verblijf in het dorp Mergel (dagboek) (Meerssen 1989)
Our stay in the village of Mergel (diary, Meerssen 1989
Joop Geijsen from Meerssen tells how he and two other boys went into hiding for a year in the limestone caves just outside Meerssen, which was later called the diver’s inn.
As far as we know, sold out and only available in Dutch libraries.64
Yad Vashem
The World Holocaust Remembrance Center63
Beelden van verzet
This book shows, how every Dutch generation deals differently with the past of resistance.
If you can read Dutch, you can find the download link for this essay by Sander Bastiaan Kromhout
Published by the Nationaal Comité 4 en 5 May, 2018
Print edition ISBN 9077294244.62
Regional Historic Center Limburg
Limburg has numerous specialized archive institutions that preserve relevant historical sources concerning World War II. However, it is not always clear to the public for which information they can go where. Archives have overlapping work areas, organizations and people have been active in the past in different areas and in different fields. So it often takes a long time to find the right place to find information.
Here you can search, but also share your documents with other interested parties. This can be done by donating them to existing archives or museums, or by making digital copies of the available documents or images.61
War deads in Nijmegen 1940 - 1945
With search function60
Foundation Dutch Resistance Monument
Names of resistance fighters in the Netherlands and colonies during the Second World War59
La résistance durant la guerre 1940-1945
It is mainly about the network “Clarence” whose founder was Walther Dewez; evoked are also the names of various agents of Visé and the Fourons that were part of this movement.58
Fallen resistance people Maastricht
A brief description and a long gallery of portraits57
Stichting Herinnering LO-LKP
The foundation remembrance of LO-LKP wants to raise awareness of the history of the resistance by the organisations LO and LKP. To this end, she makes the contents of his memorial book and many original documents available to the interested reader in digital form.56
The Forgotten Genocide – The Fate of the Sinti and Roma
Also known as Gipsies.55
1944-2019 ⇒ South Limburg 75 years free! ⇐
An overview of the activities in South Limburg around this memorable anniversary in september. It is celebrated in every municipality.54
Short historic American film about the Divers Inn
A silent film, shot by a USAmerican team after the liberation of Valkenburg. The first part has been re-enacted, with the help of the Valkenburg resistance. It shows how people going into hiding (divers) were taken to the divers inn. The man in the hat is always Pierre Schunck. The film starts at his home in Plenkertstraat, Valkenburg. The role of the policeman on the bike at the start is not entirely clear. According to the accompanying text, this is a courier.53
Database persoonsbewijzen uit de Tweede Wereldoorlog
About Dutch identity cards in the Second World War as well as images of identity cards in combination with other documents and genealogical and personal data including life stories.49
Memorial stone for the resistance people Coenen and Francotte
In front of the Provincial Resistance Monument in Valkenburg. Here the underground fighters Sjeng (John) Coenen and Joep (Joe) Francotte were murdered on 5 September 1944, just before the liberation of Valkenburg48
Resistance Memorial of the dutch province of Limburg
Every year on May 4, the commemoration ceremony for the fallen of this province takes place here. Meanwhile, also the veterans are no longer among us anymore.47
Call to everyone, but especially to the residents of Valkenburg
On September 17, 2019 it will be 75 years ago that the town and all villages of the current municipality of Valkenburg aan de Geul were liberated.
To commemorate the liberation and to display the wartime as accurately as possible, the Museum Land van Valkenburg is looking for personal stories, eye witnesses and tangible memories.
Of all these lifelike stories, materials, photos, footage and equipment, we are organizing a unique and as complete as possible overview exhibition under the name “We Do Remember”46
Roll of honor of the fallen, 1940 - 1945
A website commissioned by the dutch Second Chamber (~ House of Representatives). The Honor Roll of Fallen 1940-1945 includes those who fell as a result of resistance or as a soldier.45
Grenzeloos verzet
Borderless resistance – On Spying Monks, escape lines and the “Hannibal Game”, 1940-1943
ISBN 9789056220723
Paul de Jongh describes in detail an escape line from the Netherlands to Belgium. Unique case study on the resistance in World War II on both sides of the Belgian-Dutch border. Focus is on the Belgian side. Extends the book by Cammaert, especially where it concerns the group Erkens in Maastricht.44
The hidden front
History of the organized resistance in the Dutch province of Limburg during World War II
PhD thesis 1994, by CAMMAERT, Alfred Paul Marie.
The complete book in Dutch, with English summary, on the website of the University of Groningen.
Core literature!43
Forgotten History – Pierre Schunck, Resistance Fighter
42
World War II in South Limburg
Very many pictures ordered by municipality. For Valkenburg: many pictures from the Nazi boarding school for boys Reichsschule der SS (former Jesuit convent) and from the days of liberation, by Frans Hoffman.40
Sources Network on World War II (NOB)
Search in 9 million documents, movies and pictures about and from World War II in the Netherlands.39
Institute for Studies on War, Holocaust and Genocide
Institute for Studies on War, Holocaust and Genocide
Issues related to war violence generate a lot of interest from society and demand independent academic research. NIOD conducts and stimulates such research and its collections are open to all those who are interested.38
Limburg gaf joden WOII meeste kans
Dutch Jews had the best chance of going into hiding and surviving the Holocaust in the province of Limburg. This is apparent from the dissertation on the persecution of Jews and Sinti in Limburg during the Second World War by the historian from Beek, Herman van Rens at the University of Amsterdam.
More info in Dutch36
Tweede Wereldoorlog en bijzondere rechtspleging
About the trials of Dutchmen who collaborated with the occupiers: The so-called special administration of justice. This page shows you the way. Here you will find photos, the most used keywords, references to interesting archives, indexes, websites, personal stories and guides for research.35
Nederlands Auschwitz Comité
34
Secret Army Zone II/Limburg
About the failed attempt to set up a complete guerrilla army in Belgian Limburg. Use the built-in translator20
30th Infantry Division Old Hickory
Liberators of South-Limburg17
Bond van Oud-Stoottroepers en Stoottroepers
16
The Dutch Underground and the Stoottroepers
Stoottroepen (Stormtroopers) consisted of the ancient resistant fighters who entered in the Dutch army after the liberation of Limburg, to participate in the war against the fascism.15