The fallen resistance people in Limburg

Geert Hoes
(Gerardus Adrianus)

Het Grote Gebod – L.O.

Geert Hoes was one of the pioneers of LO-Elst and belonged to a group consisting mainly of municipal officials, including Hendrik Kammeraat, Kees Peters, Gerrit Erdkamp, Herman Geerlings, Piet van Hal, Wouter Hoogakker and himself. They took care of the people who were in hiding in their community. Many of them were "delivered" by the L.O. from neighboring Nijmegen. He was arrested in Arnhem on 26-07-1943 and was in possession of documents for people in hiding. [1]

Geert Hoes was a law student at the Roman Catholic University in Nijmegen and also worked in the municipal administration of Elst (between Nijmegen and Arnhem [2]). He was arrested on July 26, 1943, near Arnhem; in his possession were master cards and ration cards for people in hiding, as well as a stamp from the town hall of Elst. A police detective in Arnhem, Van Wier, tried to cover up the case, knowing that Hoes was involved in resistance work. However, the National Criminal Police in The Hague called in the Security Service and Police (SD/SiPo) in Arnhem. In Elst, 15 officers from the distribution office, the police and the town hall were arrested. How they fared during their imprisonment you can read in the introduction to the resistance victims of Elst. Only seven of them returned alive after the liberation. Geert Hoes was killed in February 1945. [3]

He is buried in Vught. [5][11]
In the entrance hall of the auditorium of Radboud University in Nijmegen, Geert Hoes is inscribed on the memorial plaque for members of the university community who have been killed in World War II. [7]
Gerardus Adrianus ( Geert ) Hoes is listed in the Erelijst 1940-1945 (Honor Roll of the Dutch Parliament).  [10]

Footnotes

1. Het grote gebod
2. Elst Open Street Map
3. oorlogsdodennijmegen.nl
4. Digitaal Monument Neuengamme
5. R.K. Begraafplaats Mariaplein, Vught, graf F 24
6. Provinciaal Gedenkteken Memorial Provincial De Brabantse Soldaat, Waalre
7. Nijmegen: Gedenkplaat voor de in de Tweede Wereldoorlog gevallen leden van de universitaire gemeenschap, voorheen in de hal van de aula aan de Wilhelminasingel, thans in de hal van de aula aan de Comeniuslaan. Zie: Tussen vrijblijvend en bevlogen, p. 19 Zie: Jan Brabers, Proeven van eigen cultuur, dl. 1, p. 278
8. In Memoriam www.noviomagus.nl B013
9. Arnolds, A.L.M. & al. Gedenkboek 1940-1945 van de katholieke academische gemeenschap, Leiden 1947, p. 100
10. Erelijst 1940-1945
11. Oorlogsgravenstichting.nl