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Limburg 1940-1945,
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1940-1945 Special events and backgrounds in the dutch province of Limburg

The eight people in Limburg 1940-’45 whose data were last added or edited: • Peter  Spoganetz • Clifton R  Keith • Albert  Laeven • Hubertus Andreas  van Roy • J.  Hendriks • Louis  Horsmans • A.  Caldenborg • F.  Schoenmakers

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 |

The Raid of Weert


This picture was taken August 1943: The first district leaders of the newly formed L.O.
Front row, seated: vicar P.G. Van Enckevort from Venlo and primary school teacher Jan Hendrikx, district leader of Venlo.
Second row, standing: student G.A. Smals of Vierlingsbeek, train driver Jo Lokerman of Maastricht, student Joe Russel from Venlo, district leader of Venray, vicar Jac Naus, also from Venlo, Harry Hanssen from Sevenum and student Jan Cornips from Heerlen, son of Constant Cornips, as deputy of district leader Giel Berix.
The district of Gulpen did not yet exist. In the fall of 1943 Van Enckevort asked Harry Hanssen to go to Gulpen and set up a local L.O. organization along the lines of the one in Venlo. Nijmegen would later join the region as well.
Father Ludo Bleijs, the district leader of Roermond, was apparently not present.
One year after this picture was taken, the Raid of Weert took place. After that, no more regional meetings were convened for security reasons.
Verzetsmuseum.org gives a different dating of the photograph. They write: Portrait photo of the leadership of the LO in Limburg, taken in August 1944. The photo was taken shortly after the fall of Mussolini, the LO leaders thought the war would soon be over and had the photo taken as a memento.
A better but smaller version of this photo can be found at oorlogsbronnen.nl, Kopstukken van het verzet in Limburg.

  1. L.O. Limburgse Onderduikershulp / Landelijke organisatie voor hulp aan Onderduikers
  2. Dr. F. Cammaert, Het Verborgen Front, 6. De Landelijke Organisatie voor hulp aan onderduikers
    • I-VII
    • VIII-IX


The Raid of Weert, a.k.a. the Betrayal of Weert took place on June 21, 1944. The district leaders of the LO Limburg had convened a meeting in the Sint Louis boarding school in Weert, in order to find an answer to the new Second Distribution Card (T.D.) and the Z-cards. For this meeting they had invited the very competent document forger Bob Jesse (pseudonym: Vos), not knowing that he had been busted in the meantime. When his interrogator Wehner threatened to break the arms and legs of two Jewish toddlers, a boy and a girl of about four years old, in the presence of their mother, and even attempted to do so, he broke down and led the SiPo to the meeting. In total, eight men were arrested by the SiPo:

  • Brother Valentinus Merkx - Teacher and superior of St. Louis, who had nothing to do with anything, by the way. † march 1945 in Bergen-Belsen.
  • Jan Hendrikx (Venlo, province leader) † vermoedelijk begin 1945 tijdens een evacuatietransport van Sachsenhausen naar Bergen-Belsen
  • Guus Hermans (Weert) † september 2, 1944, Oranienburg/Sachsenhausen
  • Giel Berix (Heerlen) † march 13, 1945, Bergen-Belsen
  • Jac Naus (Venlo) † april 15, 1945, Bergen-Belsen
  • Jacques Knops (Gulpen) † march 17, 1945, Bergen-Belsen
  • W.H.M. Jansen (Vierlingsbeek) † february 25, 1945 Buchenwald.
  • Sef (J.F.H.) Mulders (Maastricht). He survived the war, but was succeeded by J. Sorée because Sef was in the concentration camp.

Tom (Th.C.) van Helvoort (Roermond), Joe (F.J.K.) Russel (Venray), Jan (J.A.) Dijker (Nijmegen *) and Kees van Sambeek (Maas en Waal *) could escape.

*) The districts of Vierlingsbeek, Nijmegen and Maas en Waal, although outside the province of Limburg, were part of the LO province of Limburg. More info on these districts

During the month of July and the first half of August the detainees in Vught were interrogated continuously by Nitsch who was authorized to conduct so-called sharpened interrogations. After two weeks he received assistance from C. Schut, who revealed himself to be a devilish sadist without inhibitions, which even went too far for Nitsch. Repeatedly he had to restrain his helper. Especially Knops and the vicars Naus and Berix were badly injured by the two. By bluffing and playing off the arrested persons against each other, by which he cleverly used previously acquired knowledge and contradictory statements, Nitsch found out a lot. Soon new arrests followed in Roermond, Helden and Wittem. (Cammaert VIb, page 567) (Cammaert VIb, pagina 567)
Read more in Fred Cammaert – Het Verborgen Front Chapter 6a, §VI, pp.  560 ff.: De overval van Weert

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Links List Resistance WW2

Limburgse monumenten vertellen 1940-1945 Pagina is in het Nederlands
83

Digital name memorial Oranjehotel Pagina is in het Nederlands
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 Pagina is in het Nederlands Seite auf Deutsch verfügbar Page available in English Page disponible en Français;
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 Pagina is in het Nederlands Seite auf Deutsch verfügbar Page available in English Page disponible en Français;
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 Pagina is in het Nederlands
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 Pagina is in het Nederlands
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 Pagina is in het Nederlands
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

Limburg 75 jaar vrij Pagina is in het Nederlands
75

Belgium WWII Pagina is in het Nederlands Seite auf Deutsch verfügbar Page disponible en Français;
A virtual platform on Belgium and its inhabitants during the Second World War74

Former concentration camp Natzweiler-Struthof, Alsace Seite auf Deutsch verfügbar Page available in English Page disponible en Français;
European Centre of Deported Resistance Members. Camp and museum73

The Jewish Victims of National Socialism in Cologne | A–Z Seite auf Deutsch verfügbar
72

Documentation Center on the National-Socialism in Cologne Pagina is in het Nederlands Seite auf Deutsch verfügbar Page available in English Page disponible en Français;
Virtual visit of the museum and the memorial in 8 languages, amongst them Hebrew and Spanish71

Camp Vught National Memorial Pagina is in het Nederlands Seite auf Deutsch verfügbar Page available in English Page disponible en Français;
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 Page available in English
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 Pagina is in het Nederlands Page available in English
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 Pagina is in het Nederlands
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 Pagina is in het Nederlands
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) Pagina is in het Nederlands
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 Seite auf Deutsch verfügbar Page available in English Page disponible en Français;
The World Holocaust Remembrance Center63

Beelden van verzet Pagina is in het Nederlands
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 Pagina is in het Nederlands Page available in English
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 Pagina is in het Nederlands
With search function60

Foundation Dutch Resistance Monument Pagina is in het Nederlands Seite auf Deutsch verfügbar Page available in English Page disponible en Français;
Names of resistance fighters in the Netherlands and colonies during the Second World War59

La résistance durant la guerre 1940-1945 Page disponible en Français;
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 Pagina is in het Nederlands
A brief description and a long gallery of portraits57

Stichting Herinnering LO-LKP Pagina is in het Nederlands
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 Pagina is in het Nederlands Seite auf Deutsch verfügbar Page available in English
Also known as Gipsies.55

1944-2019 ⇒ South Limburg 75 years free! ⇐ Pagina is in het Nederlands
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 Pagina is in het Nederlands
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 Pagina is in het Nederlands
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 Pagina is in het Nederlands
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 Pagina is in het Nederlands
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 Pagina is in het Nederlands
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 Pagina is in het Nederlands
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 Pagina is in het Nederlands Page disponible en Français;
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 Pagina is in het Nederlands Page available in English
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 Page available in English
42

World War II in South Limburg Pagina is in het Nederlands
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) Pagina is in het Nederlands
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 Pagina is in het Nederlands Page available in English
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 Pagina is in het Nederlands
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 Pagina is in het Nederlands
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 Pagina is in het Nederlands
34

Secret Army Zone II/Limburg Pagina is in het Nederlands
About the failed attempt to set up a complete guerrilla army in Belgian Limburg. Use the built-in translator20

resistance in Enschede Pagina is in het Nederlands Page available in English
19

30th Infantry Division Old Hickory Page available in English
Liberators of South-Limburg17

Bond van Oud-Stoottroepers en Stoottroepers Pagina is in het Nederlands
16

The Dutch Underground and the Stoottroepers Page available in English
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

 

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