The fallen resistance people in Limburg

Gerard “Sjraar” Smals
(Gerardus Antonius)

www.oorlogsbronnen.nl …

Dr. Cammaert wrote about the medical student Gerard Smals, that he came from Vierlingsbeek. He led the Vierlingsbeek L.O. district for some time. Afterwards he held a position at the regional L.O. level. He was also involved in the underground press and gave young men all kinds of medical tips on how to evade recruitment for forced labour. [1.1]
He was one of the students, who were sitting at home because the universities were closed. Gerard, too, had probably not signed the declaration of loyalty. His resistance took shape when, on the initiative of LO leader Jan Hendrikx from Venlo at the home of the widow Smals, Gerard’s mother, the LO district Vierlingsbeek-Bergen was established. That was in two provinces. Vierlingsbeek in the province of North Brabant, Bergen in Limburg, but was still counted as part of the Limburg province of the LO. See map. [2]
There were other such districts. On this website those are called Limburg +.
J. Hendrikx had managed to establish contacts with persons in the Vierlingsbeek-Bergen region, among them the medical student G.A. Smals from Vierlingsbeek. In consultation with him, he called a meeting in June or July at the home of the widow Smals. Among those present were a representative from Wanssum, H. Schelbergen, vicar J. van Rijsbergen from Stevensbeek, the vicars H.P.A.J. Gerrits from Afferden, P.R.E.J. Miedema from Gennep, J.M. Kuepers from Venray and Corbeij from Bergen.
... G.A. Smals took on the task of organizing the area from Cuyk to Wanssum on the western bank of the Meuse and Schelbergen the Limburg strip between Mook and Well on the eastern bank. For the time being, they would lead the district together. Schelbergen began by appointing diver’s chiefs: in Well J.J. Daemen, in Bergen P.J.F. van Mil, in Afferden vicar H.P.A.J. Gerrits - he kept somewhat aloof, leaving most of the work to be done by the Kool family - in Gennep and Ottersum vicar P.R.E.J. Miedema, in Siebengewald vicar N.Th. Huybers and in Mook and Middelaar H.G.H. de Mulder [1.2]
Gerard Smals cooperated with vicar Corbey from Bergen, on the Limburg side of the Meuse River. [3]

In January 1944, Gerard Smals had to go into hiding and moved to Nijmegen. [4]
This saved his life, because his successor Wim Jansen was arrested at a provincial meeting of district leaders, the Weert roundup.

The photo is a detail from a group photo of the LO leadership. In the description, his nickname is written in French AND Limburgish: Gérard / Sjraar. [5][8]
The Volkskrant wrote on September 14, 1960: The doctor G.A. Smals (45) died quite suddenly in the hospital in Venlo. He had set up as a general practitioner in the church village of Well in 1945 and was elected a councillor of the municipality of Bergen in 1955. As he was also the municipality’s medical officer, he was forced to resign as a councillor. Read more on archiefwell.nl [6]
He was buried in his home town of Well, municipality of Bergen. [7]

Footnotes

1. Cammaert, A. P. M. (1994). Het verborgen front: Geschiedenis van de georganiseerde illegaliteit in de provincie Limburg tijdens de Tweede Wereldoorlog, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen.
   1. Hoofdst. 0, pp.18ff: Introductie van vaak genoemde personen
   2. Hoofdst. 6, De Landelijke Organisatie voor hulp aan onderduikers, pp.714 ff: § VIII.10: District Vierlingsbeek.
2. OpenStreetMap Vierlingsbeek – Bergen
3. www.fam-naus.net Genealogie van Jan Naus
4. oorlogsgravenstichting.nl Wim Jansen
5. Collectie verzetsmuseum Portretfoto van de leiding van de LO in Limburg, beschrijving
6. archiefwell.nl Dokter Smals
7. archief.venlo.nl, bidprentjes Gerardus Antonius Smals
8. https://www.oorlogsbronnen.nl/thema/LO%20Limburg?Foto%27s=1