The fallen resistance people in Limburg

Eugène Marie Herman Martinus Roomberg (Eugène)

Maastrichtse Gevelstenen

Eugène Roomberg was an artist: watercolorist, painter and illustrator. His working period was from 1920 onwards. [1]
Unless otherwise stated, the information below comes from the short biography on struikelsteentjes-maastricht.nl [2.1] and from a film recorded at the placement of the stumbling stone in front of his house. [2.2]
Educated at the Tekenacademie in Antwerp and the Rijksakademie voor beeldende kunsten in Amsterdam. He worked mainly in Maastricht, where he started in 1937.
Eugène was a member of the Limburgse Kunstkring (Limburg Art Circle) [3] and after his demobilization was involved in the not yet strongly organized local resistance. He distributed money for artists, who were unemployed because they had refused to join the Kultuurkamer. For more information click on the link Artists.
There is no mention of who paid this support money. The National Support Fund (Nationaal Steun Fonds, NSF, [4.1]) had yet to be established, the Fund for Special Needs (Fonds voor bijzondere noden) of the diocese of Roermond, which already existed at that time, is to be considered. This fund is also mentioned in the story about Valkenburg. [4.2]
He was arrested as early as October 1940 when a friend and colleague, in an inebriated state, had scolded the occupiers in front of the then German manager of the pub De Momus on Vrijthof square. It then turned out that he was housing pilots and distributing illegal literature.
After a three-month stay in an unknown German prison, Roomberg is taken to the Oranje-Hotel in Scheveningen. [5]
This was on January 22, 1941, where he was tortured, deliberately infected with tuberculosis, and then released. At some point, his entire family was infected with TB. But he continued his resistance work as best he could.
After the war, at the beginning of 1946, the Nederlandse Federatie van Beroepsverenigingen van Kunstenaars (Dutch Federation of Professional Artists’ Associations) emerged from the artists’ resistance, renamed in 1972 to the Federatie van Kunstenaarsverenigingen (Federation of Artists’ Associations). Naturally, Eugène was also a member. [1]
At the beginning of 1947, he succumbed to the consequences of his imprisonment.
He left his little son these words:
Flippie, your father was not very lucky, but I hope you will never lose your love for people. Because if you lose love, you have nothing, but then you also are nothing. Video 6:39 [2.2]

Footnotes

1. RKD Research Eugène Roomberg
2. Struikelsteentje Eugène Roomberg, Orleansplein 16A, Maastricht
   1. struikelsteentjes-maastricht.nl
   2. YouTube
   3. OpenStreetMap
3. Limburgse Kunstkring, Wikipedia • Nederlands
4. 1. Nationaal Steun Fonds (NSF), Wikipedia • Nederlands
   2. “Fonds voor bijzondere noden”, bisdom Roermond.
5. digitaalmonument.oranjehotel.org Eugène Roomberg
6. Mestreech online.nl
7. https://www.maastrichtsegevelstenen.nl/0.OORLOG/oorlog2c-verzet.htm