The fallen resistance people in Limburg

Johan Martin van Gestel (Jo)

Jo van Gestel was a blacksmith [1#2] and a machine fitter. [1#4]
In the summer of 1944, the commando Berendsen of the AKD raged in the region. It is not known how many of the hiders fell victim to it. At least five of them died in Germany: A.J. van den Munckhof, L.J. Rongen, J.M. van Gestel, P.H. van Rhee and H.A. van Oudenhoven. [2]
Sjeng Ewalds wrote :
Jo was called up for forced labor in Germany. He then went into hiding. On August 18, 1944, he was arrested in Venray and taken to Vught. From there, he was transported to the Sachsenhausen concentration camp in Oranienburg, north of Berlin. It was not until July 1946 that the family was informed by the Red Cross that he had died in Munich on March 13, 1945. [5]
This was two weeks before the liberation of Munich, at the address Mühlbaurstraße 15 [1#8] in a school building that had served as an auxiliary hospital during the war. [3]
In 1951, his mortal remains were transferred to Venray to the cemetery near the Petrus Banden Church. In 1972, these graves were moved to the Boschhuizen municipal cemetery in Venray. His name is inscribed on the Venray war memorial at the Grote Kerk (Petrus Banden Church). [5]
This person is listed in the “Erelijst 1940-1945” (Honor Roll of the Dutch Parliament). [4]

Footnotes

1. Archief Oorlogsgravenstichting (@ Nationaal archief),
   Dossier Jo van Gestel • #2 • #4 • #8
2. Dr. F. Cammaert, Het Verborgen Front – Geschiedenis van de georganiseerde illegaliteit in de provincie Limburg tijdens de Tweede Wereldoorlog. Doctorale scriptie 1994, Groningen
   6. De Landelijke Organisatie voor hulp aan onderduikers, p. 713
3. Max-Josef-Stift, Wikipedia • Deutsch
4. Erelijst 1940-1945
5. Oorlogsgravenstichting.nl