Jan van Eldert (Johannes Antonie)
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Johannes Antonie van Eldert is not (yet?) listed on a wall of the chapel.
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The fallen resistance people in Limburg

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Jan van Eldert
(Johannes Antonie)


 31-10-1894 Amsterdam      21-07-1944 Leusden (49)
- Nijmegen - Communists & Sympathizers - Limburg + - Ondergrondse pers -



Oorlogsdoden Nijmegen

    Van Eldert, a carpenter, was married to Wilhelmina van de Berg and distributed illegal newspapers, including De Waarheid. On June 17, 1944, at 2:15 a.m., he was arrested by the nefarious Wiebe for having distributed De Waarheid in Nijmegen. At 11 o’clock he and three others were taken by Wiebe and Hidskes to the SD (security police) in Arnhem. On July 21, 1944, in retaliation for attacks on German soldiers, he was executed on the heath of Leusden along with seven other people from Nijmegen, after having previously been forced to dig their own graves. After the war, Van Eldert was buried on Rustoord (D 710) until the fall of 1969.
    On oorlogsdodennijmegen.nl we read about him [5]:

    February 18, 2011. Granddaughter J.A. Brugmans by telephone: In 1948 there were plans for a monument on the Wedren for those executed. However, since Van Eldert was a "different thinker", he was a member of the CPN (Communistische Partij Nederland), he could not be buried there. Therefore he was buried in the Rustoord cemetery. In the late 1960s, the lead coffin was moved with the intention of giving him an honorary grave at the Vredehof, but the family refused. "Not then so not now". In the meantime, the lead coffin had disappeared. His mortal remains have been returned to Rustoord.

    One of the stories about the assassination attempt three weeks later on German soldier Otto Geschefsky says that this was an act of revenge for the arrest of four communist resistance fighters from Nijmegen (Arp Wagter, Jan van Eldert, Piet Treijtel and Piet Span). Another story says that two inexperienced boys, aged 17 and 18, were assigned to take away a list of names of resistance fighters from Nijmegen from this Geschefsky. A girl friend lured him to Kronenburgerpark and they ambushed him. Geschefsky drew his pistol, but was shot himself with it. [1]

    Footnotes

    1. Otto Geschefsky
    2. Theo Dobbe en de Nijmeegse Knokploeg, in: Jaarboek Numaga 2008, p. 69-77
      Theo Dobbe
    3. G. Thuring, Ereveld Vredehof, Groesbeek 2010, p. 24-25 met foto grafsteen Rustoord
    4. Oorlogsgravenstichting.nl
    5. https://www.oorlogsdodennijmegen.nl/persoon/eldert/446adb86-d96a-4b85-b7a5-0ddc2088a71b