Sunday, March 13, 2022 – Deadly Silent for Peace Today, at the Dutch National Cemetery of Honor in Loenen, there was a solemn gathering with two minutes of silence to think about Putin’s war against Ukraine. A Ukrainian and a Russian woman completed a blue and yellow flower monument together, consisting of the words Doodstil voor de vrede (Deadly Silent for Peace). Because making peace is only possible together.
We also think of all the people who have lost or will lose their lives, loved ones or whatever valuable they had. It reminds us of that other dictator who raided neighboring countries and "justified" it with the most incredible lies. Therefore we must not forget history.
But not told in the way the self-appointed historian in the Kremlin does. They are not heroes, but always simple people who fight back. Also here in Limburg. Even if they lose or have lost their lives in the process, it’s not about hero worship like with Hitler and other dictators. Go to 1940-1945 to read what ordinary people did against occupation and oppression in our province of Limburg.

May 14th, 2021 According to the population register, Peter Joseph Schunck was born in Hergenrath (Prussia).His parents then lived in a water mill on the Geul River in Hauset (today German-speaking Community, Belgium). What about that? Read more in the new article about the Kupfermühle.

February 7th, 2021 This website does not pretend to be up-to-date. It is much about history. That of my ancestors, that of the war, sometimes both. Sometimes we should put people extra in the spotlight, who in disastrous times did not think only of themselves. An important part of this website is about the resistance in Valkenburg and the role that my parents played in it.

But there are many more people who we should not forget. Of these, I would like to mention three here, in the order of their birth:

1. 
   Jean Cremers honored by the Belgian King

   My grandfather, Jean Cremers (∗ Dec. 28th, 1878 in Voerendaal, † Mai 2nd, 1947 in Valkenburg). After the First World War (February 10th 1923) he was honored by the Belgian king: "in recognition of the dedication he has shown in the works of war". The family lore says: for his help to the Belgian refugees, with whom the hotels in Valkenburg were full during that World War I. In Brussels they tried to find out more details about this, but both the Foreign Office and the Defense Office were unsuccessful. So we only know that he helped to organize the aid, without any further details. As is well known, the Spanish flu, the first major pandemic, also occurred at that time. Unlike now, at that time people did not know about all the measures that can be taken, such as lock-down, masks and so on, to control a pandemic. As a result, it killed about 10 times as many people as the entire WWI! Grandpa ended up with a severe illness and disability from it. More about Jean Cremers
2. Antonio Seghezzi (∗ August 25th, 1906 in Premolo, † May 21st, 1945 in Dachau) was an Italian Franciscan, who was caught and deported to Germany because of his help from 1943 to young people fleeing from the Nazis. He died in the Dachau concentration camp shortly after it was liberated by Allied troops. The cause of his beatification was initialized in 1990 and on December 21, 2020 Pope Francis started the final part of it. We honor in him a man who was not only a contemporary of Pierre Schunck (both ∗ 1906), but also a kindred spirit. Also of the many priests in Limburg and elsewhere, who rolled into the resistance through youth work or other local pastoral care, such as the resistance leader of the Heerlen district Giel Berix or the Franciscan Beatus van Beckhoven.
   Read more about Antonio Seghezzi OFM.
3. Also noteworthy, of course, is Sir Thomas Moore, aka Captain Tom (1921-2021), who died recently at the age of 100 and raised millions for the care of Corona victims in the hospitals before dying from it himself. He fought against the Nazis in World War II and against Corona in what is the global conflict in our days.
   Read more on Wikipedia and/or watch this video on YouTube.