German POW camps near the border to Limburg

Stalag Arnoldsweiler

In Arnoldsweiler near Düren, there was one of the German prisoner of war camps during the Second World War, 30 kilometers from the Dutch eastern border. Many French and Belgian soldiers fled from this camp too, especially in the early days, as the distance to the French-speaking part of Europe could be covered on foot. Thus, refugee assistance along the Dutch eastern border, especially in Limburg, began with helping escaped prisoners of war on their way home. Later, as everywhere else, there were more and more Russian POWs in Arnoldsweiler, who were forced to work in increasingly miserable conditions in the local industry.

The two POW camps closest to Limburg were Stalag (Stammlager) VI J Fichtenhain (near Krefeld, 35 km east of northern Limburg) and Stalag VI H Arnoldsweiler (near Düren, 40 km east of southern Limburg). These camps belonged to military district VI (Wehrkreis VI, Münster) [1].
Some of those who managed to escape from the two camps mentioned above simply headed west towards Limburg, but some also had precise directions sent to them secretly by successful predecessors. They preferred to walk at night because otherwise they would have been conspicuous with their worn uniforms. They could tell when they had arrived in the Netherlands by the signposts and other signs.

• The Stammlager (POW main camp) Stalag VI J in Fichtenhain near Krefeld is said to have held up to 72,000 prisoners, who were distributed among around 1,000 work squads. [2]
  The camp was used between October 1939 and October 1944 when it moved north to Dorsten due to the Allied advance.
  Figures for the numbers of PoWs vary but there were several tens of thousands in the area mostly formed into work parties of between 20-50 prisoners.
  […] There were many French and Polish PoWs held here. [3]
  The site of the former camp is now an industrial estate called Campus Fichtenhain. [4]
  The memory of this camp is still cherished by families of former prisoners. [5]
• The Stalag VI-H in Arnoldsweiler was near Düren on the Roer river. Especially for the French-speaking prisoners of war (Walloons and French), who initially formed the largest group there, it was therefore very tempting to try to escape. If they succeeded, they often followed the course of the Roer because they knew that it flows westwards and leaves Germany near Roermond. This way, they didn’t need to ask for directions.
  Today, nothing remains of the camp in Arnoldsweiler. The only reminder is a memorial board with the name Gedenkstätte Stalag Arnoldsweiler. [4.2][7]
  On it is the following text, which we translate here without comment:

In Arnoldsweiler, formerly belonging to Merzenich, today a village of the municipality of Düren, an extensive shack complex surrounded by watchtowers was built during the National Socialist era starting on March 29, 1940. These 30 shacks were the prisoner of war camp Stalag (Stammlager) VI-H of Arnoldsweiler. Along with Stalag VI-G in Bonn, it was the largest Stammarbeitslager in the Rhineland.
Thousands of Polish, French and later Russian prisoners of war were interned for forced labor in Arnoldsweiler. The camp could hold up to 800 prisoners of war. About 9200 POWs passed through this camp in total. These people had to perform forced labor under often the cruelest conditions in companies and factories in the Düren region and in agriculture, because many German men fought as soldiers in World War II. Rations and medical care were extremely poor. This is what the Polish prisoner of war Peter Makucewicz, who had been in the Arnoldsweiler main camp since February 1942, reports in his memoirs. They had to hold out in icy cells no larger than two paces. Only movement kept them warm and there would have been a ration in the form of coffee and 330 grams of bread once a day.

Read the hand-painted and (in two languages, German and Russian) handwritten booklet that three prisoners of war gifted to a guard who was by exception human. [6.1]
Scattered throughout Düren are memorials recalling the Nazi regime: the Rückriem steles. One of them tells the story of the Arnoldsweiler camp. [6.2]

Read also the article Aid to escaped POW’s
The people listed below helped escaped French-speaking prisoners of war on their way home. This list is far from complete.

1. de.wikipedia.org Die Stammlager im Wehrkreis VI (Münster)
2. www.wz.de Als Fichtenhain ein Arbeitslager war
3. 49 Squadron Association, POW camps Stalag VIJ (6J), Krefeld-Fichtenhain
4. OpenStreetMap
   1. Campus Fichtenhain
   2. Gedenkstätte Stalag Arnoldsweiler
5. Prisonniers de guerre – Des visages inconnus… STALAG VI J LAGER FICHTENHAIN KREFELD
6. 1. Dürener Geschichtswerkstatt Ein bewegendes Zeugnis aus Stalag VI H Arnoldsweiler.
      Прочитайте раскрашенный от руки и написанный от руки (на двух языках, немецком и русском) буклет, который трое военнопленных подарили охраннику, который в виде исключения был человеком.
   2. Die Rückriem-Stelen in Düren: „Hier nach Arnoldsweiler kamen die Gefangenen zum Sterben!“
7. Wikipedia, Außenstelle des Stalag VI H • Deutsch (Bildquelle)

Klaas Koers †
1943-05-02 Martinus Antonius Marie Bouman † Wellerlooi
1943-10-06 Laurent Collas † Maastricht
1943-10-09 Raphael R.E.J.G. de Liedekerke de Pailhe † Fort Rhijnauwen, prov. Utrecht
1943-10-09 Michiel Hubert Alphonse Smeets † Fort Rhijnauwen, prov. Utrecht
1944-09-05 Henricus Joannes Hubertus Boers † Vught
1944-09-05 Josephus Johannes Stephanus Boers † Vught
1944-09-05 Wilhelmus Antonius Rooyackers /Rooijackers † Vught
1944-10-09 Peter Hendrik Vossen † Heythuysen
1944-11-23 Charles Marie Hubert Joseph Bongaerts † KZ Ladelund, KZ Neuengamme
1945-02-11 Josephus Stephanus Hendricus Lokerman † Neuengamme
1945-03-00 Emile Antoon Felix Goossens † Bergen-Belsen
1945-03-02 Amandus Marie Joseph Alphons de Lauwere † Buchenwald
1945-03-02 Leonardus Mattheus Verdonschot † Bergen-Belsen
1945-03-06 Sophie Marie Amélie Jacqueline Brinkman † Klingelpütz, Köln
1945-03-20 Gerardus Lambertus Johannes van Beckhoven † Bergen-Belsen
1945-04-06 Antonius Gerardus Timmermans † Buchenwald
1945-04-21 Paul Fernand Cécile Ghislain Marie Schoenmaeckers † Obrnice (Č)
1945-04-23 Jozef Jacobus Hendrickx † Bützow-Dreibergen
1945-05-19 Hubertus Petrus Hermanus Houben † Ludwigslust
1945-07-11 Marie Clotilde Hélène Schoenmaeckers † Sankt Gallen (CH)
1945-09-05 Henri Joseph Hendrickx † Roermond
1959-01-11 Johannes Henricus Maria Bronckhorst † Roermond
1962-01-25 Jan Mathijs Peters † Sittard
1968-07-23 Mechteldis Margaretha Maria Maessen † Roermond
1987-05-06 Jacobus A. van Gestel † Weert
1997-02-05 Henri Louis Joseph Janssen † Panningen
1997-11-01 Lambert P.Ch. Meyers † Venlo
2015-03-06 Jan Hubertus Alphonse Smeets † Eijsden
hr

Limburgse monumenten vertellen 1940-1945
83

Digital name memorial Oranjehotel
It is one of the most frequently asked questions: who was imprisoned in the Orange Hotel? Unfortunately, there is no complete list of all prisoners. Much of the prison records were destroyed by the German occupiers shortly before the liberation.
See also Oranjehotel & Waalsdorpervlakte82

Jan van Lieshout, Het Hannibalspiel
A sinister game during World War II of the counterintelligence service of the Kriegsmarine (Marineabwehr), which led to the downfall of three Dutch-Belgian resistance groups, ISBN 10: 9026945744 ISBN 13: 978902694574880

Loenen Field of Honour
Over 3,900 war victims are buried at Loenen Field of Honour and include those who lost their lives in different places around the world due to various circumstances. There are military personnel, members of the resistance, people who escaped the Netherlands and went to England during the first years of the WWII to join the Allies (‘Engelandvaarders’), victims of reprisal and forced labour and …79

Markante feiten in Limburg tijdens de Tweede Wereldoorlog
Remarkable facts in (Belgian) Limburg during the Second World War
Anyone who thinks that hardly any resistance took place in the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium should definitely read this document. The emphasis is on the armed resistance. Author: Mathieu Rutten.78

Stichting Struikelstenen Valkenburg
Also 45 Jews deported from Valkenburg did not return. The Stichting Struikelstenen Valkenburg (“Foundation Stumbling Stones Valkenburg”) was established to place so-called stumbling stones in the sidewalk in front of the house from which they were deported, in memory of the murdered Jews from Valkenburg. With a complete list.
See also Stolperstein on Wikipedia.77

Roermond Front City
Series of stories by Eric Munnicks about the last months of the war.
See also the other War Stories of the Roermond Municipal Archives. Unfortunately no translation available. 76

Limburg 75 jaar vrij
75

Belgium WWII
A virtual platform on Belgium and its inhabitants during the Second World War74

Former concentration camp Natzweiler-Struthof, Alsace
European Centre of Deported Resistance Members. Camp and museum73

The Jewish Victims of National Socialism in Cologne | A–Z
72

Documentation Center on the National-Socialism in Cologne
Virtual visit of the museum and the memorial in 8 languages, amongst them Hebrew and Spanish71

Camp Vught National Memorial
The Camp Vught National Memorial (Nationaal Monument Kamp Vught) is located on a part of the former SS camp Konzentrationslager Herzogenbusch, also known as Camp Vught (January 1943 – September 1944).70

The Margraten Boys - About the US War Cemetery
Harrowing and redeeming, this is the history of a unique ‘adoption’ system. For generations, local families, grateful for the sacrifice of their liberators from Nazi occupation, have cared for not only the graves, but the memories, of over 10,000 US soldiers in the cemetery of Margraten in the Netherlands.
Free e-book by Peter Schrijvers. More e-books on WWII, in English and Dutch, by this author: https://www.google.de/search?hl=de&tbo=p&tbm=bks&q=inauthor:%22Peter+Schrijvers%2268

The Jewish Monument
Every victim of the Holocaust who was murdered is memorialised on the Joods Monument with a personal profile. The Jewish Monument is not only suitable for searching and commemorating. You can supplement the monument with photos, documents and stories, by making family connections and adding members of families. To place a call and get in touch with other users. You can also add information about stumbling stones and important other external links.67

When the miners go on strike against the German occupiers
The mine strike in Limburg started on April 29th, 1943. The workload was rising and rising. The first Dutch men were forced to work in Germany. The immediate reason was General Christiansen’s order to arrest all released prisoners of war from the Dutch army again and to transport them to Germany. The strike is broken up by means of executions.66

Persecuted in Limburg
Jews and Sinti in Dutch Limburg during the Second World War
ISBN 978-90-8704-353-7
Dissertation by Herman van Rens on 03/22/2013, University of Amsterdam, slightly edited
© 2013 Hilversum65

Ons verblijf in het dorp Mergel (dagboek) (Meerssen 1989)
Our stay in the village of Mergel (diary, Meerssen 1989
Joop Geijsen from Meerssen tells how he and two other boys went into hiding for a year in the limestone caves just outside Meerssen, which was later called the diver’s inn.
As far as we know, sold out and only available in Dutch libraries.64

Yad Vashem
The World Holocaust Remembrance Center63

Beelden van verzet
This book shows, how every Dutch generation deals differently with the past of resistance.
If you can read Dutch, you can find the download link for this essay by Sander Bastiaan Kromhout
Published by the Nationaal Comité 4 en 5 May, 2018
Print edition ISBN 9077294244.62

Regional Historic Center Limburg
Limburg has numerous specialized archive institutions that preserve relevant historical sources concerning World War II. However, it is not always clear to the public for which information they can go where. Archives have overlapping work areas, organizations and people have been active in the past in different areas and in different fields. So it often takes a long time to find the right place to find information.
Here you can search, but also share your documents with other interested parties. This can be done by donating them to existing archives or museums, or by making digital copies of the available documents or images.61

War deads in Nijmegen 1940 - 1945
With search function60

Foundation Dutch Resistance Monument
Names of resistance fighters in the Netherlands and colonies during the Second World War59

La résistance durant la guerre 1940-1945
It is mainly about the network “Clarence” whose founder was Walther Dewez; evoked are also the names of various agents of Visé and the Fourons that were part of this movement.58

Fallen resistance people Maastricht
A brief description and a long gallery of portraits57

Stichting Herinnering LO-LKP
The foundation remembrance of LO-LKP wants to raise awareness of the history of the resistance by the organisations LO and LKP. To this end, she makes the contents of his memorial book and many original documents available to the interested reader in digital form.56

The Forgotten Genocide – The Fate of the Sinti and Roma
Also known as Gipsies.55

1944-2019 ⇒ South Limburg 75 years free! ⇐
An overview of the activities in South Limburg around this memorable anniversary in september. It is celebrated in every municipality.54

Short historic American film about the Divers Inn
A silent film, shot by a USAmerican team after the liberation of Valkenburg. The first part has been re-enacted, with the help of the Valkenburg resistance. It shows how people going into hiding (divers) were taken to the divers inn. The man in the hat is always Pierre Schunck. The film starts at his home in Plenkertstraat, Valkenburg. The role of the policeman on the bike at the start is not entirely clear. According to the accompanying text, this is a courier.53

Database persoonsbewijzen uit de Tweede Wereldoorlog
About Dutch identity cards in the Second World War as well as images of identity cards in combination with other documents and genealogical and personal data including life stories.49

Memorial stone for the resistance people Coenen and Francotte
In front of the Provincial Resistance Monument in Valkenburg. Here the underground fighters Sjeng (John) Coenen and Joep (Joe) Francotte were murdered on 5 September 1944, just before the liberation of Valkenburg48

Resistance Memorial of the dutch province of Limburg
Every year on May 4, the commemoration ceremony for the fallen of this province takes place here. Meanwhile, also the veterans are no longer among us anymore.47

Call to everyone, but especially to the residents of Valkenburg
On September 17, 2019 it will be 75 years ago that the town and all villages of the current municipality of Valkenburg aan de Geul were liberated.
To commemorate the liberation and to display the wartime as accurately as possible, the Museum Land van Valkenburg is looking for personal stories, eye witnesses and tangible memories.
Of all these lifelike stories, materials, photos, footage and equipment, we are organizing a unique and as complete as possible overview exhibition under the name “We Do Remember”46

Roll of honor of the fallen, 1940 - 1945
A website commissioned by the dutch Second Chamber (~ House of Representatives). The Honor Roll of Fallen 1940-1945 includes those who fell as a result of resistance or as a soldier.45

Grenzeloos verzet
Borderless resistance – On Spying Monks, escape lines and the “Hannibal Game”, 1940-1943
ISBN 9789056220723
Paul de Jongh describes in detail an escape line from the Netherlands to Belgium. Unique case study on the resistance in World War II on both sides of the Belgian-Dutch border. Focus is on the Belgian side. Extends the book by Cammaert, especially where it concerns the group Erkens in Maastricht.44

The hidden front
History of the organized resistance in the Dutch province of Limburg during World War II
PhD thesis 1994, by CAMMAERT, Alfred Paul Marie.
The complete book in Dutch, with English summary, on the website of the University of Groningen.
Core literature!43

Forgotten History – Pierre Schunck, Resistance Fighter
42

World War II in South Limburg
Very many pictures ordered by municipality. For Valkenburg: many pictures from the Nazi boarding school for boys Reichsschule der SS (former Jesuit convent) and from the days of liberation, by Frans Hoffman.40

Sources Network on World War II (NOB)
Search in 9 million documents, movies and pictures about and from World War II in the Netherlands.39

Institute for Studies on War, Holocaust and Genocide
Institute for Studies on War, Holocaust and Genocide
Issues related to war violence generate a lot of interest from society and demand independent academic research. NIOD conducts and stimulates such research and its collections are open to all those who are interested.38

Limburg gaf joden WOII meeste kans
Dutch Jews had the best chance of going into hiding and surviving the Holocaust in the province of Limburg. This is apparent from the dissertation on the persecution of Jews and Sinti in Limburg during the Second World War by the historian from Beek, Herman van Rens at the University of Amsterdam.
More info in Dutch36

Tweede Wereldoorlog en bijzondere rechtspleging
About the trials of Dutchmen who collaborated with the occupiers: The so-called special administration of justice. This page shows you the way. Here you will find photos, the most used keywords, references to interesting archives, indexes, websites, personal stories and guides for research.35

Nederlands Auschwitz Comité
34

Secret Army Zone II/Limburg
About the failed attempt to set up a complete guerrilla army in Belgian Limburg. Use the built-in translator20

resistance in Enschede
19

30th Infantry Division Old Hickory
Liberators of South-Limburg17

Bond van Oud-Stoottroepers en Stoottroepers
16

The Dutch Underground and the Stoottroepers
Stoottroepen (Stormtroopers) consisted of the ancient resistant fighters who entered in the Dutch army after the liberation of Limburg, to participate in the war against the fascism.15