The fallen resistance people in Limburg

ome Leo Moonen
(Jan Leo)

Oorlogsgravenstichting

Uncle Leo Moonen was the secretary of the diocese of Roermond, which is congruent with the Dutch province of Limburg. He was a co-founder and the spiritual advisor and so one of the de facto leaders of the Catholic resistance in the Dutch province of Limburg. He thus also had an influence on the liquidation of traitors. In his opinion, this should be avoided as far as possible. But if it was really unavoidable, he gave his consent. On August 28, 1944, he was taken to the Herzogenbusch concentration camp, better known as camp Vught. [1]
Then he came to Bergen-Belsen via Sachsenhausen. Dr. Fred Cammaert said in his speech at the unveiling of the plaque on Peace Carillon: Leo Moonen, Bishop Lemmens’ secretary and the driving force behind the church-inspired and stimulated nonviolent resistance. Moonen maintained close contacts with many members of the resistance movement and also acted as a source of information and as an advisor. Many turned to him when difficult decisions had to be made. For example, about the elimination of traitors. Moonen followed the resistance closely and made sure that it did not develop in an aggressive direction. The irony of fate was that in August 1944 he was betrayed by a notorious NSB member from Roermond, which at his insistence was not allowed to be liquidated. At the beginning of 1945, the spiritual leader of the Limburg resistance died in the Bergen-Belsen camp.
The source of this text, a page on TV-Valkenburg, is unfortunately no longer existant.
Bearer of the Verzetskruis 1940–1945 [2] (Cross of Resistance, one of the highest awards in the Netherlands, was awarded only 95 times)
Jan Leo ( ome Leo ) Moonen is listed in the Erelijst 1940-1945 (Honor Roll of the Dutch Parliament). [3]

Footnotes

1. Kamp Vught / SS-Konzentrationslager Herzogenbusch
   1. Wikipedia • Nederlands • Deutsch • English • Français • Español
   2. Website Nationaal Monument Kamp Vught • Nederlands • Deutsch • English • Français
2. Verzetskruis 1940–1945, Wikipedia • Nederlands • Deutsch • English • Español
3. Erelijst 1940-1945
4. Oorlogsgravenstichting.nl
5. Wikipedia NL: Leo Moonen