Memorial Nazi Raids 25th May 1943

Full title of the memorial is:
Commemorative plaque in honour of the deported resistance fighters during the Nazi raids of the 25th May 1943.

And the text reads thus:
On the 25th May 1943 I was arrested at my parents house in Sint-Truiden by Feldgendarmerie. I was eighteen years old and was suspected of being a member of a banned resistance group against the fascist occupier. Together with about sixty other resistance fighters we were taken to Breendonk, we will never forget that name.
Thus begins the testimony of one of the 62 resistance fighters who were arrested in Sint-Truiden on 25th May 1943 and were sent to Fort Breendonk. A large part of them ended up in various concentration camps in Germany. Some did not survive these horrific events .

The plaque lists the names of those arrested on the 25th May 1943, and those names with * next to it are those that perished in the concentration camps.

Sint-Truiden was the only city in Belgian Limburg to have a SS mayor and also had a night figher base.So for those who wished resist the occupation, the city became a zone of intrigue and betrayal. Roger Rutten's book mentioned below is worth a read for those who wish to know more and can read Dutch.

The author was one of those who helped establish this memorial ,which also included the then city librarian Willem Driesen, and Alderman of culture Bert Stippelmans who has family links to some of those arrested that day. The memorial is located in the Schuurhoven area of the city where many of the arrests took place and was unveiled 70 years after the raids in 2013 .

Most of the city's Stolpersteins (stumbling stones) relate to those taken from city during the Nazi raids on the 25th May 1943.

Do you have more information about this location? Inform us!

Source

• Text: Ian Paterson
• Photos: Ian Paterson
• Roger Rutter, De nazirazzia van 25 mei 1943