Memorial "Les 4 Frères Léonard"

At the edge of a small pine forest, a monument was erected in memory of the spot where the bodies were found of the Léonard brothers, four young resistance fighters who were executed at the behest of Walloon Nazi leader Léon Degrelle at the end of World War II.

Text on the monument:
†
Remember your friends, murdered by the Germans on the tragic day of January 06, 1945. Their bodies were found on this spot on the evening of 06 March 1946. The brothers Léonard

Armand
Hervé
Aimé
José

By the end of the stalled Ardennes offensive, the Americans had taken control of the Gouvy railroad station from which arrived goods (ammunition, spare parts, food and medicine) were loaded onto trucks for resupply of troops in the field. The station was co-defended by members of the Belgian resistance. They were also keeping an eye on it in support of the Americans. After all, the Ardennes offensive was still in progress and it was unclear whether the Germans could force another breakthrough.

The resistance also engaged in acts of sabotage such as repeatedly cutting telephone wires between Limmerlé and Steinbach (both located south of Gouvy in Belgium next to Luxemburg).

The four brothers were suspected of resistance activities and arrested at home. They were taken for interrogation to Limerlé where Léon Degrelle had his headquarters. His job was to ensure the safety of the rearguard of the German army in this sector.

The brothers were last seen on Jan. 6, 1945. It was not until March 6, 1946, that the brothers' remains were recovered by a Luxembourg border guard. He saw a shoe poking out of the ground a few meters from the border. After exhuming the remains, it turned out that they were the four Léonard brothers, who had all been executed by means of a shot in the neck.

The monument was erected in 1949 to commemorate this tragic event and to remember these four brave yong brothers of the Belgian Resistance.

LÉONARD Amand, age 20

LÉONARD Hervé 19 years

LÉONARD Aimé Léonard, 18 years

LÉONARD José, 17 years

The four brothers were later buried in the Steinbach cemetery.

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Source

• Text: Geert-Jan van Glabbeek en Ed Lewandowski (met dank aan Christian Dugauquier)
• Photos: Luc van Waeyenberge
• https://www.maisondusouvenir.be/frere_leonard.php