Luxembourg Luxembourg/Belgium border question.

[WW2PO]

Firstly, are there any members who's location is on or near the Luxembourg/Belgium border?

Secondly, for anyone, were there any known WW2 concentration camps, internment or other located in the above mentioned area? Possibly in the area of the 2 PzD?

Any information will be appreciated.

Edited December 18, 2006 by WW2PO

[Laurence Strong]

The closest of the classic Concentration/Death camps to your area of interest would have been Vught in Holland or Natzweiler-Struthof located in the Vosges mountains in Alsace.

I can't speak for any interment or POW type compound's.

Hope this helps a bit

[Laurence Strong]

A little info on the 2 camps

Vught is known for its concentration camp (Herzogenbusch) built by Nazi-Germany during World War II. It was part of camp Herzogenbusch, but usually better known as "Kamp Vught" (Camp Vught). The camp mainly held Dutch and Belgian political prisoners, both men and women. Like any other Nazi concentration camp, Vught had its own gallows and crematorium. In September 1943, the gallows was used for the executions of 20 Belgian prisoners.

It is now known as National Monument Camp Vught. The 4th Canadian Armor Division, and the 96 Th Battery of the 5th Anti -Tank Division were the first in liberating Vught concentration Camp.

Known as Le Struthof to the French, this was a Nazi concentration camp, located in the Vosges mountains in Alsace. It was a prison for Resistance fighters from Norway, Belgium, Holland, Poland, and France. General Charles Delestraint, leader of the Secret Army of the French Resistance, was an inmate there.

It was operational between May 21, 1941 until the beginning of September 1944 when the SS evacuated the camp. The camp was liberated by the Americans on November 23, 1944.

Among those who died here were four women executed together on July 6, 1944. The women were SOE agents Diana Rowden, Vera Leigh, Andr?e Borrel and Sonya Olschanezky

[Jef]

A little info on the 2 camps

Vught is known for its concentration camp (Herzogenbusch) built by Nazi-Germany during World War II. It was part of camp Herzogenbusch, but usually better known as "Kamp Vught" (Camp Vught). The camp mainly held Dutch and Belgian political prisoners, both men and women. Like any other Nazi concentration camp, Vught had its own gallows and crematorium. In September 1943, the gallows was used for the executions of 20 Belgian prisoners.

It is now known as National Monument Camp Vught. The 4th Canadian Armor Division, and the 96 Th Battery of the 5th Anti -Tank Division were the first in liberating Vught concentration Camp.

Known as Le Struthof to the French, this was a Nazi concentration camp, located in the Vosges mountains in Alsace. It was a prison for Resistance fighters from Norway, Belgium, Holland, Poland, and France. General Charles Delestraint, leader of the Secret Army of the French Resistance, was an inmate there.

It was operational between May 21, 1941 until the beginning of September 1944 when the SS evacuated the camp. The camp was liberated by the Americans on November 23, 1944.

Among those who died here were four women executed together on July 6, 1944. The women were SOE agents Diana Rowden, Vera Leigh, Andr?e Borrel and Sonya Olschanezky

Thank you Laurence for your interesting details about Camp Vught. It's giving a lot of background information about a commemoration medal in my collection.

Kind regards,

Jef

[Laurence Strong]

Always glad to help, intentionaly or not, I was not aware there were commemerative medals for some of the camps

Edited December 18, 2006 by Laurence Strong

[Hendrik]

were there any known WW2 concentration camps, internment or other located in the above mentioned area?

Hi,

No such camps in the Ardennes to my knowledge. In fact, the only real camp that I know of in Belgium is the one at Breendonk (between Antwerp and Brussels). The fortress of Breendonk originally was part of the fortress ring around the town of Antwerp. The Germans converted it to a "Durchgangslager", a gathering point for prisoners to be transported to concentration camps in Germany or occupied Poland. Quite a number of executions took place while other inmates died from the combination of starvation and forced (useless) labour. Its "interrogation room" (aka torture chamber) there is a particularly ugly place.

Hendrik

[Hendrik]

Camp Vught

In relation to this it may interest forum members to know that the town of Vught was decorated after the war and received the Belgian Gratitude Medal 1940-1945, gold class, in recognition of the town inhabitant's attitude towards the Belgian prisoners in the camp.

I don't have a gold class to show you but here's a silver one.

Cheers,

Hendrik

[hankmeister]

Although it's not on the Bel/Lux border, not far away between Trier and Hermeskeil in Germany, on Bundesstrasse 51 (B51), there is a small memorial for a work camp there. I don't recall the name of it, but it's been fairly recently memorialized. You can do a walking tour of the former grounds, with various points of interest labeled.

best

Hank

[ErikMuller]

http://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_12_2006/post-761-1166470139.jpghttp://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_12_2006/post-761-1166470169.jpg

Never saw that one! It is most certainly an attractive medal.

By the way it's 's-Hertogenbosch, not Herzogenbusch.

[Jef]

Hi,

No such camps in the Ardennes to my knowledge. In fact, the only real camp that I know of in Belgium is the one at Breendonk (between Antwerp and Brussels). The fortress of Breendonk originally was part of the fortress ring around the town of Antwerp. The Germans converted it to a "Durchgangslager", a gathering point for prisoners to be transported to concentration camps in Germany or occupied Poland. Quite a number of executions took place while other inmates died from the combination of starvation and forced (useless) labour. Its "interrogation room" (aka torture chamber) there is a particularly ugly place.

Hendrik

Hello Hendrik,

Would be grateful if you could give some advice about this medal. Was this medal issued to former prisoners. When?

With kind regards,

Jef

[Hendrik]

Would be grateful if you could give some advice about this medal. Was this medal issued to former prisoners. When?

Sorry Jef, never seen that medal before ... very nice one indeed, thanks for posting the pictures !

Hendrik

[Gldank]

Hello Hendrik,

Would be grateful if you could give some advice about this medal. Was this medal issued to former prisoners. When?

With kind regards,

Jef

http://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_12_2006/post-761-1166560851.jpghttp://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_12_2006/post-761-1166560882.jpg

Sorry for the late reply. I was just going back and reading old threads posted before I became a member of GMIC. Actually, I have been looking for one of these medals for my collection. It is a Commemorative Concentration Camp medal given to survivors of the Concentration Camp Breendonk in Belgium 1940-1944. Many people were sent from this camp to death camps in the occupied countries if they had not already died in this camp.

Edited October 13, 2008 by Gldank

[Jef]

Sorry for the late reply. I was just going back and reading old threads posted before I became a member of GMIC. Actually, I have been looking for one of these medals for my collection. It is a Commemorative Concentration Camp medal given to survivors of the Concentration Camp Breendonk in Belgium 1940-1944. Many people were sent from this camp to death camps in the occupied countries if they had not already died in this camp.

Thank you for your message, Gldank

Jef