Liberation Route Europe is a cultural route that connects people, places, and events to mark Europe’s liberation from occupation during World War II and reflect on the history of the war and its long-lasting consequences. With hundreds of sites and stories across Europe, the route links the main regions along the advance of the Allied Forces in 1943-1945. In 2023, the Ministry of Economy began cooperating with LRE on a trails network within the country. A trail the length of Luxembourg, as well as connecting smaller routes, was created. These routes explore the history of the country’s experience of the war from its invasion by German troops on 10 May 1940, with sites and stories of resistance, forced conscription, persecution and liberation. Follow in the footsteps of history and discover the people of Luxembourg’s struggle for freedom along the Liberation Route Luxembourg. 

Luxembourg

The devastating outcome of the Second World War awakened in people the desire to overcome nationalism and borders. The idea of a united Europe was born, to gradually create a common market of free movement of workers, goods, capital and services.According to the farsighted 'Schuman Plan' (1950), a political European community was then to be created. As a first step the 'European Coal and Steel Community' (ECSC) was created in 1951 through the industrial amalgamation of six countries. Following this success, the Treaty of Rome in 1957 brought about an extended common European market. The first attempts at a political union date from this period.The 'Werner Plan' already anticipated a monetary union in the early 1970s. In 1984 French President, François Mitterrand, and German Chancellor, Helmut Kohl, took the first measures to facilitate traffic between their two countries. The Benelux countries joined this promising project.On 14 June 1985, the 'Schengen Agreement' was signed on the excursion ship Princess Marie-Astrid, which would change the lives of travelling Europeans forever: Europe became a tangible reality for its citizens!The original five participating countries subsequently developed into the so-called 'Schengen Area’, to which most EU member states and four associated countries have acceded. The 'Schengen visa’ in particular has made the name of the little village famous around the world. The 'Schengen Agreement’ has thus contributed significantly to the development of the European Union. In 1997 its provisions were incorporated into the Amsterdam Treaty.The 'European Museum’ of Schengen was inaugurated in 2010 on the banks of the Moselle River. It is an interactive documentation centre with a lot of background information from the beginnings of the European idea to a borderless Europe. In the immediate vicinity is the official monument to the Schengen Agreement, three brass stars, each framed by two steel stelae.In recognition of its importance on the road to European integration, Schengen was awarded the European Heritage Label.The Schengen Agreement has brought people together in a Europe without borders. May the common values of a united Europe, which for eight decades have brought us peace, freedom and respectful understanding between nations, continue to determine our daily actions.IMPORTANT NOTE: The museum is currently being renewed and is therefore closed. It will reopen around May 2025.

European Museum Schengen 

With 38 hidden deserters, two US pilots and three French prisoners of war, the unassuming Kaundorf bunkers in particular mustered the unbroken patriotic courage to save the lives of desperate young people from Nazi terror. During the occupation, refugees were continuously hidden and cared for among nine houses and five earth bunkers located in the village.Most of the time the earth bunkers were dug into young dense spruce forests and were built around tree trunks. The tin roofs were sealed with roofing felt and covered with a layer of soil and foliage for perfect camouflage. The ‘an der Rundschelt’ bunker was partially dug into a rock on a steep slope towards the Sauer Thal and had an emergency exit.Building material had to be laboriously hauled in at nightime with handcarts and wheelbarrows, and deposited in secret places. This was an attempt to protect the anonymity of the helpers and the general security as extensively as possible.During Whitsun (Pentecost) 1944, this bunker at Rundschelt was occupied by four refractory soldiers who had been hiding in the village since November 1943.Despite several autonomous Resistance groups, none of Kaundorf's five bunkers were discovered or betrayed.Of the 85 bunkers nationwide, about 80 were armed. Many deserters brought their service weapons with them and were prepared to pay a high price in the case of an emergency. An attack on the bunker near Heinerscheid ended tragically when all six refractory deserters were killed in a lost firefight against an attacker.Only the rapid liberation of the country in September 1944 prevented greater disaster by the increasingly informed Gestapo.The Kaundorf bunker at Rundschelt was restored as a national monument in 1987, and can only be reached on foot via a signposted hiking trail from the southern outskirts of the village.

Bunker Kaundorf

The Halifax MKII bomber with the serial number JD-298 flew out of RAF Lissett, Yorkshire on 27 August 1943 around 21:00. The target, to bomb the industrial town of Nürnberg. Flying over the channel, it continued over Belgium and Luxembourg before penetrating into German mainland airspace near Schengen.Soon, the Halifax was discovered by a German Messerschmidt Me110 night fighter. This was piloted by Helmut Bergmann of night fighter squadron 4, taking off from Metz, France. They intercepted and engaged the RAF aircraft. It was hit on its right fuselage side and the fuel tank immediately caught fire.Crew mechanic George Rippingale and tail gunner John Thomas were killed immediately. The pilot was still able to manoeuvre the damaged Halifax back towards Luxembourg territory in direction of Bech and Junglinster. Pilot Officer (Plt Off) Clarke ordered his crew to bail out with the parachutes.Four crewmembers were able to land safely. Plt Off Clarke was also able to bail out. He parachuted, landing too close to the burning plane which had crashed and exploded at the ‘Marscherwald’. He would die next to his downed aircraft.Of the four crewmembers who survived the crash, three were collected and hidden by Luxembourg patriots and were able to be exfiltrated weeks later to eventually regain the UK. The fourth crewmember was captured and imprisoned in a POW camp, Stalag IV-B at Mühlberg/Elbe.

Marscherwald

Situated on the Luxembourg banks of the Sauer (Sûre) river, the memorial features a descriptive bronze plaque mounted on a pedestal in the shape of a &nbsp;five pointed US star topped by a ‘diamond’ of red Luxembourg sandstone.&nbsp;Overlooking the river and opposite German borderlands, it stands at the former 7 February 1945 Sauer river crossing site, next to a wooden footbridge. Crossing the latter one by foot and walking over to the German side, you can still observe the remains of a German machinegun pillbox. The pillbox caused significant trouble during the crossing, with two days of combined costly efforts by the US Infantry and Engineers needed to finally silence it using explosives such as satchel charges and Bangalore torpedoes.

Weilerbach US Memorial

The memorial consists of a stone pedestal with engraved American Eagle. Adjacent is an enamel signpost with the inscription:&nbsp;‘2nd Lt. Hyman Josefson, First American Soldier KIA for the Liberation of Pétange and the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg, September 9, 1944’.&nbsp;Additionally, an M-8 Greyhound armoured reconnaissance car, as used by Josefson and his crew, stands on almost the exact site where 2nd Lt. Josefson died. His Greyhound was hit by a German anti-tank gun at the former Wax mill.Nearby, a documentation centre has a number of original photographs and documents of the Liberation of Pétange.&nbsp;Every year on 9 September, a torch-lit ceremony takes place in Pétange and around the memorial. This takes place to pay tribute to the First American Soldier to die for the liberty of Luxembourg.

 "9 September 1944, We Shall Never Forget" Memorial

The Sandweiler German Military Cemetery is a Second World War&nbsp;burial site with 10,913 graves of German soldiers who died primarily during the ‘Battle of the Bulge’ fighting, in the winter of 1944 to 1945 in the Ardennes and the eastern border areas of Luxembourg.4,829 soldiers are buried in the ‘Kameradengrab’ mass grave, underneath a large black native 'Eifel'&nbsp;lava cross. Their names are cast on a series of bronze plaques mounted in a circle around the central cross.&nbsp;The German cemetery at Sandweiler is maintained by the Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge&nbsp;(German War Graves Commission), and represents a striking contrast in both its design and layout in comparison with the nearby Luxembourg-American Cemetery.A visit to both cemeteries is entirely feasible, both in distance and timing, and is highly recommended.

Sandweiler German Military Cemetery

Here the headquarters of 12th Army Group, named Eagle Tac, were established from the end of September 1944 until around 22 December 1944.&nbsp;General Omar Bradley commanded the 1st (Hodges) and 3rd (Patton) US Armies&nbsp;and left Luxembourg for security reasons at the beginning of the German surprise attack in the Ardennes in December 1944.With the liberation of the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg &nbsp;in September 1944 &nbsp;by units of the 1st US Army, General Bradley established his 12th Army Group Headquarters in Luxembourg to be closer to the operations.&nbsp;‘Eagle Tac’ was established in the right wing of the building of the State Savings Bank in the capital of the Grand Duchy. This wing had been built on the remains of a former defensive structure from the 17th century. It was rated that in case of an enemy air raid, these underground installations could serve as an emergency shelter.&nbsp;With the beginning of the German surprise attack, 16 December 1944 in the Ardennes, General Bradley withdraw to France as it was believed that the enemy would try recapturing Luxembourg City.

Eagle Tac (12th Army Group headquarters)

Between the local General Patton Memorial Museum, less than half a mile from the park, the General’s former Third Army Headquarters in Luxembourg (Pescatore Foundation from outside), and his final resting place at the Luxembourg-American cemetery in Hamm/Luxembourg, the interested visitor will surely come to grasps with the extraordinary figure, leadership and accomplishments of George S. Patton.Ettelbruck, in fact, has the nickname ‘Patton town’, as it was here that 10 years after the war the ‘cult’ tradition of remembering the Second World War and the two liberations of Luxembourg by US forces in 1944 and 1945 had its origins.Although close to 80 years may have faded, the remembrance of those memorable periods, and General Patton is still a well-known and respected figure, almost a national ‘non-Luxembourg’ hero.

General Patton Statue 

This occurred when their RAF Hudson aircraft, on a secret unrecorded mission bound for Germany, was erroneously shot down by a US night fighter in the Luxembourg Ardennes.The RAF Hudson aircraft crashed in the woods near Boxhorn and all crewmembers were killed. The present fenced in monument itself consists of a granite stone cross and six tombstones with the names of the KIA agents. It is surrounded by the debris from the engines, broken propellor blades and fuselage of the destroyed aircraft.&nbsp;Several explanation charts give details of the history of the unfortunate plane and its crew. The monument can be visited by following the signs ‘Monument Belge-britannique de SRA' walking up from either the hamlet of Maulusmühle (road from Clervaux to Binsfeld) or from the village of Boxhorn which takes about 30 minutes.

Maulusmühle Monument for Belgian-British SRA flyers

The US Memorial of Diekirch is located in the municipal park on the banks of the Sûre (Sauer) next to the pedestrian bridge that spans the river. It was inaugurated in 1984 on the initiative of the Diekirch National Museum of Military History. This was on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the liberation of Luxembourg and the ‘Battle of the Bulge'.&nbsp;It pays tribute to all those US military units that were stationed, fought and &nbsp;transited through Diekirch and surrounding areas from September 1944 &nbsp;to February 1945.&nbsp;Those units were the US 4th, 5th, 8th, 28th and 80th Infantry Divisions. The US 5th, 9th and 10th Armored Divisions. Delegations of veterans of some of those units attended the official unveiling.&nbsp;A bronze plaque at the bottom of the base&nbsp; of the monument shows the former Diekirch railroad bridge, replaced later by the present concrete foot bridge. It was via that railroad bridge when in the late morning of 11 September 1944 units of the US 5th Armored Division liberated the town for the first time.&nbsp;The same bridge was used during the night of 19 to 20 December 1944 by approximately 6,000 civilians to flee and leave the town in great haste face to the approaching enemy closing in on the town. They were assisted by local police, resistance fighters and US soldiers to ensure that they would get safely across the river and make it back to safe areas further south. Finally, the partially destroyed bridge was used in turn in mid-January 1945 by unites of the US 5th Infantry Division during the Sauer river crossing operations. It was repaired by US Army engineers and subsequently by Luxembourg civil engineers to be re-used as again a railroad bridge until 1962.

US Memorial Diekirch 

The cemetery was first created by the US Graves registration as a provisional burial place for soldiers who fell in the north of Luxembourg during the Second World War. More notably during the winter of 1944-1945 as the ‘Battle of the Bulge’ was raging. The cemetery was officially inaugurated and dedicated in 1960.&nbsp;There are 131 soldiers of Jewish faith and 22 pairs of brothers interred within. Two Congressional Medal of Honor recipients are at rest. Two General Officers are buried in the cemetery, one of which is General George Smith Patton. There is also one female nurse buried in this cemetery and 371 graves of unknown persons.&nbsp;Several men of the ‘Easy Company’, the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the US 101st Airborne Division are buried here. This was famously depicted in the HBO series ‘Band of Brothers’.&nbsp;The graves made up of white marble crosses or Stars of David, are laid out in rows and plots. Each grave has an individual marked number, this assists people in identifying graves when visiting. The cemetery has a central chapel with a combined altar for the Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish faiths, and stained glass windows with the patches of the US higher command units of both Army and Army Air Force.&nbsp;There are two panels with maps of the European Theatre of Operations of the Second World War, as well as the German Ardennes Offensive (Battle of the Bulge) and the ensuing Allied Rhineland Offensive.&nbsp;The grave rows are accessible to people with reduced mobility and the visitor centre at the entrance provides information about the burials. The cemetery is open daily from 09:00 to 17:00, except for 25 December and 1 January.&nbsp;Every year, the American Embassy and the Luxembourg commemorative community organise an elaborate commemoration ceremony open to the public on the occasion of Memorial Day.

Luxembourg-American Cemetery

Late November 1944: Luxembourg had just given up its neutrality and instituted military conscription service, when three weeks later the ‘Bulge’ hit, and the German forces were again invading the Luxembourg Ardennes and the east of the Grand-Duchy.&nbsp;As General Patton repositioned his entire Third Army from the Metz and Saar regions by 20 December 1944, for counter-attacking north in the Ardennes, he needed a suitable Headquarters close enough to the front lines to direct the operations. His advance staff found the ’Pescatore Foundation‘ building in Luxembourg, large enough to accommodate Third Army’s Headquarters.&nbsp;General Patton moved in on 21 December 1944. As a high level of security was needed, the newly-created small Luxembourg army provided (together with American constabulary units) the bulk of security and guard duties. About 200 men of the ‘Grand-Ducal Guards’ under the orders of Lieutenant Aloyse Schiltz, former member of the Free French cadets and paratrooper agent, worked shifts and ensured the perimeter security of ‘Lucky TAC‘ until March 1945.&nbsp;When Third Army HQ were transferred on 27 March 1945 from Luxembourg to Germany, General Patton thanked Lieutenant. Schiltz for his unit’s important contribution and services by presenting him with a chrome-plated M1 carbine in a special presentation case. This &nbsp;is now on display at the Diekirch National Museum of Military History. There were no security incidents during the presence of Third Army’s headquarters in Luxembourg.

Fondation Pescatore: General Patton’s HQ

It was the RAF that primarily gave hope to the oppressed Luxembourg nation during the earlier war years and prior to the Liberation of Luxembourg in 1944 to 1945 by US forces.The Halifax MKII bomber with the serial number JD-298 flew out of RAF Lissett, Yorkshire on 27 August 1943 around 21:00. The target, to bomb the industrial town of Nürnberg. Flying over the channel, it continued over Belgium and Luxembourg before penetrating into German mainland airspace near Schengen.&nbsp;Soon, the Halifax was discovered by a German Messerschmidt Me110 night fighter. This was piloted by Helmut Bergmann of night fighter squadron 4, taking off from Metz, France. They intercepted and engaged the RAF aircraft. It was hit on its right fuselage side and the fuel tank immediately caught fire.&nbsp;Crew mechanic George Rippingale and tail gunner John Thomas were killed immediately. The pilot was still able to manoeuvre the damaged Halifax back towards Luxembourg territory in direction of Bech and Junglinster. Pilot Officer (Plt Off) Clarke ordered his crew to bail out with the parachutes.&nbsp;Four crewmembers were able to land safely. Plt Off Clarke was also able to bail out. He parachuted, landing too close to the burning plane which had crashed and exploded at the ‘Marscherwald’. He would die next to his downed aircraft.&nbsp;Of the four crewmembers who survived the crash, three were collected and hidden by Luxembourg patriots and were able to be exfiltrated weeks later to eventually regain the UK. The fourth crewmember was captured and imprisoned in a POW camp, Stalag IV-B at Mühlberg/Elbe.

Halifax Memorial Marscherwald

At the time of the German occupation of Luxembourg, the Kremer family was composed of the following persons:Mother: Anne Kremer-Jans, Born: 1.8.1892 - Died: 1945Sons: Léon Kremer Born: 16.4.1920, Aloyse Kremer Born: 23.1. 1923 - Died: 19.1.1945, Eugène Kremer Born: 4.6.1926Daughter: Lina Kremer Born: 9.7.1921Their father had died in 1933.The family were farmers in the village of Biwisch, near Troisvierges and the border to Belgium. Léon had joined the Luxembourg Armed Forces in 1939. He was among those who were taken to Weimar on 4 December 1940 to be trained as German police men. When in 1942 he was ordered to swear an oath to Hitler, he refused and was consequently sent to Dachau concentration camp of. He was liberated on 29 April 1945.When the Gauleiter declared compulsory military service in Luxembourg, Aloyse Kremer decided not to serve in the German Army and left Biwisch to join the Belgian Maquis (secret army). In the following months, he guided numerous Luxembourg deserters across the heavily guarded border. In July 1944 he was shot at by German police at Amberloup in Belgium. After surviving heavy interrogations at the Villa Pauly in Luxembourg, he was sent to the Reichskriegsgericht in Torgau. There he was sentenced to death and executed on 19 January 1945.During Aloyse’s time in prison in Luxembourg, his mother, Anne, and his sister, Lina, were arrested by the Gestapo. After interrogations they were both sent to Ravensbruck concentration camp, where Anna disappeared. Lina was then taken to Bergen-Belsen camp, where she was liberated by British troops. After a stay in Swedish hospitals, she was repatriated to Luxembourg.A monument honouring the Resistance activities of the Kremer family was inaugurated in 1985 in Biwisch.

Kremer Family Resistance

​​​The German Panzer Lehr Division (Lehr) was ordered to take Bastogne either via Donkols-Bras or via Eschweiler-Derenbach. When the Lehr’s advance reached Erpeldange outside Wiltz on 18 December 1944, a fierce battle ensued with the Sherman tanks of the 707th Tank Battalion.&nbsp;​Lieutenant Colonel (Lt Col) Richard W Ripple's command tank ’Blood &amp; Guts‘ played a pivotal role in the successful defensive fight. His tank was positioned for cover in a dung pit. After hours of fighting, the Sherman finally had to be abandoned by the crew on the retreat to Wiltz. Many tanks were lost, but the US resistance increasingly stiffened towards Wiltz. &nbsp;​&nbsp;​No connection could be established with the 5th German Parachute Division, which was supposed to secure the attack wedge on the southern flank of Wiltz. The German timetable forbid local fighting, this meant that General Bayerlein (commander of the Lehr) had to abandon the advance via Wiltz-Bras to Bastogne.&nbsp;​ &nbsp;​In the meantime, his 902nd Panzer Regiment had bypassed Wiltz to the north via Eschweiler and reached Derenbach. General Bayerlein then decided to proceed in the dense fog of night along a reconnoitred dirt road from Niederwampach via Bennonchamps-Mageret to Bastogne. Due to the poor condition of the trail, Mageret was only reached after a further loss of four hours. &nbsp;​&nbsp;Urgent fuel supplies for the spearhead were needed for the 12 Panther tanks, any further advances were dependent on it. Thus with delay, Neffe was reached only on 19 December and in the morning encountered the US 101st Airborne Division. They had moved into position in front of the village in good time. The Lehr's hand-to-hand coup for Bastogne had now failed.&nbsp;​&nbsp;On the night of 20 December, Wiltz was surrounded. Lt Col Richard W Ripple ordered his unit, after destroying all their tanks, to make their way to Bastogne in single groups.&nbsp;After the war, the Sherman ’Blood and Guts‘ was recovered by town people and has since been held in honor as an authentic witness to the US resistance in the city martyr of Wiltz.&nbsp;​​&nbsp;

Lieutenant Colonel Ripple's ​​Sherman tank

​​​Around the strategic road junction SchumannsEck near Wiltz, a murderous war of position raged for weeks during the 'Battle of the Bulge’, which is inseparable from the regional Battle of Bastogne. Today, on the same spot, there is a memorial trail dedicated to international understanding and peace in the world within the framework of the Interreg project 'Land of Memory’.​&nbsp;Now that the contemporary witnesses of the war are unfortunately leaving us forever, it is even more important to pass on our common historical heritage to future bearers of the culture of remembrance.​&nbsp;​Along 20 thematically structured stations, the course and the horrors of the murderous close-quarters battles are illustrated. The stories are presented in original locations with 65 life-size photo silhouettes from original photographs.​&nbsp;​During the tour, interest and consternation are continuously triggered to engage mentally and interactively with the stagings on display.​&nbsp;In most of the photo silhouettes, detailed photos of objects found at the site after the war were integrated.&nbsp; This, in a further stage of expansion, will be virtually linked to the originals which are on display in museums.​One focus of the topics shown is clearly the predicaments and the suffering endured by the civilian population as well as the young soldiers. The memorial trail is open to the public tThe long route is 2.8km and the short route 1.7km long.

'Schumanns Eck 1944-1945​' ​​Memorial Trail

​​The Gestapo repeatedly tried to infiltrate these networks with traitors, sometimes successfully, in order to break up their branches across borders deep into the hinterland. Every unknown fugitive was therefore a potential risk of being a Gestapo informer or, if arrested under torture, of revealing names and locations of the networks.&nbsp;​At the beginning of the war, patrolling and preventing smuggling at the Reich borders were among the main tasks of the German ‘Zollgrenzschutz’&nbsp; (ZGS), which from 1942 to 1943&nbsp; onwards became increasingly involved in military and police-like conflicts with well-organised, partly armed smuggling and fugitive movements in the occupied territories. In the last years of the war, ZGS executives were therefore continuously replaced by police and SS forces.&nbsp;​The nocturnal cross-border escape helpers were punished with extreme severity by death sentences, penal servitude, resettlement of the helpers' families and incarceration in concentration camps (KZ). Shootings with deaths on both sides were part of the daily routine.&nbsp;​Imagine the courage, maturity, and strength of character of those young patriots who risked their lives and those of their relatives in night operations to save fugitives who were often anonymous and wanted to remain so.&nbsp;​The fear of being betrayed was a constant companion, always urging the helpers to be very careful!&nbsp;​The pent-up rage against the terror of the Nazi occupation policy and the urge to no longer tolerate the crimes of the regime, as well as the unprecedented solidarity to save people in greatest need, inspired many helpers not to give up despite the danger to their lives. May their courage and perseverance serve as an example to us of how to take on the challenges today.&nbsp;​In order to save these heroic actions from oblivion, a memorial path has been laid out, leading in broad lines along the route used at that time by the escape helpers and their many brave refugees.&nbsp;​The memorial trail follows the much-travelled escape route which began in the small village of Sassel, bypassed Troisvierges, crossed the railway and then disappeared into the vast Biwisch forest to cross the border at the little stream&nbsp; ’Kléngelbaach’&nbsp; and ended on Belgian territory at a place then called "Maison Roche".&nbsp;​A few other clandestine border crossings on the northern tip of Luxembourg were also used at the time.&nbsp;

​​Remembrance Trail of the Escapees

The origins of the Hinzert Cross memorial in Notre-Dame Cemetery dates back to the funerals which were held there on 9 and 10 March 1946.Every year since then, an official gathering has been held at the monument on the National Day of Remembrance. In March 1946, the Luxembourg government repatriated the exhumed bodies of 78 Luxembourg. In 1946 this burial place was marked by a cross (cross of Hinzert) which was made of beams &nbsp;taken from the concentration camp of Hinzert and erected in late 1945 at the burial places in Hinzert.In the late 1960’s, the site was converted and enlarged with the creation of a forecourt. It was inaugurated on 10 May 1969, and given the name ‘Monument de la déportation’ (Memorial of Deportation). In 1974, the government decided to add the title ‘national’ to the name. At the instigation of the National Council of the Resistance, the monument was given the name it has to this day:Monument national de la Résistance et de la déportation’ (National Memorial for Resistance Fighters and the Deported).The site has since been enlarged and redeveloped, with the addition of a bronze statue known as 'The Political Prisoner’. The statue was created by Lucien Wercollier (1908–2002), an artist and art education teacher who was himself a Resistance fighter, a former political prisoner at Hinzert and a prisoner in the camps in Lublin and forcibly resettled in Silesia.The National Memorial for Resistance Fighters and the Deported&nbsp;symbolises the suffering endured by those Luxembourgers who opposed the policies of the Nazi occupiers. It is a place where survivors and political leaders gather as a reminder that we must never stop defending the right to independence and the fundamental freedoms. It is also a national memorial, site of an annual gathering held around 25 February (date of the execution of 23 resistance fighters near Hinzert) as National Day of Resistance.

National Monument of Resistance and Deportation

From 1940 to 1944 the villa was used as the headquarters of the Einsatzkommando der Sicherheitspolizei und des SD&nbsp;(Gestapo).All people who showed their opposition and or &nbsp;resistance towards the German policy of annexation of Luxembourg to the German Reich were arrested and brought to the headquarters of the Gestapo to be interrogated. &nbsp;Sometimes they would also be subjected to torture &nbsp;before being sent to prison &nbsp;or concentration camps. The villa’s basement was transformed into prison cells where numerous members of &nbsp;resistance movements were interrogated and tortured.The offices of the ’Judenbeauftragter’ (Commissioner for Jews) were located in the same building. On these premises the deportation lists were compiled and the deportations organised.Two plaques on the outside of the villa commemorate the victims of the Resistance and the 1,300 Jews whose deportation was organised here.The two plaques read:‘Villa Pauly / Siège de la Gestapo 1940-1944. Passant, souviens-toi des résistants torturés en ces lieux sous l’occupation nazie’.‘Passant souviens-toi qu’en ces lieux fut organisée à partir de 1941 la déportation des Juifs du Luxembourg. 1300 enfants, femmes et hommes ont péri dans la tourmente de la Shoah.’&nbsp;(EN: Villa Pauly / Gestapo headquarters 1940-1944. Passers-by, remember the Resistance fighters tortured here during the Nazi Occupation'.Passers-by, remember that this is where the deportation of Luxembourg's Jews was organised from 1941 onwards. 1300 children, women and men perished in the torment of the Shoah'.)The Villa Pauly became the embodiment of brutal Nazi rule in Luxembourg.

Villa Pauly

​​In anticipation of the major Russian offensive in the central section of the Eastern Front and the invasion of France by the Western Allies, the end of the Third Reich became apparent in the spring of 1944.&nbsp;​The number of conscientious objectors in Luxembourg rose rapidly. When 400 Luxembourgish conscripts were called up for the German Wehrmacht in April 1944, another 160 young conscripts defied the Nazi order.&nbsp;​The Gestapo's regular waves of arrests against the Luxembourg Resistance movements had greatly reduced the number of smugglers and secret shelters. Hundreds of conscientious objectors had already gone into hiding in disused side tunnels of mines and other hiding places in the south of the country. There was an urgent need for more hiding places.&nbsp;​With the help of courageous villagers from Differdingen, an attempt was made to set up an alternative bunker in the less accessible area near Schlindermanderscheid. This earth bunker was about 3m wide, 17m&nbsp; long and 2.5m&nbsp; deep, dug into the forest floor.&nbsp;​No fewer than 17 people stayed in this bunker ‘an der Dosbaach’ for 8 months until the liberation on 10 September 1944. The inhabitants of the bunker were supplied with food by death-defying residents of the surrounding villages. In the pitch dark, mattresses were obtained from the German rest home in Kautenbach, and even a heavy stove was laboriously dragged over a distance of 4km.&nbsp;​The bunker was guarded day and night and food supplies were collected from secret places during the night.&nbsp;​Particularly adventurous were the dangerous weapons transports with two carbines hidden in stovepipes, which were carried out several times by a lady in the luggage rack in the train compartment from Differdingen, 70km&nbsp; away, to Goebels Mühle.&nbsp;​In memory of these dark war years, volunteers and relatives got together to restore ’An der Dosbaach‘ to its original state. On this occasion, the bunker hiking trail through the untouched nature with access to the bunker was also created.&nbsp;

​​Bunker Trail Friedbusch – Last resort in the hour of need​

In 2009, representatives of the Jewish community and historians, having conducted extensive research on the confiscation of Jewish property, petitioned the government to erect a monument in commemoration of the victims of the Shoah in Luxembourg city. In 2018, the ’Kaddish’ monument, created by the Franco-Israeli sculptor Shelomo Selinger, was inaugurated on Boulevard Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The location marks the site of the first synagogue in the city, which was inaugurated in 1823. In 1894 this synagogue was replaced by a larger one, situated at the corner of Rue Notre Dame and Rue Aldringen.The Jewish population in Luxembourg on 10 May 1940 was estimated at roughly 4,000. 1,300 were deported from Luxembourg, France, and Belgium, where they had found a temporary refuge. About 1,000 Jews were Luxembourg nationals, the other 3,000 were refugees from Germany, Austria, Poland, Czechoslovakia, and other Eastern European countries. Some 60 of them survived in Luxembourg as partners in a mixed marriage, about ten others survived in hiding with non-Jewish Luxembourg families.The inscription on the Kaddish Monument reads:Kaddish: “Pour les Juifs du Luxembourg assassinés par les Nazis 1940-1945. ” (For the Jews of Luxembourg murdered by the Nazis 1940-1945)There is a memorial trail in Luxembourg city that takes visitors to the most important points of interest related to the Shoah. The route takes about two hours and is 3 km. An electronic copy of the description of the trail can be downloaded here:<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://assets.prod.app.luxembourg-city.com/data/media/6df06eca-67b2-4b4a-9b13-9455dbbea05c.pdf">https://assets.prod.app.luxembourg-city.com/data/media/6df06eca-67b2-4b4a-9b13-9455dbbea05c.pdf</a>

Kaddish Monument

After the war, the building became the seat of the association of the young people forced to serve in the German army. They believed that they also had been ‘deported’ from Luxembourg, thus the denomination of Memorial of Deportation.Inside the building an exhibition was installed in the 1990’s, showing mainly &nbsp;young men forcibly enrolled in the German army and 1,300 families that were forcibly resettled in Eastern Germany. It also includes information on the deportation of Jews from Luxembourg.On 31 August 1942, Gauleiter Gustav Simon introduced compulsory military service for young men born in 1920 to 1924 (later to 1927). The reaction of the Luxembourg people was to go on strike in order to protest against this war crime.As a retaliation against this, the Gauleiter created a court martial presided by the chief of the local Gestapo. This led to 20 strikers being arrested and sentenced to death. They were shot near the German concentration camp of Hinzert the day following their trial.In the following months some 10,200 young men were to be enrolled and the first train taking them to German barracks left Luxembourg (central railway station) on 18 October 1942. As the departure of the first train created an opportunity for new protests the Germans decided to have the trains depart from the railway station of Hollerich, or to direct trains from the North of the country directly to Germany.In September 1942 the Gauleiter decided to have all the families whom he thought ‘politically’ unreliable to be forcibly resettled in Eastern parts of Germany, mainly in Silesia. They were to be re-educated to become ‘good Nazi Germans’.From 1943 the families from where young men had not shown up when called upon or deserted from their units (about 3,510 out of 10,200) were to be sent from Luxembourg to Silesia as well. These camps included Leubus and Boberstein. Some 60 people did not survive.Among those who were enrolled into the German army, 2,752 were reported missing in action. Some 1,200 became prisoners of war in Russian camps, the most renowned being camp 188 near the city of Tambov. They returned to Luxembourg in late 1945.

Memorial of Deportation

​​The museum provides a thorough thematic overview of the events of the Second World War in Luxembourg from the occupation by the German Wehrmacht on 10 May 1940. &nbsp;​Subjects which are presented within include: the severe destruction and evacuation of Düdelingen, the terror of the Nazi occupation, forced conscription, the general strike 1942, resistance movements' struggle for survival, deportations, and the concentration camps. Furthermore, it covers the imprisonment of civilians and Allied prisoners, to the liberation and the eventful post-war period.&nbsp;​After the war, compulsory military service was introduced in the Grand Duchy and in July 1945 the second infantry battalion was stationed in Dudelange for a few months. However, the museum's main focus is on the painful forced conscription into the Reich Labour Service and the German Wehrmacht.​A large number of moving archival images, documents, eyewitness accounts, objects, propaganda posters and war material illustrate the inhuman dilemma of these young men. Those at the time had to decide whether to comply with the conscription in order to protect their own families from reprisals, or to desert and face the death penalty.&nbsp;​A final section of the museum is dedicated to the commemoration and political demands of the forced conscripts in the post-war years to assert their rights. More than 30 panels vividly explain the various themes, and display cases show objects from the different armies involved in the conflict as well as military and personal memorabilia of forced recruits. &nbsp;​On 30 August 1986, the square next to the church in Düdelingen was inaugurated as the 'Forced Recruits Square’ with a memorial stone. The Regional Museum of&nbsp;'Forced Recruitment’ is located on the ground floor of the former ARBED administration villa (Aciéries Réunies de Burbach-Eich-Dudelange, in English: United Steelworks of Burbach-Eich-Dudelange). The building was declared a national monument in September 2018. ​The museum is only 300 metres from Dudelange railway station and is served directly by several bus lines at a bus stop on-site.

​​Regional Museum of Forced Conscription​ 

At the initiative of Prime Minister Pierre Werner, the associations of the members of the Resistance and the association of those forced to serve in the German army decided to have one common place where Luxembourg could commemorate its victims of the Second World War.It was the idea to dedicate this monument to national solidarity., &nbsp;This was a force which enabled Luxembourgers to resist the German plans to annex Luxembourg to Nazi Germany. This made the monument acceptable to both groups of victims. For years, the two groups had been fighting each other on degrees of suffering and compensation.The inauguration took place on 10 October 1971, the 30th anniversary of the so called ‘referendum' by which the Luxembourgers demonstrated their will to stay an independent and free country.Inside the monument the inscription reads:’D’Hémecht hiren Doudegen 1940-1945 (The fatherland to its dead 1940-1945).The Jewish victims from the Second World War are not mentioned during the construction of the monument, but a Rabbi was present at the inauguration.A special electronic memorial trail taking visitors to most of the places of interest related to the Second World War in the city of Luxembourg is available here:<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://assets.prod.app.luxembourg-city.com/data/media/e704ccec-f622-4bf9-9a98-b06ee27aa36f.pdf">https://assets.prod.app.luxembourg-city.com/data/media/e704ccec-f622-4bf9-9a98-b06ee27aa36f.pdf</a>

National Monument of Luxembourg solidarity

The statue expresses the great attachment that the people of Luxembourg had for Grand Duchess Charlotte (1896 to 1985) who reigned the country from 1919 to 1964. The sculpture was created by the French artist Jean Cardot.The idea to have a statue of Grand Duchess Charlotte built came immediately after her burial at the Notre-Dame Cathedral, among the graves of the Luxembourg population.During Second World War she had become the symbol of Luxembourg’s independence through her broadcasted speeches in Luxembourgish on the BBC.The inscription on the memorial reads:'Madame Mir hun iech gär.‘ (Madame, we love you.)

Grand Duchess Charlotte Statue

On 20 October 1940, occupying Nazi forces pulled the monument down, and only in 1984 to 1985 did extensive restauration return it to its original appearance. Today it symbolises freedom and resistance for the Luxembourg people. It is the military memorial for Luxembourgers who volunteered in the allied armies and as members of UN missions.Inaugurated on 27 May 1923, the memorial, best known as ‘Gëlle Fra’ (Golden Lady), is located facing the residence of the French ambassador. The monument underlines the participation of volunteers from Luxembourg in the Allied armies during the First World War.During the Second World War, the Nazi occupation authorities pulled the monument down. It’s eventual destruction on 21 October 1940 had been preceded by three days of protests by numerous Luxembourgers. Among them were many students from the nearby ‘Athenaeum’. A taskforce of Gestapo responded with brutal arrests. Over 60 protesters were taken to the ‘Villa Pauly’ and subsequently beaten up and interrogated.After the war the complete reconstruction of the ‘Gëlle Fra’ was delayed for many reasons, mainly financial. In the 1950’s a reconstruction of the base with the two soldiers was accomplished after considerable discussions. In 1984 and 1985, the monument was reconstructed in its original form. On the base of the memorial are four small plaques which were added to commemorate its destruction.The monument was designed by Luxembourgish sculptor, Claus Cito, from Bascharage. The memorial depicts a gold-plated female figure on a stone obelisk, holding a crown of laurel in her outstretched hands. On the ground level are two young soldiers, one sitting and mourning the other who is stretched out, dead.Today, the monument symbolises freedom and resistance for the Luxembourg people. It is also the military memorial for Luxembourgers who volunteered in the allied armies and gave their lives for the independence of Luxembourg during the two World Wars, the War in Korea, the Spanish Civil War, and as members of UN missions.

Gëlle Fra Monument (Golden Lady)

​​After the walkout in the Wiltz leather factory, the strike quickly spread to the whole of Wiltz and subsequently to many other localities nationwide. Numerous strikers were arrested by the Gestapo and sentenced in summary proceedings by court martials. As an immediate deterrent retaliation, 21 patriots (including one German) were executed in the ’SS special camp‘ Hintzert (concentration camp) in violation of international law.&nbsp;​&nbsp;​The country was in shock and the strike could not prevent the subsequent introduction of forced recruitment, initially of those born between 1920 and 1924. Until the liberation of Luxembourg by the US Army in September 1944, the cohorts 1925 to 1927 were added.&nbsp;​&nbsp;​More than 10,000 young Luxembourgers were ordered to take up military service, and more than 3,600 young women had to serve in the Reich Labour Service or the War Relief Service. But there were also 1,500 who volunteered for service in the Wehrmacht.&nbsp;​Several thousand deserted despite the death penalty if the opportunity arose. At the front, the forced conscripts suffered/had to mourn approximately 2,800 dead and missing. Over 1,500 returned injured or mutilated. Almost every family in the country was affected by this immeasurable suffering and post-war trauma.&nbsp;​ &nbsp;​Wiltz was chosen as the site for a monument of national reflection and mourning over the calamities suffered. In cooperation with several resistance movements, Kazettlers and the deportees, donations were collected for the ’strike monument’.&nbsp;​On 30 September 1956, the monument made of Wiltz slate, a 23-metre high tower, in form of a lighthouse, above a crypt for those murdered in the concentration camps, was inaugurated. &nbsp;​On the roadside, a relief of red sandstone depicts the struggle of the biblical ’David against Goliath‘ and symbolises the courageous resistance of the Luxembourgers against the superior Third Reich.&nbsp;​The rear side illustrates patriots collapsing under the bullets of the firing squad in the Hintzert concentration camp (KZ).&nbsp;​&nbsp;​The monument stands as a memorial to the free world to each day stand up against violence, oppression and disregard for human rights.&nbsp;​&nbsp;​Every year on 31 August, a memorial ceremony is held to commemorate the brave victims who stood up for and sacrificed their lives for a future of peace, freedom and international understanding in the world.&nbsp;

 The Strike Monument in Wiltz

In 1845 the first Jewish family came to Medernach. Other Jewish families lived in neighbouring villages (Waldbillig, Christnach). Most of them were active as cattle traders. In 1860 the Jewish population numbered 25 members. From 1875 they acquired the Luxembourg nationality and became fully integrated in the village society.Nathan Kahn, born in Medernach in 1852, acquired the Luxembourg nationality in 1876. He was a candidate in local elections in 1908 and was&nbsp;elected.In 1882 a ‘prayerhouse’ (called the synagogue) was created for the Jews from Medernach, Waldbillig and Christnach. By 1930 the Jewish community in Medernach numbered 33 members.On 16 October 1941, 18 Jews from Medernach were deported to the ghetto of Litzmannstadt, Poland. In February 1942 Norbert Kahn was arrested by the Gestapo because he did not wear his ‘star of David’ which identified him as a Jew. . From the concentration camp of Hinzert, Germany he was then deported to Buchenwald, Germany where he was murdered. His mother was deported to Cinqfointaines, Luxembourg where she would then also die.&nbsp;On 8 28 July 1942 the last 8 Jews from Medernach were deported to the ghetto of Theresienstadt, Bohemia (now Czech Republic).By the end of the Second World War, none of this small Jewish community had survived. The only survivor originating from a family of the Jewish&nbsp;community was living with his family in France where his father, mother and brother were arrested, deported and murdered.In 1959 and 2021, memorials were inaugurated at the place of the former ‘synagogue’.

Memorial to the Jewish Community of Medernach

On 30 August 1942 the Nazi Gauleiter Simon introduced forcible military service in Luxembourg for young men born between 1920 to 1924. This was later increased &nbsp;to include 1925 and 1926.To avoid serving in the German Wehrmacht some 3,510 did not show up when they were called to arms or deserted after having been enrolled. Some 1,000 young men left Luxembourg and found refuge in France and Belgium, joining there the local resistance movements (maquis).Some 2,500 went into hiding in Luxembourg either in private homes or in hiding places outside villages and towns. This was a risky decision as their families were forcefully resettled in Silesia, their assets in Luxembourg being confiscated, and the &nbsp;‘deserter’ &nbsp;himself was to be court martialled and condemned to death.For security reasons many young people had to often change their hiding places. One of these hiding places was the former mine ‘Hondsbësch’ where 122 young men went underground from February to August 1944. It was the largest group that went into hiding in one place creating enormous problems concerning activities, health, provision of food, discipline, installation of electricity and lighting.As the Gestapo did their &nbsp;utmost to find these ‘deserters’, strict measures to avoid being discovered had to be imposed. A resistance fighter was designated to keep an eye on the behavior of the inmates.A large network outside of the mine provided food, doctors volunteered to look after ill young men, forced to stay in the damp and dark underground during the day. They were permitted to go &nbsp;out for a short period &nbsp;at night only. When suddenly the Germans asked to obtain &nbsp;a map of old mines, the hiding places seemed unsafe and were &nbsp;evacuated several weeks before liberation of Luxembourg 10 September 1944.The ‘Hondsbësch’ mine was declared a national monument in 1991.

Lasauvage Museological Centre

At the initiative of the local section of LPPD (Ligue of political prisoners and deportees), the city of Esch decided to create a Museum of the Resistance. This is located in the middle of a new construction in Brill square in the centre as a Memorial for the victims of the Second World War.From a local project it was then enlarged, and the Museum now documents the ‘Resistance’ of all Luxembourgers against Nazi occupation from 1940 to 1945. Survivors from the concentration camps gave testimonies and brought objects, photos and documents related to the resistance.In the 1980’s, young historians started the&nbsp;refurbishment of the museum to create a more objective view of resistance. This goal was criticised and rejected by former members of the resistance who claimed that they alone should decide about the content of the museum. Resistance was seen as an apolitical, anti-German movement of solidarity.From 2008, a fundamental restoration and reinterpretation was undertaken, enlarging the chronological frame to 1930-1945 to include international subjects such as the Spanish civil war and also adding the subject of Human rights today.The re-opening took place in March 2024.

National Museum of Resistance and Human Rights

In 1810, the first Jewish family registered in the small city of Ettelbruck. During the 19th century, more and more families established their shops and &nbsp;businesses in Ettelbruck and in the surrounding villages &nbsp;such as Consdorf, Everlange, Grosbous, Medernach, Diekirch, Waldbillig. &nbsp;In December 1870, the newly built synagogue was inaugurated, followed in 1881 by a Jewish cemetery and in 1890 by a school building. 199 members of the Jewish community were buried in the cemetery from 1882 to 2005.During the Nazi occupation, the Jews from Ettelbruck were expelled to France and Belgium, then after 17 October 1941 deported to ghettos and extermination camps in Eastern Europe. The synagogue and the school building were not destroyed, however the interior was devastated by young collaborationists. The Tora, acquired in 1859, was hidden in Grosbous.After the liberation nine families returned to Ettelbruck. After 1962 the synagogue was desecrated and served as a carpet shop. In 2017 the building was recognised a national Monument and the local city administration took over and restauration work is still ongoing. Today there is no Jewish community living in Ettelbruck.Other tokens of Jewish life that can be seen in and around Ettelbruck are the school building, next to the synagogue, the Jewish Cemetery near the local cemetery, the&nbsp; Stolperschwelle in the city centre, and the Medernach Memorial.

Old Synagogue

The students, guided by their teachers and in cooperation with students from the Max-Planck-Gymnasium of Trier (Germany) had elaborated an exhibition showing the history of the Jewish community of Ettelbruck during the Shoah.The German artist Gunter Demnig, creator of Stumbling stones and stumbling sills, had come to Ettelbruck to install the stumbling sill.Such a stumbling sill is meant to make passers-by ’stumble‘ over the history of the Shoah in this area, forcing them to remember the Jewish life in Ettelbruck before the Shoah.The inscription reads:A la Mémoire des Juifs d’Ettelbruck – victimes de la Shoah.1940-1945Zum Gedenken an die Juden aus Ettelbrück.&nbsp; Opfer der Shoah.

Stumbling Sill

In 1906 to1907 the Congregation of the Sacred Heart had a monastery built in Cinqfontaines/Fünfbrunnen by the German architect Johannes F. Klomp from Dortmund. Between 1909 and 1910 a chapel was added to the monastery.In March 1941 the Nazis confiscated all the monasteries in Luxembourg. In August the first Jews were sent to the monastery called ‘Jewish Retirement Home’.More and more Jews from all over the country were concentrated in the monastery that proved rapidly too small. The plan to erect concrete barracks was not completed due to deportations in July 1942. The living conditions for the mostly old and ill inmates became very difficult, especially as their food supplies were reduced by the Nazis.From 1941 to 1943 Jews were then deported to the ghettos and extermination camps in Eastern Europe. The monastery was situated near a railway line, which facilitated the deportation of the Jews. The ’Aeltestenrat’ responsible for the implementation of the orders issued by the Gestapo was established in Cinqfontaines. On several occasions the head of the Gestapo went up to Cinqfontaines for inspections followed by restrictions imposed on the inmates.About 300 Jews passed through Cinqfontaines, and at least 20 of them didn't survive their internment.In 1969 a memorial was erected near the monastery to commemorate the victims of the Shoah from Luxembourg. The Memorial was created by the Luxembourgish sculptor Lucien Wercollier. The inscription, a Jewish prayer, in Hebrew says:'May your soul be woven into the beam of the living’Every year on the first Sunday in July a commemoration is held at this memorial. In 2020 the monastery was bought by the Luxembourg government in order to serve as a pedagogical site on the Shoah. Following an agreement with the Jewish community of Luxembourg, the monastery of Cinqfontaines was acquired in 2020 by the State with the aim of setting up a place of remembrance and an educational centre. Since 2022 the Service national de la jeunesse (SNJ) and the Zentrum fir politesch Bildung (ZpB) have offered educational activities based on the following themes: “Remembrance of the victims of the Shoah”, “Raising awareness of anti-Semitism and racism” and “Fostering democracy and human rights”.

Centre Cinqfontaines

The first museum of its kind in Luxembourg, the Museum of the Battle of the Bulge in Wiltz was inaugurated in 1970 in the town's old castle. Closely linked to the National Brewery Museum and the Museum of the Tanning Industry, the Museum of the Battle of the Bulge is an important milestone in the long history of the town of Wiltz.​Over two floors, a large number of authentic pieces of equipment from the US Army and German Wehrmacht of the time can be viewed on more than 170 square metres of exhibition space. In addition to the unique wealth of documents, photos, pieces of equipment and weapons, the immeasurable suffering of the civilian population and the terrible fate of the soldiers on both sides are objectively portrayed.&nbsp;​Of particular interest are the dioramas showing the cordial coexistence of the people of Wiltz with the US soldiers, who organised a St Nicholas celebration for the children in December 1944.Also on display are: the headquarters of the last city commander, Colonel Daniel Strickler, who was forced to retreat from Wiltz on 19 December 1944; the desperate defence of the city by the US military chapel; depictions of long-suffering civilians who wrote a vow to erect the “Fatima Monument” in the ruins as thanks for their survival and a dramatic account of the murderous war of position at Schumanns Eck where the advance to Houffalize was obstructed by General Patton's 3rd Army for three weeks near Wiltz.​Information on visiting hours and requests for multilingual guided tours for groups can be obtained from the tourism association (Syndicat d'Initiative et de Tourisme) of Wiltz.

​​Museum of the Battle of the Bulge

Almost at the same time, the Gestapo had increasingly succeeded in exposing and severely dismantling entire resistance rings, even abroad, through informers and traitors. When being arrested, the helpers were threatened with high prison sentences, death sentences and the transfer to extermination camps of the SS.Through a unique effort of solidarity by thousands of patriots and the Resistance, about 2,500 refractors were able to find secret shelter in the country. Various resistance groups were helpful in this by smuggling up to 1,000 fugitives with forged papers through organized escape routes, at constant risk to their lives, to the less-supervised large-scale foreign countries.Initially, in winter, hiding places were created in houses, barns, stables, even churches, and later in disused ore mines. During the warm season, secret shelter could be found in about 85 dug-in field and forest bunkers in the country.Security and rationed food supplies were the greatest challenges, which would not have been accessible without countless anonymous helpers from the population. Occasionally, illegally slaughtered cattle could be procured, or the rationed food supply could be improved by poaching and fishing during the nighttime.The daily supplies were deposited by locally organized resistance groups at night in certain places, where they were later taken by the fugitives to their earth bunkers. Because of the treacherous smoke, cooking was only allowed at concealed fireplaces at night.The day-to-day nondisclosure of young fugitives, with different backgrounds and characters, could only be maintained with iron discipline and draconian punishments.Unfortunately, due to naivety and youthful exuberance, some fatal incidents with fatal outcomes occurred, which plunged entire rope teams of helpers with their families into disaster.The drama of forced recruitment became a national issue for the country. There was almost no family that was not directly or indirectly affected by this tragedy.This has been a voluntary solidarity action, which, despite the death penalty, is unparalleled in the history of the Luxembourg country.This story resonates and links directly to the Monument of Nation Solidarity which is located Ville-Haute, Luxembourg.

The Underground Survival of Deserters

Around Thanksgiving Day 1944, the US 109th Infantry Regiment recovering from the costly battle at Huertgen forest, was in R&amp;R (rest and recreation) while assuming the defence of the Our and Sauer river sectors.The German surprise attack began on 16 December and the frontline companies of the regiment (Commanding Officer: LTC James RUDDER) were able to stop several enemy attacks by making good use of the terrain. They managed to slow &nbsp;down the German advance in direction of Diekirch and Ettelbruck.In the late afternoon of 18 December, however, the situation became untenable and the regimental commander on orders from the division ordered his companies to new defensive positions.The Mayor of Diekirch requested an emergency meeting with whoever was in command in Diekirch. It transpired &nbsp;to be Captain Kemp, &nbsp;executive officer of the 3rd Battalion, 109th Infantry Regiment, the last unit to defend the city.He emphasized that with the imminent German advance on Diekirch and the retreat of the US troops, his population would come under German domination again. Despite the order from the Regiment and the Division, Captain Kemp on his initiative contacted his superiors and received clearance &nbsp;to evacuate the town. It was conducted under his responsibility without interfering of&nbsp;the military priorities.&nbsp;It was left up to his judgement to evacuate the town.He issued the &nbsp;simple order of evacuation to the mayor to make sure that every household be warned to pack just a few life-necessary belongings. All had been told to strictly follow the instructions of &nbsp;US military, local police and resistance. On 19 December during the night, some 6,000 civilians were evacuated in great haste across the Diekirch railway bridge to get to the south banks of the Sauer river and make it back to safety.For actually ’saving‘ the population of Diekirch, Colonel (ret.) Harry M. KEMP was decorated with the Grand Cross of Merit of the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg and made a Honorary Citizen of Diekirch in 2004. This was on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the ‘Battle of the Bulge’.

The civilian evacuation of Diekirch

In 1994, the four Luxembourg museums of the Battle of the Bulge founded a joint association (NLM asbl) in order to erect a memorial at the ‘SchumannsEck’. The site &nbsp;of one of the Battle of the Bulge's heavy losses. The memorial &nbsp;commemorates Luxembourg's double liberation in 1944-1945 from the Nazi regime by the US Army. &nbsp;Erected to keep the memory of the many civilian and military victims of the offensive alive for the generations to come after the war.Since the &nbsp;inauguration of the 1944-1945 Liberation Memorial’ at SchumannsEck as well as at the Monument for all Fallen at the ‘Massegraaf’, former veterans of both sides have for decades have returned. They remembered and publicly reconciled their fallen, missing and wounded comrades. Often returning in person or on the occasions of emotional ceremonies.The veterans have encouraged us to every day follow their binding message of standing up against violence, oppression and disregard for human rights. &nbsp;Not taking &nbsp;for granted the peace that has been achieved in Europe since the end of the Second World War.In close cooperation with many institutions, new pedagogical approaches for a meaningful commemoration are therefore continuously being developed with young people. Following these innovative guidelines, the commemorative path through the former battlefield adjacent to the monument was designed in the framework of the Interreg project Land of Memory. This was according to the new pedagogical insights, especially to address the many questions young people have about the horrors of war.Every year on the anniversary of the start of the Battle of the Bulge, on 16 December , a commemoration ceremony is held at the ’Liberation Memorial 1944-1945’. This includes the participation of many young people, ambassadors from different countries and representatives of the government and communities.The monument and the memorial trail are open to the public.

Liberation ‘SchumannsEck’ Memorial

On 12 July 1944, at about 02:30 , the 28 bombers of the 385th Bomber Group took off from Great Ashfield, &nbsp;England to begin a &nbsp;bombing raid on&nbsp;Munich, Germany.Shortly after reaching the prescribed altitude of 28,000 feet, all the aircrafts had taken up their assigned positions. Several squadrons presumed to gather over the English Channel to form an impressive bomber group. The outside temperature at this altitude was minus 35 degrees Celsius and all bombers were now flying roaringly with their distinctive vapour trails towards the target area.Flying beyond Brussels, the next checkpoint was Saarbrücken. Whilst &nbsp;flying over Arlon, the radio silence was suddenly interrupted by the distress call of a ‘mid-air crash’.Captain White's B-17 bomber ’Off Spring’ had flew &nbsp;too close to 1st&nbsp; Lt McDonald's aircraft and was sucked upwards (propwash) by its engines. A collision was inevitable.Struck &nbsp;from below with all its force, McDonald's B-17 broke into two large pieces. Accompanied quickly by the heart breaking cries of panic of the desperate bomber crew. &nbsp;The bomber plunged into the depths. Only Sergeant Larry Atiych managed to free himself from the wreckage and landed with his parachute in Wolflingen. &nbsp;He would be &nbsp;captured shortly afterwards. All his comrades had fallen to their deaths without parachutes and the front part of the B-17 had hit the open field near Perlé.Captain White's B-17 crashed near Wolflingen at the same time. &nbsp;Of the crew members, only Robert P McPherson survived who later managed to escape to Belgium through the village of Holtz.To commemorate the 18 young Americans, a dignified monument was inaugurated at the church in Perlé in 1998. A short time later, thanks to the many researched documents, collected wreckage and personal donations, the 385th Bomb Group Museum was established in the retired village school.Among the material found are two US jeeps, three Wright Cyclone aircraft engines, a variety of uniform parts, a Norden Bomb Sight and a very rare 1943 flight simulator.In addition, a Harley Davidson, a Cushman scooter as well as US guns and on-board weapons can be viewed.Although the museum's main emphasis is on the USAAF, it also covers today's US Air Force at Spangdahlem, military archaeology and the 1940-1945 Perlé occupation.

The 385th US-Bomb Group Museum

The MNHM was initially built by passionate history enthusiasts with the great support of the municipality of Diekirch and the Luxembourg army and has been continuously expanded.In close cooperation with hundreds of veterans from both sides as well as countless civilian witnesses, the emotions as well as cautionary memories of the war generation have been preserved for posterity in the form of 50 unique dioramas. &nbsp;This includes tens of thousands of exhibits and the museum's extensive archives for the international understanding of peoples in peace.Educational programmes for schools and lyceums are continuously adapted and developed by a team of experts from the museum. The museum's specialised extensive military history library and internal archives can be made available for research work by university students.On an exhibition area of 3,200 square metres on four floors, the museum's centrepiece of&nbsp;is the poignant portrayal of the 'Battle of the Bulge', which took place from 16 December 1944&nbsp;to 28 January 1945.&nbsp;The exhibition depicts the indescribable suffering of the civilian population and the desperate survival of the young soldiers amid a relentless battle of material with poor equipment in a freezing cold winter of the century.Additionally, the exhibition includes&nbsp;all types of weapons used on both sides in the ’Battle of the Bulge‘ (also called the Ardennes Offensive).&nbsp; In addition to the diverse thematic areas of infantry weapons, the visitor is also offered a profound insight into the state of weapons technology at the time, from artillery to tank destruction.More than 50 military vehicles and cannons from both sides can be admired in a spacious room. The areas of communication and secrecy are also thematised with a large number of radio sets, even a fully operative 'Enigma' cipher device. Original parts of the 'Vengeance weapons' such as the&nbsp; V1 and V3 can also be seen.Another important museum section is dedicated to the Luxembourg army. With countless exhibits, photos and documents, the history of development is portrayed over the epochs of the founding years (1815 to 1940), the reorganisation of the army within NATO and the Cold War (1945 to 1991), the period after that, especially with the peacekeeping missions of the United Nations and the modern challenges (1992 until today) .Each period within the museum is vividly explained with the respective infantry equipment, uniforms, weapons, vehicles, dioramas of the missions.Each period within the museum is vividly explained with the respective infantry equipment, uniforms, weapons, vehicles, dioramas of the missions.In addition, many specific topics are addressed, such as the Grand Duke's special institutional relationship with the army, its military values, and its tasks in the service of the country.Multilingual group tours as well as additional information can be requested in advance of a visit at the museum.

National Museum of Military History (MNHM), Diekirch

In the centre of Clervaux you are greeted by a US Sherman tank, which was destroyed during the dramatic defence of the castle. A German anti-tank gun (PAK 43) with the dreaded 88mm&nbsp;calibre,&nbsp;left behind near Clerf during the retreat of the Wehrmacht and can also be viewed near the castle. Since it’s opening in the early 1970s, the museum has been continuously expanded. Realistically designed dioramas tell &nbsp;the chronological story of the dramatic battles from the defence of Clerf at the very beginning of the offensive, the reoccupation by the German Wehrmacht, to the final liberation during the US counter-offensive at the end of January 1945.It is impressive to encounter the thematic treatment of the tenacious resistance of ordinary US soldiers against the initial German superiority, the panic&nbsp;stricken flight of the civilian population and the misery experienced in the ruins, as well as the struggle for survival of the soldiers on both sides in their foxholes during the freezing winter of the century.In countless displays , personal belongings of soldiers and civilians are presented, which, with additional information, provide a touching testimony to the horrors of war. Also of great interest are the countless personal photos by Tony Vaccaro, who became famous as a US Army photographer for his thousands of combat photos. The difficult postwar period of reconstruction and the special role of Grand Duchess Charlotte in supporting those in need by way of her philanthropic efforts with her foundation and her compassionate personality are also thematised.In the immediate vicinity of the palace is a monument&nbsp;which was dedicated to the ‘GI’ by the CEBA association honouring the brave common soldier. Every year, commemorations are held there in memory of the beginning of the Battle of the Bulge on 16 December 1944.Guided tours in five languages can be requested via the museum.

Museum of the Ardennes Counteroffensive, Clervaux

In addition to the impressive statue of General Patton, the museum also houses a rich documentation of the general's life. Visitors are even offered the opportunity to view some of General Patton's personal belongings. Not far from the museum is the famous Patton Memorial, where Remembrance Day was held annually from 1954 to 2004. This internationally known event in the town of Ettelbrück is also fittingly thematised in the museum.The exhibition area of the museum is 650 square metres on four floors with the different themes of the terrible times during the Second World War shown in chronological order, upon request during an educational guided tour. With a unique collection of thousands of photographs, documents and historical objects, the museum in particular illustrates the Luxembourg independence celebration of 1939. &nbsp;Other topics covered include the 'Schusterlinie’, the German invasion in May 1940, the repression and persecution during the Nazi occupation various Nazi organisations and the terrible destruction caused by the Battle of the Bulge. Furthermore, the museum deals with the Winter Relief Organisation, the events of the general strike in 1942, the forced integration of young Luxembourgers into the German labour service and the Wehrmacht, the emergence of the Luxembourg resistance movements, then the liberation by US-American troops in September 1944, and lastly the terrible destruction of the country caused by the Battle of the Bulge.A special room is dedicated to the lesser known subjects of military archaeology and the aerial warfare over Luxembourg. The museum presents a very rich collection of weapons, ammunition, equipment, and artefacts recovered from the former battlefields in Luxembourg since the war. A particular attraction are the aircraft engines, some of which are still in good condition, the on-board weapons and flight instruments distorted by the impact, defused ammunition, as well as abundantly documented additional information on various sites and wreckage, which are a special feature of the museum.The museum is at your disposal for further information.

The General Patton Memorial Museum in Ettelbruck was inaugurated in 1995. The museum is dedicated to General George Patton, commander of the 3rd US Army, whose troops liberated the town in December 1944. More than 1,000 photographs and documents are displayed relating to the German invasion, as well as weapons and pieces of equipment discovered on the Ardennes battlefield.