9/15/24: Luxembourg & World War II

 A few miles away from the town of Ettelbruck which Steven and I had just toured was the town of Diekirck. It's known now for Luxembourg's most famous beer but for those of an older generation as the location of the Battle of the Bulge, a pivotal battle during the war when American troops crossed the river here on January 18th, 1945. The city is home to the Grand Duchy's military headquarters and the country's most important military museum, the Musée National d'Histoire Militaire.

Before WW2, there was no sizeable patriotic tradition in Luxembourg but that changed in 1939 with the celebration of the 100th anniversary of national independence when many citizens became aware they belonged to a small but independent nation with its own traditions. No doubt Hitler's rise to power and the imminent threat of war from their next-door neighbor was behind a Minister's memorandum from the year before which stated that "it is the Government's opinion that the Independence celebrations must reach the goal of unifying all social classes through a common patriotic spirit and of proving our right to exist, our vitality and our desire to stay independent to the foreign countries."

Several months before invading Luxembourg, Hitler congratulated the Grand Duchy on its independence.

In 1940, right in the middle of the Phony War, Luxembourg still held onto its status of "disarmed neutrality." Its forces consisted of 268 police officers and 425 members of the Compagnie des volontaires. It was a case of too little, too late when the government ordered the construction of a defense line along their border with Germany to delay a German advance in the event of an attack. When Germany invaded the Grand Duchy on May 10th, 1940, the tiny country experienced the most somber period in its history because, for the second time since its independence in 1839, Luxembourg was at risk of disappearing as a sovereign nation. 

A few months later, when German became the only official language, streets, and stores were Germanized and French was banned. "Luxembourg must be German!"

To 'reeducate' the locals, the Germans took complete control of the media, strongarmed people into Nazi organizations, and 'cleansed' the schools and the world of culture of any elements considered 'un-German.' Reading this was so frightening as there are elements in present-day American society banning books on a level never done before and re-writing history books that have become the new norm.

In a policy called Gleichschaltung, all reminders of Luxembourg's independence were eradicated from the public realm: monuments, flags, stamps, and portraits of the Grand Duchess were gone. In the late summer of 1940, Luxembourgers wore patriotic badges as a symbol of protest against the German annexation plans and when the Nazis tore down the famous Gëlle Fra or Golden Lady monument from WW 1.

However, when the country was formally integrated into the German district in 1941, all political parties, Parliament, and the State Council were disbanded. The national economy was redirected to Germany's needs. That October, a clear majority of the population declared they were "three times Luxembourgish" when asked about their native language, nationality, and ethnicity in a census, refusing to comply with Nazi wishes. 

While Luxembourg's government in exile in London sought to regain the country's independence, some of its citizens joined Allied forces and the French and Belgian resisters. The Luxembourg Battery later participated in the liberation of Europe. 

At the end of August and the beginning of September 1942, spontaneous strikes occurred at many sites to decry the forced conscription of young Luxembourgers in the German Wehrmacht or united armed forces. To quash the strike, 21 ringleaders were sentenced to death and executed. 

To counter the German war effort, spying for the Allies and sabotage became the most common methods of resistance. Armed resistance was rare because of the fear of brutal reprisals against the local population. 

A crucial strategy to undermine the Nazi information monopoly included vandalizing Nazi propaganda as well as printing and distributing leaflets to the locals for counter-programming purposes. 

Luxembourgers supported the victims of Nazi oppression by spiriting army deserters, political dissidents, escaped Allied POWs, and shot-down airmen across the border into France and Belgium via a network of passeurs. Persecuted people were protected in hiding spots set up throughout the country. 

I urge you to click on this photo to enlarge the extremely moving prayer General George Patton, the Commander of the US Third Army, wrote to God in mid-December of 1944 beseeching Him for better weather for four days for his troops.

A huge hall was devoted to a mishmash of American equipment on one side and German on the other. War buffs would have loved examining the large collection of memorabilia.

On December 19th, 1944, after three days of intensive fighting and realizing the Germans would soon have control of Diekirck, the American commander ordered the retreat of the remaining troops from Diekirck to a new defensive line overlooking Ettlebruck. US Captain Harry Kemp of the Third Battalion of the 109th Infantry Regiment was the executive officer responsible for moving the troops through the town to the new defense line.

After being made aware that 5,000 plus civilians would fall under German domination, Kemp wrote an evacuation order to the local authorities that he wanted the town evacuated beginning at midnight. As a result, 95% of the local population left under darkness via the bridge over the Sauer River while the remaining US troops retreated via the main road toward Ettlebruck. As a result of Kemp's actions, the civilians were safe when the Germans invaded Diekirck just hours later.

On the 60th anniversary of Diekirck's liberation, Kemp was awarded the Luxembourg Commander of the  Order of Merit national decoration and was made an honorary citizen of Diekirck.

I was moved after reading that without the help of Allied forces, Luxembourg could never have regained its sovereignty and independence. And, furthermore, the Luxembourg people will remember a "profound gratitude toward the United States of America" after being liberated by the American armed forces.

Next post: I should name it The Castle Post for reasons you'll soon see!

Posted on October 12th, 2024 from Monastir, Tunisia where we just arrived yesterday after spending a week in Malta. Please take care of yourself and your loved one and hold them close.