Soldiers and their communities in WWII: The impact and legacy of war experiences in Luxembourg

During the Second World War, over 10,000 Luxembourgish men, born between 1920 and 1927, were (forcibly) conscripted to the German labour services and armed forces, including the Wehrmacht and the Reichsarbeitsdienst (Reich Labour Service – RAD). It is estimated that around 3,000 of them did not survive the war. Additionally, about 3,500 men deserted or hid before being drafted. These conscriptions disrupted many lives, including those of the families and communities at home who had to cope with the absence of their sons, husbands and fathers.

By concentrating on the biographies of these young men, the WARLUX project seeks to understand their lives and war experiences, as well as those of their families. The project team has examined numerous official records and war letters and compiled a database which is now available to you via this website.

Explore the Warlux database

Georges AlbertGeorges Albert was born on 8 April 1923 in Esch-sur-Alzette and lived in Schifflange. He voluntarily enlisted in the Wehrmacht at the end of 1941 after having already joined the Hitler Youth, and was deployed in the navy. During his time in service, he corresponded with his family and friends, exchanging letters in which they shared their day-to-day encounters and experiences. He went missing as a submarine crew member in the North Atlantic and was declared dead on 6 October 1943.

Godefroid Johann Nikolaus HubertHubert Godefroid, born on 13 May 1925 in Esch-sur-Alzette, lived in Schifflange with his mother and siblings when he received the call for duty in February 1944. However, he chose not to answer this call and embarked on an escape to France with the assistance of the Luxembourgish resistance group LRL, assuming the new identity of “Garbel H.”. His attempt was unsuccessful and he was arrested, leading to his imprisonment in Luxembourg on 27 February 1944. He was subsequently transferred to prison in Metz in May 1944, Papenburg in August 1944 and Berlin in December 1944. On the night of 30-31 January 1944, he was executed at Sonnenburg prison along with 820 other prisoners, including 90 Luxembourgers. In the days after his arrest, two of his sisters were deported to a concentration camp for helping him to evade the draft. His mother was deported to a concentration camp on 3 August 1944, only a few days before the remaining siblings were relocated to a resettlement camp in Boberstein (Bobrów), which is now located in Poland. They eventually returned to Luxembourg between April and July 1945. Tragically, one sister lost her life in a concentration camp in Marburg in February 1945.

Hansen PierrePierre Hansen was born in Schifflange on 13 October 1921. He was drafted into the RAD in March 1942 and into the Wehrmacht in October 1943. A year later, he was captured by the US Army in North Africa and sent to prison camps in the United States, where he spent the remainder of the war. During his time as a prisoner of war, Hansen wrote letters to his family in Schifflange, which form the bulk of the “Collection Hansen Nico”, together with two letters he received from comrades. Hansen was released in late 1945 and was returned to Luxembourg in December of that year.

Ihry CamilleCamille Ihry was born on 10 November 1925 in Schifflange. In July 1944, he was conscripted into the Reichsarbeitsdienst and assigned to the Döhrings RAD camp in Schippenbeil. However, in March 1945, during his military service near Zinten in East Prussia, he went missing, and his whereabouts became unknown. In 1962, investigations were conducted at the request of the District Court of Luxembourg to shed light on his fate. The investigations revealed that he had been transported to a German military hospital because of a foot injury sustained during his service. However, despite these findings, there is still no real clarity regarding the fate of Camille Ihry to this day.

Karrenberg NikolausNicolas Karrenberg was born on 23 April 1924 in Esch-sur-Alzette and held dual nationality: Luxembourgish and German. He voluntarily joined the Wehrmacht in spring 1942 and was officially recruited on 17 October 1942. About seven months later, on May 15, 1943, he left his military duty while on leave. He fled to France, where he claimed to have joined the Maquis. Between January 1945 and July 1945, he reportedly fought on the allied side within the American Army. His desertion led to his family members, including his parents and five siblings, being forcibly relocated to resettlement camps in Lower Silesia on 2 July 1943. After being transferred to six different camps, they finally returned to Luxembourg in May 1945. Nikolaus Karrenberg himself came back to Luxembourg on 12 July 1945, and faced trial as a voluntary enlistee. According to the District Court of Luxembourg (1952), his decision to join the Wehrmacht was driven by a sense of adventure rather than pro-German sentiment. Moreover, it provided an opportunity for him to escape difficult circumstances at home. In 1948, he made the voluntary choice to join the French Foreign Legion and served in Indochina until 1952.

Kauffmann RenéRené Kauffmann was born in Lintgen on 24 September 1922 and lived in Schifflange during the war. He initially served in the RAD from March to September 1941, and later, in October 1942, he was conscripted into the Wehrmacht. However, a year after his conscription, in October 1943, he decided to desert during his home leave and sought refuge in France with the assistance of the Luxembourgish resistance group LRL. He was denounced and subsequently captured by the Gestapo. On 19 September 1944, he was executed in Dietz an der Lahn in Germany. The desertion of René had severe consequences for his family. His father, Heinrich Kauffmann, was forcibly resettled and forced to work in Neuwied in June 1944, only to be repatriated on 13 April 1945. On 20 June 1944, his mother and sister were resettled to the Nohfelden resettlement camp in the Hunsrück, and later transferred to other camps in Boberstein, Hirstein, Baumgarten and Straßberg, until their repatriation on 6 May 1945. In addition to the displacement, their house and other belongings were confiscated by the German administration.

Kremer EmilEmile Kremer was born in Schifflange on 24 December 1924. In February 1943, he was drafted into the RAD and sent to a camp in Neuhof bei Liegnitz (today Nowa Wies Legnicka, Poland). In late May, Kremer was drafted into the Wehrmacht. He spent his first weeks of military service in Landsberg and Wandern before being deployed to the Eastern Front. From that time on, he used the term “Ort der Unterkunft” (O.U.), meaning "place of current deployment", in his letters to avoid revealing his whereabouts. In December 1943, Kremer became ill and was hospitalised. In early 1944, he was transported to a military hospital in Bad Münder (today Lower Saxony, near Hamelin). He died there on 29 February 1944, three months after his nineteenth birthday. During his time in the RAD and the Wehrmacht, Kremer wrote over seventy letters and postcards to his parents and sister, which now form a large part of the “Collection van Praet-Schmit, Danièle”.

Marx Franz Franz Marx was born on 23 May 1922 and lived in Schifflange. On 15 April 1942, he was drafted into the RAD, and shortly thereafter, in October of that same year, he began his military service. During this time, he wrote to his family about everyday life in the RAD and the military, his shared experiences with other Luxembourgers, and he even provided confidential details of his whereabouts. After a failed escape attempt, he was arrested in 1943 and sentenced to death in January 1944. A month later, on 7 February 1944, he was executed by gunfire in Lyon, together with eight of his compatriots.

Mousel KarlKarl Mousel was born on 8 December 1924 in Esch-sur-Alzette and lived in Schifflange. He joined the Wehrmacht voluntarily in June 1942 and was assigned to the Waffen-SS. He was killed in action on 18 April 1944 in Ternopil, Ukraine. During his post-war trial as a voluntary enlistee, the Luxembourgish court considered that his family supported Nazism and that he had joined the military for ideological reasons. His brother also voluntarily enlisted in the Wehrmacht in 1943.

Pierrard AlbertAlbert Pierrard was born in Bigonville on 3 February 1922. In April 1942, he was drafted into the Reichsarbeitsdienst (RAD) and stationed in a camp in Hanover. Subsequently, in September 1942, he was drafted into the Wehrmacht and deployed to the Eastern Front. One year later, in September 1943, he deserted the Wehrmacht during his home leave. He survived the remainder of the war and later became a businessman. He passed away on 27 March 1975. Albert was the older brother of Nicolas Pierrard.

Pierrard NicolasNicolas Pierrard was born in Bigonville on 7 May 1923. In October 1942, he was drafted into the Reichsarbeitsdienst (RAD) and assigned to a camp in Lubiatowo, in the province of Pomerania. In June 1943, he was drafted into the Wehrmacht. He spent his initial weeks of military service in Greece before being deployed to the Eastern Front in January 1944. He was killed in action on the Eastern Front in Smolensk on 5 March 1944, just two months prior to his twenty-first birthday. Nicolas was the younger brother of Albert Pierrard.

Scheuer RudiRudi Scheuer was born in Differdange on 20 April 1924 and lived in Schifflange. On 15 February 1943 he was drafted into the RAD and stationed in Zobten, Poland. Seven days later, on 22 February 1943, he fled the camp along with another comrade. They managed to board a train to Düsseldorf and sought refuge with relatives, hiding there for several days before returning to Luxembourg. Rudi successfully evaded capture and remained concealed in and around Esch-sur-Alzette until the liberation of Luxembourg. Rudi’s act of desertion had severe repercussions for his family members. Following an extensive investigation and interrogation of his extended family – including his parents, uncles, aunts and grandparents – by local authorities, his parents and sister were forcibly resettled to the Boberstein resettlement camp in Lower Silesia on 3 December 1943. They were repatriated to Schifflange on 19 May 1945. Although some of their possessions were stolen, they were able to recover most of their assets after the war.

Schmitz MichelMichel Schmitz was born in Tadler on 27 June 1923 and lived in Bettembourg during the war. He served in the RAD from February to May 1943 and was recruited to the Wehrmacht in June. Schmitz served at the Eastern Front for one year. Following a hospital stay in Luxembourg, he did not return to his unit in June 1944 but stayed in hiding until Luxembourg was liberated in September 1944. Schmitz kept a diary during his time in the RAD and wrote letters to his cousin Pitt Gremling as a soldier. In 1976 he was interviewed by Guy Pauly. This interview is now part of the collection of the Luxembourg National Archives (ANLux) and can be accessed online.