Hello,
I'm a Belgian soldier who's looking for German veterans who were stationed in the region Turnhout - Hoogstraten - Rijkevorsel (Northern part of Belgium) during the Second World War.
Since there isn't much literature to find about military history of this part of Belgium, I would appreciate if there is someone (veteran or relatives) who's got a story to tell, pictures to look at or something else that could illustrate the life in the region during that time.
If anyone has got an idea which German units where stationed in this region, that would be a step forward in my research.
All tips are welcome :-)
This is just about personal military interest. You can write me in German.
Thanks in advance.
[email protected]
Belgium WK II
My...
... grandfather served in Flanders from July 1940 to June 1941 (Tervuren, Kasteel-Terbourght and Antwerpen - spelt from the top of my head). He was with a Luftwaffe Flak outfit. Judging from his letters home, life seemed to be comfortable but dull. He sent regular and interesting food and clothes packages home to his wife, enjoyed walking in the country (where he picked flowers and where, he later noted from Russia, he could wander through woods and along canals and streams without a sub-machine gun, and without fear of partisan attack). The "excitements" of his stay were watching Flak in action, visiting RAF crash sites, and testing Siebel ferries off Vlissingen.
Having a traditional view of soldierly honour and decency, he felt pride in the good conduct of his men towards locals and believed that the myth of German brutality had been dispelled. In fact, when the unit was due to depart for the east after a year in Belgium, he noted that a lot of tears were shed as romantic ties between soldiers and local women were broken off. He also recounted a possibly apocryphal story of three soldiers visiting a bar to say goodbye to their girlfriends, to discover that they'd been dating the same girl over the year...
His outfit took a souvenir Rhododendron bush from Flanders on the campaign to Moscow. If or where they planted it is unknown.
Having a traditional view of soldierly honour and decency, he felt pride in the good conduct of his men towards locals and believed that the myth of German brutality had been dispelled. In fact, when the unit was due to depart for the east after a year in Belgium, he noted that a lot of tears were shed as romantic ties between soldiers and local women were broken off. He also recounted a possibly apocryphal story of three soldiers visiting a bar to say goodbye to their girlfriends, to discover that they'd been dating the same girl over the year...
His outfit took a souvenir Rhododendron bush from Flanders on the campaign to Moscow. If or where they planted it is unknown.