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that they could be killed for their actions. A few workers got back to work, but approximately 50 still refused, and declared they were on strike. At 10 a.m., German authorities reacted and designated who they held as responsible for the situation: Jean-Paul
Schneider, Nicolas Betz, Alphonse Weets, Robert Mischo, René Angelsberg, and
175:
where they were shot and buried in an unmarked grave. Hans Adam, who had rung the alarm in
Schifflange and had German origins, was considered to be a traitor and was thus decapitated. Two thousand Luxembourgers were arrested, 83 were tried by the special tribunal and transferred to the Gestapo. 290
100:
policy. Within hours, a number of
Luxembourgers discussed possibilities and decided to organize a general strike. Leaflets calling for the strike were printed and distributed clandestinely throughout the country by resistants. On August 31, 1942, the strike officially began in the northern Ardennes
128:
In
Differdange, news of the strike spread throughout the workforce by word of mouth, and increased in intensity on September 1. On September 2, 156 mill workers refused to take their shift, and many of those who were already working stopped. The German directors of the mill warned the millworkers
198:
A series of black on red posters were then posted throughout
Luxembourg announcing the death of the strikers as a consequence of the strike, bearing the names, occupation, and residency of each victim. Their families, including their children, were subsequently transferred to work camps, many in
62:
Following the German invasion of
Luxembourg on May 10, 1940, Luxembourg was briefly placed under military occupation. On August 2, 1940, the military government was dissolved and replaced by a civilian government under the leadership of the German civilian administrator of the adjoining German
105:
with a gathering of local
Luxembourg town officials, led by local town officials Michel Worré and Nicolas Müller, refusing to go to work. They were gradually joined by other local workers, among them the employees of IDEAL Lederwerke Wiltz, a large industrial tannery belonging to the
154:
Although the exact number of strikers is unknown, the movement did have a strong effect on the country and the occupying forces, and revitalized resistance movements. The strike was also widely publicized internationally by the allied press.
147:
The central post office in
Luxembourg received rumours of the strike in the morning, and received formal confirmation of the strike by early afternoon, which disrupted the distribution of mail that evening and the following day.
354:
The 1942 Luxembourg general strike strongly marked
Luxembourg's resistance to the German occupier. Each year, the strike is commemorated on August 31 by the head of state and government officials.
151:
Throughout the country, schoolchildren were kept away from school, teachers refused to teach, laborers refused to work, there was no or little production of steel, milk, and other products.
163:
Fearing a further escalation of protests, German authorities decided to react in the harshest way to the strike. Within hours, the strike leaders were rounded up and interrogated by the
76:. Furthermore, on August 30, 1942, Gustav Simon announced that all Luxembourger males born between 1920 and 1927 were to be conscripted into the Wehrmacht to fight against the
33:
445:
144:, the capital of the Luxembourg mining area, all aspects of the administration were paralysed, including administration, agriculture, industry and education structures.
579:
167:. They were formally arrested soon thereafter, on September 1, and interned in local prisons. Twenty strike leaders were summarily tried by a special tribunal (
470:
125:
were alerted and also refused to go to work. In
Schifflange, Hans Adam, a worker of German origins sounded the alarm across the valley to alert all workers.
634:
Names for the September 2 and 3 victims are listed according to the publication list. Names for the September 4, 5 and 9 victims are listed alphabetically.
524:
63:
district. The Luxembourg population was declared to be German and was to use German as its only language; the German authorities, under the orders of the
549:
692:
722:
697:
702:
449:
54:, paralysed the country and led to the occupying German authorities responding violently by sentencing 21 strikers to death.
717:
183:
The first two strikers to be shot, on September 2, 1942, at 18:30, were Michel Worré and Nicolas Müller, from Wiltz. Their
357:
In 1965, a lighthouse-shaped "National Monument to the Strike" was opened in Wiltz. Luxembourg's most famous 20th-century
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712:
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477:
365:
172:
134:
661:
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high school children, boys and girls, were arrested and sent to re-education camps in Germany, as were 40
77:
21:
405:
111:
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created the two reliefs on the lighthouse displayed there. Wercollier was himself imprisoned at the
133:. The six men were arrested, tried by a special tribunal, sentenced to death, and deported to the
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29:
385:
361:
286:
268:
141:
130:
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Reaction to the policies was swift among the Luxembourg population, especially against the
399:
47:
686:
525:"Commémoration à l'occasion du 60e anniversaire de la grève générale du 31 août 1942"
73:
137:
where they were shot. Their families were sent to prison and work camps in Germany.
211:
97:
88:
69:
37:
471:"Streik vom 2. September 1942: Kultureller Abend anlässlich des 60. Jahrestages"
411:
122:
118:
40:. The strikes opposed a directive that conscripted young Luxembourgers into the
402:
of 1941, protesting against the German anti-Jewish measures in the Netherlands,
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550:"An Hour of Glory: The Strike at the Luxembourg Post Office, 1 September 1942"
375:
318:
306:
220:
184:
665:
65:
42:
358:
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662:"An Les Citoyens Luxembourgeois, Prisoniers des Camps de Concentration"
340:
216:
200:
164:
177:
102:
87:
51:
339:
Henri Adam – Worker, Schifflange, executed by decapitation in
414:
of September 1941 against food rationing in Occupied Norway.
215:
The names of the victims of the strike who were executed at
239:
Nicolas Müller – Secretary of the local authority, Wiltz
236:
Michel Worré – Head of the local economic council, Wiltz
117:
Soon, workers from the southwestern industrial towns of
446:"Heim ins Reich: La 2e Guerre Mondiale au Luxembourg"
433:
Hitler's War Aims: The Establishment of the New Order
611:"Ehrung der Opfer des Konzentrationslagers Hinzert"
435:. W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1974, p. 163.
228:The Luxembourg spelling of the names is respected
580:"Wiltz erinnert sich an den historischen Streik"
247:Nicolas Kons – Postal Underinspector, Luxembourg
171:) and sentenced to death and transferred to the
8:
265:Jean-Paul Schneider – Toolmaker, Differdange
297:Jean Schroeder – Postman, Luxembourg City
656:
654:
652:
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648:
646:
644:
642:
640:
210:
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328:Strikers executed on September 9, 1942
323:Jean Thull – Railway worker, Ettelbruck
302:Strikers executed on September 5, 1942
282:Strikers executed on September 4, 1942
244:Strikers executed on September 3, 1942
233:Strikers executed on September 2, 1942
92:German poster announcing the executions
34:Luxembourg was occupied by Nazi Germany
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572:
570:
519:
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114:". News on the strike spread rapidly.
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507:
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294:René Angelsberg – Worker, Differdange
223:at the site of the concentration camp
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262:Alphonse Weets – Turner, Differdange
18:Luxembourgish general strike of 1942
291:Robert Mischo – Worker, Differdange
191:who witnessed the execution, were "
14:
408:of 1941 in south-eastern Belgium,
378:
259:Célestin Lommel – Teacher, Wiltz
693:1942 labor disputes and strikes
250:Charles Meyers – Teacher, Wiltz
219:are among those inscribed on a
203:, under very harsh conditions.
84:The strike and its consequences
72:, developed a robust policy of
723:Labour history of World War II
180:trainees and 7 young postmen.
1:
317:Alphonse Schmit – Professor,
311:Emile Heiderscheid – Worker,
305:Michel Dax – Railway worker,
256:Alfred Brück – Teacher, Wiltz
159:German reaction to the strike
664:(in French). Archived from
613:(in German). Archived from
585:(in German). Archived from
527:(in French). Archived from
476:(in German). Archived from
448:(in French). Archived from
350:Commemoration of the strike
285:Léon Zeimes – Typographer,
195:" (Long live Luxembourg!).
739:
698:Luxembourg in World War II
366:Hinzert concentration camp
331:Eugène Biren – Schifflange
274:Nicolas Betz – Toolmaker,
253:Josy Ewen – Teacher, Wiltz
173:Hinzert concentration camp
140:The strike spread also to
135:Hinzert concentration camp
703:General strikes in Europe
28:) was a manifestation of
394:Luxembourgish Resistance
336:Other executed strikers
108:Adler & Oppenheimer
224:
93:
26:Generalstreik vun 1942
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718:Luxembourg Resistance
406:Strike of the 100,000
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271:– Miner, Differdange
713:Labor in Luxembourg
708:1942 in Luxembourg
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187:, according to an
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30:passive resistance
386:Luxembourg portal
362:Lucien Wercollier
50:, originating in
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269:Ernest Toussaint
207:Executed persons
142:Esch-sur-Alzette
131:Ernest Toussaint
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400:February strike
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193:Vive LĂ«tzebuerg
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46:. A nationwide
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110:group before "
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48:general strike
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668:on 2012-09-08
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556:on 2007-07-07
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531:on 2013-05-12
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22:Luxembourgish
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670:. Retrieved
666:the original
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619:. Retrieved
615:the original
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594:. Retrieved
587:the original
558:. Retrieved
554:the original
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533:. Retrieved
529:the original
485:. Retrieved
478:the original
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454:. Retrieved
450:the original
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169:Standgericht
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112:aryanisation
98:conscription
95:
70:Gustav Simon
64:
61:
41:
38:World War II
17:
15:
412:Milk strike
123:Differdange
119:Schifflange
687:Categories
672:2007-04-25
621:2007-04-25
596:2007-04-25
560:2007-04-25
535:2007-04-25
487:2007-04-25
456:2007-04-25
419:References
319:Echternach
307:Ettelbruck
221:catafalque
185:last words
66:Gauleiter
43:Wehrmacht
372:See also
359:sculptor
313:Diekirch
101:town of
341:Cologne
217:Hinzert
201:Silesia
165:Gestapo
58:Origins
36:during
276:Kahler
78:Allies
590:(PDF)
583:(PDF)
481:(PDF)
474:(PDF)
287:Itzig
178:ARBED
103:Wiltz
52:Wiltz
32:when
121:and
16:The
689::
639:^
569:^
496:^
368:.
189:SS
80:.
24::
675:.
624:.
599:.
563:.
538:.
490:.
459:.
396:,
343:.
20:(
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