Aloys(e) Jacoby (1895,
Echternach
Echternach ( lb, Iechternach or (locally) ) is a commune with town status in the canton of Echternach, which is part of the district of Grevenmacher, in eastern Luxembourg. Echternach lies near the border with Germany, and is the oldest town in ...
- 1965
) was a
Luxembourgish
Luxembourgish ( ; also ''Luxemburgish'', ''Luxembourgian'', ''Letzebu(e)rgesch''; Luxembourgish: ) is a West Germanic language that is spoken mainly in Luxembourg. About 400,000 people speak Luxembourgish worldwide.
As a standard form of th ...
Colonel
Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations.
In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...
who served during
World War Two
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
.
Early life and pre-Second World War
Aloyse Jacoby's parents are unknown, he was born sometime in 1895,
according to his records from
Dachau, apparently February 9
of that year and in
Echternach
Echternach ( lb, Iechternach or (locally) ) is a commune with town status in the canton of Echternach, which is part of the district of Grevenmacher, in eastern Luxembourg. Echternach lies near the border with Germany, and is the oldest town in ...
the claim of location is also supported by the
Forced Conscript Federation's records
.
Records list an "Aloys Jacoby" as being a part of the "Voluntary Corps" as a Lieutenant no later that 1917
.
World War Two and later life
Sometime before World War Two began, Aloyse became a Captain in the Luxembourgish military,
and also (the first
) Chief of the General Staff, and this role was apparently post-World War Two as well.
Prior to the
outbreak of hostilities on the tenth of May 1940 between
Luxembourg
Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...
and
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, Aloyse was in overall command of the
Volunteer Corps,
which, as of September 15, 1939,
had approx. 425 personnel,
out of which there were roughly 6 officers,
125 of which were Auxiliaries,
and the remainder (294) were on-hand forces.
The Volunteer Corps was the only major military formation of Luxembourg during the war.
With the invasion underway Jacoby's object was primarily ensuring the escape of evacuees from Luxembourg.
On 11 May 1940,
Jean Brasseur, a Lieutenant, took over Jacoby's position "until further notice".
Jacoby brought valuables and refugees
(including Jews
) to unoccupied France,
particularly
Mâcon
Mâcon (), historically anglicised as Mascon, is a city in east-central France. It is the prefecture of the department of Saône-et-Loire in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. Mâcon is home to near 34,000 residents, who are referred to in French as ...
,
where they were provided with shelter due to his mediation.
With the Germans successful in occupying Luxembourg and now France, refugees who had expected an effective repeat of the First World War, now saw that there was effectively nowhere to go but back to Luxembourg,
the German Administrative Commission in Luxembourg made it so Jacoby was given the task of repatriating all the refugees who had just fled. As a "Commissioner General" in this aim, his first task was to repatriate those who had fled from Northern Luxembourg.
Returning to Luxembourg officially became possible on 30 July 1940, the German authority still took time to come into effect, Jacoby understood his dependence upon the German authority for the supply of petroleum which permitted refugees to return, but he was still vaguely autonomous, as made evident by his manipulation of his trips to France to deliver mail and issue news to the Luxembourgish government in exile.
By September 1940, any and all refugees who wished their return to Luxembourg we're officially permitted. The German Authority attempted, futilely and in utter vain, to prevent Jews from returning but they did not succeed in large part due to the Luxembourgish police who simply refused to follow the German's orders of banning Jewish refugees and ignored any who attempted this.
He was eventually discovered and subsequently arrested in early 1941.
After a stay in a Luxembourgish jail,
he was deported to the Hinzert
and later Dachau
concentration camps in April 1945.
Sometime later, he became a Colonel, and was mentioned as being present in the post-World War Two "North Atlantic Defense Committee Communiqué".
He died sometime in 1965.
References
Notes
{{Notelist
External links
A portrait of Aloyse Jacoby can be foun
here
Military of Luxembourg
Military personnel of World War II