The Luxembourgish general strike of 1942 was a manifestation of

passive resistance Nonviolent resistance (NVR), or nonviolent action, sometimes called civil resistance, is the practice of achieving goals such as social change through symbolic protests, civil disobedience, economic or political noncooperation, satyagraha, ...

when Luxembourg was occupied by Nazi Germany during

World War II 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 ...

. The strikes opposed a directive that conscripted young Luxembourgers into the ''

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the '' Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previo ...

''. A nationwide general strike, originating in

Wiltz Wiltz ( lb, Wolz or (locally) ) is a commune with town status in north-western Luxembourg, capital of the canton Wiltz. Wiltz is situated on the banks of the river Wiltz. It was also a battleground in the Battle of the Bulge, near the e ...

, paralysed the country and led to the occupying German authorities responding violently by sentencing 21 strikers to death.

Origins

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 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 ''

Gauleiter A ''Gauleiter'' () was a regional leader of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) who served as the head of a '' Gau'' or '' Reichsgau''. ''Gauleiter'' was the third-highest rank in the Nazi political leadership, subordinate only to '' Reichsleiter'' and to ...

Gustav Simon Gustav Simon (2 August 1900– 18 December 1945) was a Nazi Party official who served as ''Gauleiter'' of Gau Moselland from 1931 to 1945 and, from 1940 until 1942, as Chief of Civil Administration in occupied Luxembourg. Early years Gustav ...

, developed a robust policy of

germanization Germanisation, or Germanization, is the spread of the German language, people and culture. It was a central idea of German conservative thought in the 19th and the 20th centuries, when conservatism and ethnic nationalism went hand in hand. In ling ...

. 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 Allies.

The strike and its consequences

Reaction to the policies was swift among the Luxembourg population, especially against the conscription 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 town of

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

Adler & Oppenheimer Adler may refer to: Places *Adler, Alabama, an unincorporated community in Perry County *Adler Planetarium, Chicago, Illinois, USA *Adler Township, Nelson County, North Dakota, USA *Adler University, formerly Adler School of Professional Psycholo ...

group before " aryanisation". News on the strike spread rapidly. Soon, workers from the southwestern industrial towns of

Schifflange Schifflange ( lb, Schëffleng , german: Schifflingen) is a commune and town in south-western Luxembourg. It is part of the canton of Esch-sur-Alzette. , the town of Schifflange, which lies in the west of the commune, has a population of 9,332. ...

and

Differdange Differdange ( lb, Déifferdeng or (locally) ; german: Differdingen) is a commune with town status in south-western Luxembourg, west from the country's capital. It lies near the borders with Belgium and France and it is located in the canton ...

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. 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 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 Ernest Toussaint. The six men were arrested, tried by a special tribunal, sentenced to death, and deported to the Hinzert concentration camp where they were shot. Their families were sent to prison and work camps in Germany. The strike spread also to

Esch-sur-Alzette Esch-sur-Alzette (; lb, Esch-Uelzecht ; german: Esch an der Alzette or ''Esch an der Alzig'') is the second city of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and the country's second-most populous commune, with a population of 35,040 inhabitants, . It lies ...

, the capital of the Luxembourg mining area, all aspects of the administration were paralysed, including administration, agriculture, industry and education structures. 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. 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. 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.

German reaction to the strike

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

Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one orga ...

. They were formally arrested soon thereafter, on September 1, and interned in local prisons. Twenty strike leaders were summarily tried by a special tribunal (''Standgericht'') and sentenced to death and transferred to the

Hinzert concentration camp Hinzert was a concentration camp in Nazi Germany, in what is now Rhineland-Palatinate, from the border with Luxembourg. Between 1939 and 1945, 13,600 political prisoners between the ages of 13 and 80 were imprisoned at Hinzert. Many were in tr ...

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 high school children, boys and girls, were arrested and sent to re-education camps in Germany, as were 40

ARBED The Aciéries Réunies de Burbach-Eich-Dudelange ( French; literally "United Steelworks of Burbach-Eich-Dudelange"), better known by its acronym ARBED, was a major Luxembourg-based steel and iron producing company. Created in 1911 after the me ...

trainees and 7 young postmen. The first two strikers to be shot, on September 2, 1942, at 18:30, were Michel Worré and Nicolas Müller, from Wiltz. Their

last words Last words are the final utterances before death. The meaning is sometimes expanded to somewhat earlier utterances. Last words of famous or infamous people are sometimes recorded (although not always accurately) which became a historical and liter ...

, according to an ''SS'' who witnessed the execution, were "''Vive Lëtzebuerg''" (Long live Luxembourg!). 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

Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...

, under very harsh conditions.

Executed persons

''The Luxembourg spelling of the names is respected''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. * Strikers executed on September 2, 1942 **Worré, Michel – Head of the local economic council, Wiltz **Müller, Nicolas – Secretary of the local authority, Wiltz * Strikers executed on September 3, 1942 **Kons, Nicolas – Postal Underinspector, Luxembourg **Meyers, Charles – Teacher, Wiltz **Ewen, Josy – Teacher, Wiltz **Brück, Alfred – Teacher, Wiltz **Lommel, Célestin – Teacher, Wiltz **Weets, Alphonse – Turner, Differdange **Schneider, Jean-Paul – Toolmaker, Differdange ** Toussaint, Ernest – Miner, Differdange **Betz, Nicolas – Toolmaker, Kahler * Strikers executed on September 4, 1942 **Zeimes, Léon – Typographer, Itzig **Mischo, Robert – Worker, Differdange **Angelsberg, René – Worker, Differdange **Schroeder, Jean – Postman, Luxembourg City * Strikers executed on September 5, 1942 **Dax, Michel – Railway worker,

Ettelbruck Ettelbruck ( lb, Ettelbréck , german: Ettelbrück ) is a commune with town status in central Luxembourg, with a population of inhabitants. History Until 1850, both Erpeldange and Schieren were part of the Ettelbruck commune as well, but both ...

**Heiderscheid, Emile – Worker, Diekirch **Schmit, Alphonse – Professor,

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 ...

**Thull, Jean – Railway worker, Ettelbruck * Strikers executed on September 9, 1942 **Biren, Eugène – Schifflange *Other executed strikers **Adam, Henri – Worker, Schifflange, executed by decapitation in

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...

Commemoration of the Strike

The 1942 Luxembourg general strike strongly marked Luxembourg's resistance to the German occupier, and represents one of the proudest moments of the history of the Grand-Duchy. Each year, the Strike is commemorated on August 31 by the head of state and government officials. In 1965, a lighthouse-shaped "National Monument to the Strike" was opened in Wiltz. Luxembourg's most famous 20th-century

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

Lucien Wercollier Lucien Wercollier (26 July 1908 – 24 April 2002) was a sculptor from Luxembourg. While he worked primarily in bronze and marble, some of his work is sculpted in wood, alabaster, stone and onyx. His public monuments in bronze and marble are ...

created the two reliefs on the lighthouse displayed there. Wercollier was himself imprisoned at the

References