1942 Luxembourgian General Strike - German Reaction To The Strike

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. They were formally arrested soon thereafter, on September 1, and interned in local prisons. 20 strike leaders were summarily tried by a special tribunal (Standgericht) and sentenced to death and transferred to the Hinzert concentration camp 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. 200 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 trainees and 7 young postmen.

The first two strikers to be shot, on September 2, 1942, at 6.30 p.m., were Michel Worré and Nicolas Müller, from Wiltz. Their last words, 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, under very harsh conditions.