Wolffs, Goswin “Wienus”.

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Wolffs, Goswin “Wienus”, born 31-12-1915, in Sittard, Netherlands. Father Wolffs was a plasterer. During the crisis the family moved to Germany, but returned to the Netherlands in 1934, where father Wolffs helped build the St. Joseph hospital on the Aalsterweg, where the webmaster was also born in October 1946. They went to live in nearby Valkenswaard at Bunderstraat 35. Goswin Wolffs followed in his father’s footsteps and also became a plasterer. He went to work at the Vervoort company in Valkenswaard. Goswin Wolffs met Fransisca Theuws from Bergeyk in Valkenswaard. They were to get married on 24-10-1940. First Goswin, or Wienus as he was called before his number came up, had to come after the threat by Adolf Hitler. In 1940 Goswin was stationed in Fort Everdingen . After the capitulation to the Germans,after 5 days of battle, he came home in a civilian suit, which he had hidden at a farmer’s. During World War II, hundreds of thousands of Dutch people were forced to work in Germany. This forced labor is known as Arbeitseinsatz (labour deployment).

After their marriage they moved in with the Wolffs family, but when he also had to go to work in Germany, he went into hiding with his in-laws Thews in Bergeyk. During a raid he narrowly escaped death. He had to hide under sheaves of corn in the cornfield. The Germans stabbed the sheaves with bayonets, but stopped just before they reached him!

After a while they returned to Valkenswaard and Wienus often slept in a hut in the walking park. A member of the N.S.B. traitors   lived in the street and that made the stay very difficult. Mrs. Wolffs tried to provide for herself by looking for a workhouse in my birthtown Eindhoven.

Eventually the stay in Valkenswaard became risky and with the help of Chaplain Langerwerf from Bergeyk they found a new hiding place in Bergen aan Zee in February 1944. They met more people in hiding from Valkenswaard there. Mrs. Wolffs was a domestic helper in a family with a sick mother and five children. Once a month they came to Valkenswaard with false papers. When they were in Valkenswaard once, Wienus saw the N.S.B. from the street. They left immediately and that was a good thing. That same evening eight German policemen came to search the house of the Wolffs family, but in vain. The bird had flown.

In August 1944, Mrs. Wolffs suffered a severe stomach bleed and had to lie down for 6 weeks. Bergen aan Zee was located in the Sperrgebiet, which had to be evacuated in August 1944. The term Sperrgebiet comes from the German language. The word was used by the German occupiers in particular during the Second World War to indicate an area that had been made inaccessible to ordinary citizens. This was usually done for military reasons. The underground, the resistance, also called ‘the underground’, sabotaged the policy of the occupier by killing Nazis and collaborators and committing other attacks, then made sure that Mrs. Wolffs would be taken home in a German ambulance with two nurses from Alkmaar. Wienus also secretly got into the ambulance. When they had to cross the Maas on a ferry on the way, Wienus had to come out. It almost went wrong when they were shot at by a fighter plane near Best. Fortunately, they arrived in Valkenswaard unscathed; albeit unexpectedly. The Wolffs family knew nothing.Doctor Arnaud J.M. Crebolder born 12-03-1907 died 22-05-1955, ev Alice Hoekx,.Doctor in Valkenswaard. active in the resistance during the second war,. took over the care of Mrs. Wolffs. She had to remain lying down and a shelter was dug for her, where she could wait for the liberation, which was not far away. During that liberation, three more bullets hit the wall, just above her bed.

When liberation finally became a fact, a call was made for former soldiers to collect ammunition. Together with his brother Karel, he reported for this work. The ammunition was stored at the old Boerenbond on the Hazestraat in Valkenswaard. Once this job was done, he was again without work. He received an offer from the Employment Office to help with road maintenance. Food would be provided. Because he wanted to provide for his family, he gladly accepted this offer. His first day at work was October 12, 1944;, age 28, it would also be his last. At 16:10 his life came to an end.

Death and burial ground of Wolffs, Goswin “Wienus”.

The bridge on the road from Hasselt to Eindhoven over the Kempens canal was taken by surprise on 10-09-1944 by the Irish Guards, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel John Ormsby Evelyn, “Joe” Vandeleur  Vandeleur, John Ormsby Evelyn and was called Joe’s Bridge since then. When the bridge was captured, a German tractor with an 88 mm cannon was shot to pieces by the English. This cannon was lying next to the road. The English had paid no further attention to it. The cannon was loaded and ready to fire. However, the barrel was damaged. When a 17-year-old boy was playing with the cannon on 12-10-1944, it went off at 16:10 with fatal consequences. Because the barrel was damaged, the projectile exploded in the barrel and killed 5 workers who were working on the road there. It was a tough day for Valkenswaard. The victims were: Antonius Cornelis Damen, Hendrikus “Hein” Kamp, Gerardus “Gerard” Meurkens, Lambertus Jacobus”Bertus” Visser and Goswin “Wienus” Wolffs, Again Valkenswaard was plunged into mourning. A short message appeared in “Het Dagblad voor Midden en Oost-Brabant” of 19-10-1944.

Mrs. Wolffs had to hear the sad news from others before Pastor Heerkens was able to tell her.Wienus Wolffs was buried on 16-10-1944 from the St. Anthony’s Church in the old local cemetery. Section P-18, The funeral was postponed for a few days, because it was difficult to obtain a coffin at that time. Due to the continuing suffering, Mrs. Wolffs had a miscarriage and after much effort she obtained a small allowance from the municipality of Valkenswaard.

Message(s), tips or interesting graves for the webmaster:    robhopmans@outlook.com

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