Commemoration Strengthens Democracy: A Great-Grandson set an example
Tom Devos has a good friend. Together, they are active in an organization. They have even gone on group trips abroad. Nothing unusual, you say. But when Tom is invited at age fifteen by his friend to get involved in the organization, his friend is already well over 60 years old. For Tom, the shared interest in the history of the village Meensel-Kiezegem is more important than the age difference. The Stichting Meensel-Kiezegem ’44 is committed to ensuring that the violent crimes of the Nazis are not repeated and that the victims of the „punitive actions“ committed by the Nazis against the village Meensel-Kiezegem will be remembered. Tom’s great-grandfather Evrard Cauwbergs was one of the 71 men who were deported to the Neuengamme concentration camp after the two raids in August 1944. Evrard Cauwbergs died on November 7, 1944 in the Neuengamme concentration camp.
