Viviane Cauwbergs is the granddaughter of Evrard Cauwbergs who was arrested during the second raid in Meensel-Kiezigem and deported to the Neuengamme concentration camp where he died. Viviane told us about her growing up with a father whose father died at the hands of the Nazis, about the silence shrouding her grandfather’s story for a long time and her way to becoming an active in the National Association Meensel-Kiezigem ’44.
How did you learn about your grandfather’s story?
I was a 14-year-old girl when my mother asked me to tidy up the contents of some drawers. I came across a very old wallet with money that I didn’t recognize. I went to my father, Theopiel Cauwbergs, and asked him what it was. He gave only a curt reply to the question: “You must put the wallet back in the drawer and it shall NEVER be taken out of it again.” I was deeply shocked and did as my father told me. When my parents’ house was sold after they died, I came across the same wallet again. It contained not only the money but also numerous death certificates of deceased deportees from Meensel-Kiezegem. It was only then that I understood the emotions my father felt when I asked the question.
My father never spoke about the war years. He and his eldest brother were resistance fighters, and occasionally they were joined by other resistance fighters in our house. When that happened, my mother and the children were not allowed to enter the living room except to serve drinks, but even then, no conversation took place. During the second raid, the Germans came for the two oldest sons. Since they were in hiding as resistance fighters, they took their father. It must have been incredibly difficult for my father to come to terms with this, to carry it with him throughout his life and not speak to anyone about it. On the one hand, I admire him for that, but on the other hand, I wonder why he didn’t want to talk about it with his children.
He attended the commemorative ceremony for war victims every year and made sure that flowers were placed at his father’s memorial stone and his mother’s grave. A turning point came with the film adaptation of the book “Zeugen” (Witnesses) by Oktaaf Duerinckx. It happened on a Sunday when they were filming the arrest of his father, Evrard Cauwbergs. In the afternoon, he briefly came home to eat and said with tears in his eyes: “Now I’ve seen how they arrested my father.”
The former foundation “Meensel-Kiezegem’44” had obtained a permission to erect a commemorative statue entitled “The Desperation of Meensel-Kiezegem” in the former SS gardens at the Neuengamme Concentration Camp Memorial. In 1998, the first commemorative trip to Neuengamme took place, where my grandfather, the first of the deportees from Meensel-Kiezegem, lost his life. My father’s wish to visit the place where his father had died came true. After the trip, he spoke about what he and our mother had seen. And he said, “Next year, Oktaaf is coming back and we are going with him.”
My husband, my younger brother, and I were fortunate enough to visit several German concentration camp memorials together with my parents and in-laws on multiple occasions. On one occasion, when my father was standing at the memorial plaque of the crematorium with my in-laws, he crouched and said: “This is where my father left through the chimney.” He would never say this to his own children. We also never found out what he had done in the resistance.
What influence does your family history have on the person you are today?
After the death of her husband in Neuengamme, my grandmother became a widow with nine children. This tragedy led to a very strong bond between the siblings. Throughout their lives, they helped each other, supported one another in difficult moments and rejoiced together. This unity was also reflected in their children and I am fortunate to have grown up in such a wonderful family. On the bus to Neuengamme, my father’s youngest sister, Tom Devos’s grandmother, said to me, “I don’t remember much about my father because I was six years old when he was arrested. But our brother, he was our father.” It is admirable that my father took care of his siblings like a father at a young age. However, it is a bit unfortunate that they never talked about my grandfather’s deportation and death. I have to accept this because I believe it was what the family wanted.
For my parents, aunts and uncles, the memorial plaque at the former crematorium is the most important place in the Neuengamme Concentration Camp Memorial. That’s why the Cauwbergs family lays flowers there every year. In early 2003, I lost my father and mother within two weeks. In August of the same year, I had a very difficult and emotional time at the memorial plaque. Then I saw the images again from the year when my father, his brother, and his three sisters laid flowers there. I walked away and Oktaaf Duerinckx came to comfort me. I will never forget that and I am very grateful to him. In all the following years, I always stayed at the crematorium until the end and cried because I know that this was a very special place for my father. A few years ago, I shared this with Katrin and Magda Duerinckx. They can understand how I feel because their grandfather, Ferdinand Duerinckx, also died in Neuengamme. These two lovely ladies have been by my side and supported me ever since, which brings me comfort!
What elements of your family history and values will you pass on to the next generation(s)?
- In my experience, family bonds are incredibly important. We must respect each other, trust one another and take the time to help each other.
- Victims of World War I and II should continue to be commemorated.
- The younger generation should be reminded to never vote for far-right parties. Visiting former concentration camps or museums like Museum44 is essential to raising awareness about the consequences of war among young people.
- Fighting is still taking place all around the world, just think of Russia and Ukraine. We should strive for “never again war,” but I think that’s a utopia.
How did you come to be involved in the National Association Meensel-Kiezigem ‘44? What does your involvement mean to you?
The former foundation “Meensel-Kiezegem’44” fulfilled my father’s wish to visit the Neuengamme Concentration Camp Memorial. That’s why I became a member of this organization. After the merger in late 2015, I was elected to be the secretary of the new association, N.C.P.G.R. – Meensel-Kiezegem’44.
I’m determined to keep the events in Meensel-Kiezegem in August 1944 from ever fading into oblivion. That’s also why my youngest brother and I volunteer to assist in the establishment of Museum44 at the former rectory in Meensel. Some time ago, I received a very kind compliment from my father’s youngest sister. She said to me, “Our Fille would have been very proud of you and Stefaan for all that you’re doing.” And it’s true: I do it out of deep respect for my late father!
