This memorial page is dedicated to Cornelis Hendricus van Grunsven, one of more than 725 war victims connected to the municipality of Deurne documented by Stichting Oorlogsslachtoffers. The municipality of Deurne and the surrounding villages of Liessel, Vlierden, Helenaveen, Neerkant and Zeilberg were liberated in the autumn of 1944 during heavy fighting. Victims fell on all sides: Allied soldiers from countries such as the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada and New Zealand, and German soldiers.

But the archive covers more than just the combat victims on Deurne soil. Residents of Deurne who lost their lives elsewhere are also commemorated: civilians who were murdered in concentration camps, forced labourers who died in Germany, people who were executed or succumbed to the effects of persecution and oppression. In addition, residents of Deurne who entered German military service and were killed elsewhere are also included.

Stichting Oorlogsslachtoffers has been documenting the story of all these people since 1995, without distinction of nationality, side or background. The goal is to give every person a name and a face, and to keep their memory alive.

 

Name: van Grunsven
First names: Cornelis Hendricus
Nickname: Cornelis
Date of birth: 4 July 1913
Place of birth: Deurne
Residence: D 125, Helenaveen
Rank / Occupation: Garden labourer
Identity tag: –
Unit: –
Date of death: 3 April 1945
Place of death: Holzminden (Germany)
Cause of death: Allied air raid
Cemetery: Cemetery of the Evangelical Parish in Holzminden
Memorial site: War memorial in Helenaveen


Additional information

Grave location: Grave C 1025 – mass grave ‘Bombenopfer’.

Son of Martinus Franciscus van Grunsven and Elisabeth van Eckendonk

On Sunday 8 October 1944, during the 7.00 am Mass, German paratroopers (Fallschirmjäger) surrounded the two Rijkswerkkampen I and II in Mariaveen. The people were driven out of the chapel during Mass. The Germans cordoned off the roads and searched the church and all the houses. All the men and boys were herded together and taken away in a long, sorrowful procession. Without food or drink, without extra clothing. Some are still in their nightclothes. According to the Germans, they are to go to work in Maasbree or Helden, but in reality they are being deported to Germany for forced labour (Arbeitseinsatz).

Cornelis Hendricus van Grunsven stayed at the ‘Städtischen Krankenhaus’ (municipal hospital) in Hildesheim from 23 October 1944 to 13 November 1944, after which he was put to work until 17 January1945 at the ‘Zuckerfabrik Nordstemmen’ (Nordstemmen sugar factory) in the Alfeld district. From an unknown date until 3 April 1945, he was put to work at Hugo Schmelzkopf’s ‘Gärtnerei’ (nursery) in Holzminden; he later lost his life in Holzminden during a bombing raid. He was buried on 14 April 1945 alongside 35 other victims of the Allied air raids on Holzminden in April 1945.

Sterbeurkunde
’s death certificate
Bidprentje
Memorial card

View all persons in the category: Residents of Deurne who died outside Deurne