This memorial page is dedicated to Petrus Andreas Theodorus Rutten, 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: Rutten
First names: Petrus Andreas Theodorus
Nickname: Andries
Date of birth: 29 June 1928
Place of birth: Helenaveen
Residence: H 66, Helenaveen
Rank / Occupation: Gardener
Identity tag: Prisoner number 20249
Unit: –
Date of death: 1 February 1945
Place of death: Salzgitter-Watenstedt (Germany), Camp 6
Cause of death: as a result of a heart attack
Cemetery: Dutch War Cemetery in Hanover (Germany)
Memorial site: War memorial in Helenaveen


Additional information

Grave location: Section F / Grave 53

On Sunday 8 October 1944, during the 7.00 am Mass, German paratroopers (Fallschirmjäger) surrounded the two Rijkswerkkamp labour camps I and II in Mariaveen. The people were driven out of the chapel whilst Mass was being held. The Germans cordoned off the roads and searched the church and all the houses. All the men and boys were rounded up and taken away in a long, sombre convoy. 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).

Petrus Andreas Theodorus Rutten was put to work at the company ‘Reichswerke AG, Hermann Göring’ in Salzgitter. He died in Lager 6; this former camp for civilian labourers was a sort of transit camp where a work assignment and camp accommodation were allocated. The official cause of death was ‘Herzschlag’ (heart attack), on 1 February 1945 at approximately 3.00 am. Petrus Andreas Theodorus Rutten was buried on 6 February 1945 at the Jammertal Cemetery, grave section IV (row 13, grave number F). On 18 December 1953, his remains were reburied at the Dutch War Cemetery in Hanover.

Cemetery index card

Friedhofskarteikarte

View all persons in the category: Died in concentration camps and as a result of forced labour