This memorial page is dedicated to Willi Blesch, 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: Blesch
First names: Willi
Nickname: –
Date of birth: 2 June 1910
Place of birth: Mannheim
Residence: –
Rank / Occupation: Corporal
Identity tag: 536 – 3rd Company, Infantry Replacement Battalion 238
Unit: –
Date of death: 15 October 1944
Place of death: Liessel
Cause of death: –
Cemetery: German Military Cemetery at Ysselsteyn
Memorial site: –


Additional information

Grave location: Section P, Row 7, Grave 174

Willi Blesch was transferred by the Allies from his field grave in Liessel (the location of which is unknown) to Mierlo (Plot 4, Row A, Grave 9), from where his remains were reinterred at Ysselsteyn on 6 October 1948.

A report on the transfer, including identification details, drawn up by the Identification and Recovery Service, may be available for inspection from the author.

View all persons in the category: German soldiers killed in action