Écaussinnes

Here in Ecaussinnes, the Chinese Qian Xiuling performed a heroic deed. She was a Chinese-Belgian scientist who received a medal for saving almost 100 lives in Belgium during the Second World War. In 1933 she married Grégoire de Perlinghi, a Belgian doctor, and they went to live in Herbeumont.

On June 7, 1944 , 97 Belgians were captured and sentenced to death by the Germans in revenge for the death of three Gestapo officers who were murdered in this village of Ecaussinnes. Qian Xiuling knew the German general Alexander von Falkenhausen from when he was still working in China as part of the then Sino-German cooperation.

Although she was pregnant with her first child, she traveled to Falkenhausen and asked him to intervene. He hesitated but finally agreed to release the prisoners, knowing he was ignoring an order. The general was summoned to Berlin to explain his insubordination. Falkenhausen was spared a German trial and punishment because the war was over, but he was arrested for war crimes. In 1951 he was convicted in Belgium. Qian appeared at the trial and pleaded for Falkenhausen's good character. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison for executing hostages and deporting Jews, but he was released after three weeks. He retired to Germany where he died in 1966.

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