Monument de la déportion - Namêche

This monument is located at the end of the Rue de la Déportation in Namêche.

It commemorates the deportation of nearly two thousand workers on November 23, 1916 who refused to work for the Germans.

The text on the monument , with the number of deportees per village below, reads:

"ICI
EUT LIEU LE 23 NOVEMBER 1916
LA DEPORTATION DES OUVRIERS BELGES
QUI, FIDÈLES À LA PATRIE
ONT REFUSE
THE TRAVAILLER POUR L'ENNEMI."

The deportation from 21 surrounding villages started with a sorting of the men between 17 and 55 years old at the foundry. Those who were fit for work were deported. The doubtful cases were examined by a doctor. 1,924 men had been selected for deportation. Only six of them would have signed the employment contract proposed by the Germans.

The railway convoy with the deportees, consisting of converted passenger and cattle cars, will leave Namêche around 3 p.m. At the departure, some patriotic scenes are played, with cries such as: " Vive la Belgique! Down with Germany and the Emperor! We will not sign...!". The Brabançonne and the Marseillaise resounded and some flags in the national colors flew from the side of the wagons.

After 28 hours on the train and 3 hours on foot , most of the deportees reached the camp of Cassel in Germany.

Of the 457 deportees from Andenne, 8 died in Germany and 9 on their return to Belgium, from the consequences of the deportation

Willem Vandenameele