Two american pilots are hidden

In this contribution, we focus on another significant event from World War II. This article, taken from the Tageblatt dated August 22, 2018, recounts the Karelshaff’s cooperation with the Resistance, concealed under discreet cover:

Dony Calmes vividly remembers the morning of August 23, 1943:
“My father, with his horse-drawn carriage, had already made the first furrow in a field along the Ettelbruck road when he saw two American pilots, in uniform, approaching on the path. Exhausted and clearly very ill, they asked for help. These men were part of the 532nd Aviation Squadron, stationed in England. Their mission on August 17, 1942, was to bomb the SKF factory in Schweinfurt. On the return flight, their Boeing B-17, a flying fortress bomber, was shot down near Koblenz. The crew bailed out by parachute but were captured by the Germans. Only the two pilots managed to escape. They were trying to reach Antwerp, equipped with a compass and a map.”

The two Americans were then hidden in an outbuilding of the Grand Ducal castle near Karelshaff, where they received care and, in addition to civilian clothes, new identity papers. Thanks to a network of Resistance members, they were able to return to England after spending two months in Luxembourg.

This event led to the arrest of Dony Calmes’ father and other accomplices by the Gestapo in October 1943. Dony Calmes wished to make this information public to highlight that Karelshaff was a true nerve center of secret services and the Resistance in the Ettelbruck and Mersch region during the Nazi occupation, thanks to the commitment of the von Roesgen family.

The German occupiers were no doubt fully aware of this strategic role, as evidenced by statements from Gestapo members who frequently referred to Karelshaff as a “nest of criminals” during the interrogation of Dony Calmes’ father at Hinzert.

Before being transferred to the outbuilding of the Grand Ducal castle, the two American pilots were hidden for several days in a forest right next to Karelshaff. The von Roesgen family fed them and contacted Resistance network members.

After the arrest of Christian Calmes and his accomplices by the Gestapo, the von Roesgen family took care of the families left behind. None of the captured Resistance fighters mentioned the help of Charles von Roesgen, as he was known to care for the families remaining on site.