Luxembourg is commemorating the general strike to resist Nazi rule 83 years ago, with the "Amicale vun der Post" (Friends of the Post) honouring two young postal workers that were executed for their resistance.

When Gauleiter Simon announced that thousands of young men were to be forcibly conscripted, workers responded by putting down their tools. The strike began in Wiltz on 31 August 1942 and quickly spread across the Grand Duchy.

Teachers, factory workers, farmers, and postal employees all took part. 21 of them paid for their courage with their lives.

On Monday, the Amicale of the Post honoured two of those postal workers: Nicky Konz and Jean Schroeder, both only 28 years old when they gave their lives for freedom, tolerance, and respect. Konz was brought before a special court exactly 83 years ago; the next day, it was Schroeder's turn.

Neither man had legal assistance or a defence, and both were sentenced to death. Just one day after the verdict, they were executed at the Hinzert concentration camp.

Jean Schroeder left behind a three-year-old son. That child passed away this February, but his widow, Marie-Antoinette Schroeder-Schmitz, was once again present at the ceremony. She later explained that even though she was born after the war, the execution of her father-in-law had a lasting effect on her family.

She recalled how her husband had struggled all his life with the loss of his father: he often spoke of him, would spend long walks thinking about him, and although the pain would occasionally recede, the memory never left him.

Failed to learn from history?

At the ceremony, the Amicale of the Post emphasised that the freedoms defended by those 21 Luxembourgers in 1942 must be safeguarded in daily life.

Economy Minister Lex Delles underlined that freedom should never be taken for granted; one need not look to the United States to see threats to it, he said, but rather at developments in neighbouring countries, in Europe, and even in Luxembourg itself. He pointed to stickers recently posted in Luxembourg City reading "Luxembourg for Whites" as a stark reminder of how intolerance still manifests today.

Schroeder-Schmitz is convinced that society has failed to learn from history. She noted that this is evident in election results, particularly in Germany but not only there. Her message was clear: people must be careful in how they cast their votes.