Abstract
During World War II, the German occupation forces incarcerated about 4000 Luxembourgers, of which around 250 were sent to the Buchenwald concentration camp. Their experiences left numerous literary traces in the decade following the liberation of Luxembourg in September 1944. Albert Beffort, a primary- school teacher, reports how he helped build up the prisoner library in Buchenwald. Karl Schnog, a politically active German journalist who emigrated to Luxembourg in 1933, processes his tribulations in various poems and prose texts. Henri Rock, a Catholic priest, retells his experiences in Dora in a series of letters to his father written in 1945. Finally Nicolas Spielmann, a young policeman who refused to betray his country, gives a detailed account of the events he witnessed in Buchenwald. Though they came from very different backgrounds, the central themes of camaraderie, courage and a belief in one’s ideals are found in all their works.
