New walk revives war stories on the Schoonselhof: “This cemetery is more beautiful than Père-Lachaise” (Antwerp)
On the Schoonselhof there are countless silent witnesses of the Second World War. In the context of Antwerp Commemorates Memory Collective took a walk in the Antwerp cemetery. To be completed with an app. Axl Peleman, together with the Antwerp police band, was invited to give the presentation of the new walk and app a little more luster.
Patrick Van de Perre
The ErfgoedApp, developed on behalf of the city of Antwerp, has been around for some time. There has also been an art walk on the Schoonselhof for a while. Now the story of the Second World War is added. With the appropriate title ‘From the grave’ and the stories of Antwerp residents such as Regine Beer, who made Auschwitz, and Niny Schepens, who died there when a V-bomb fell on cinema Rex.
For the aldermen of Groen Els van Doesburg (N-VA), the walk is an excellent opportunity to show the Antwerp resident that the Schoonselhof is more than a graveyard. “Usually people come here to visit a loved one who has died. The new walk is a less sad way to get to know the cemetery.”
89 hectares of greenery
The domain deep in Hoboken has 89 hectares of greenery. “There are walking and running paths and it is a wonderful place to relax. We sometimes compare the Schoonselhof with the Père-Lachaise cemetery in Paris. As a resident of Antwerp, I can say that the Schoonselhof is more beautiful and offers much more space to even escape the crowds.”
History lovers of the tranquility of the cemetery can build up the walk at any time and at their own pace. The app leads you along a number of graves and provides text and explanation about the people who are lying there and the circumstances in which they have lived or died.
In addition to the previous Regine Beer, Niny Schepen and former mayor Camille Huysmans, the app also guides walkers to lesser-known graves. For example, the story of Octavie Van Gaever is told. At the end of 1942, like her father, this woman was taken to a concentration camp as a political prisoner. Not Octavie, not her father. The story of Konstanty Korona is also told: The Polish soldier remained in Belgium after the war. It was the man’s last wish to be buried next to his fallen comrades on the Schoonselhof.
cucumber time
In the run-up to the first, Ax told Peleman another walk tidbit. “This cemetery used to be a playground, where wealthy Antwerp residents spent the weekends and summer. Especially in the summer, this exodus from the city meant that the tailors in the city had little work. And therefore ate as cheaply as possible.”
And that, according to Axl Peleman, also included cucumbers. “That’s how the term cucumber season came into being. Here in Antwerp.” We are certainly not going to confirm the story. But the public appreciated it.
Els van Doesburg said that she wants to start this legislation before the end of 2024 with the restoration of the castle and the old Neerhoeve on the Schoonselhof domain. “Both buildings are in urgent need of restoration and are an added value in the historical character of the domain.”
www.antwerpenherdenkt.be/schoonselhof.