• Date of discovery: 2017-02-03
• Aproximate location of discovery: Schoolbergen, Leuven, Vlaanderen
• Context: 3rd reich coinage, 9 mm parabellum cartridges

The Partisans Armés (PA), the armed wing of the Belgian Communist Party, were active in Leuven despite the risks of German repression. Their Leuven unit, known as Korps 34, carried out sabotage and targeted actions against the occupiers and collaborators.

One of their best-known missions was the raid on the Arbeitsamt in Blijde Inkomststraat (1942), where partisans destroyed around 800 kg of forced-labour records by dumping them into the river Dijle. This act protected many Leuven citizens from deportation to Germany. On 30 July 1943, PA fighters sabotaged railway tracks at Oud-Heverlee, derailing a German military leave train and causing heavy losses. (hortensedaman.be)

They also targeted collaborators. On 1 November 1943, Leuven PA members, among them Pierre “Georges” Hermans, assassinated Police Commissioner Jacobs at the city cemetery. In July 1944, three PA fighters from Leuven joined an operation in Meensel-Kiezegem against collaborator Gaston Merckx, an action that led to harsh Nazi reprisals.

Notable figures connected to the Leuven PA include Germain De Becker (“Gérard”), identified as corps leader, and the resistance courier Hortense Daman, who supported sabotage operations before her arrest and deportation.

Although many members were captured, executed, or deported, the Leuven PA significantly disrupted German control and left a lasting mark on the city’s wartime history.