War monument

Begijnendijk was relatively spared from direct war violence during the First World War. This monument lists the fallen from the First World War and also, on another side, some civilians who were deported and died in a concentration camp during the Second World War.

During the last world war, many Jews were in hiding in Begijnendijk and the immediate vicinity. Most of those hiding came from Antwerp. They were accompanied by Clementine Feyaerts-Van Rillaer (1894-1968) to the Begijnendijk station and further to their first hiding address. In this way, she made a significant contribution to the rescue of Jews.

Other than a very modest memorial plaque on the cemetery wall in Betekom, there are no monuments for the Second World War in the municipality. However, in 2018, five memorial plaques concerning the First World War were unveiled in corten steel: at the Demer Bridge, at the Saint Joseph Institute, on the Molenberg (all in Betekom), at the music school, and at the cemetery (both in Begijnendijk).

Jan Rymenams