>>3199998>>3200003The Germans blew up the church tower on Wednesday after St. Martin 1944. The church was then covered for several months under shell fire. The illegal army had offered the priest to disarm the cargo in the tower. Considering that the Germans would still have enough time to retaliate, the priest did not respond to this. Probably that was a correct decision. The Germans stayed in Neer for weeks. Because the soldiers tried to pick up all men from 16-60 and transport them to Germany, many went into hiding. As a result, the pastor had no opportunity to save the windows of father and son Nicolas. They were lost. With the help of sisters, altar servers and students, a large part of the magnificent organ could be demolished and thus saved. The console, however, was too heavy and was therefore heavily damaged, as was a richly carved oak communion bench from the 17th century.
This bit I enjoyed the most as a kid. Even was an altar boy there for a while but more out of tradition than religious fervor.
