Panel 11 Mortsel Bombing 5 April 1943

Text on panel 11 April 5, 1943 Bombing of Mortsel Mechelsesteenweg also the end of the shortened route. [i]Saint Lutgardis. "Sister, they are coming!" [/i] What happened here? The school building and the shops and houses on the right had been reduced to rubble. A large group of students became trapped under the rubble. All help came too late for 61 students and 5 sisters. [i]Pupils from then tell [/i] "The children crawled under the nun's skirt, but my girlfriend and I wanted to walk. The nun had just reached the collar. We had to go to the back of the hallway. Then suddenly I was buried under the rubble. It happened. in a flash." "We thought it was over. My girlfriend was crying very loudly and calling for her mother. I took her and comforted her that the bombing was over. Just then I felt a dull blow. Everything went black. I don't know how. long I've been unconscious, but I've heard the planes throbbing away. " "I regained consciousness and was paralyzed by fear. I was clutched. My arms could still move and I tried to pull away. That was impossible, because there were bodies everywhere: under me, above me and next to me. Luckily, my girlfriend was lying next to me. She was still alive, but she was squeezed under a wall. On my stomach was a girl from my class. She was crying and screaming. She had a lot of trouble breathing because her mouth was full of dust. I put my finger in her mouth to remove the dust. Then she asked if we could pray the deed of repentance together. We did that and then she died. " This walk was realized by the city of Mortsel in collaboration with Pieter Serrien.