Credit: Ali Sahib, Chronicle.lu

On Saturday 30 August 2025, Luxembourg's Prime Minister Luc Frieden took part in a commemorative ceremony marking the proclamation of forced conscription by the Nazi occupier 83 years ago, where he delivered a speech.

According to the Ministry of State, on 30 August 1942 Gauleiter Gustav Simon announced the introduction of compulsory military service in Luxembourg. In total, nearly 10,200 young Luxembourgers aged 18 to 24 were forcibly conscripted into the German army during the Second World War.

During the war, the Nazi occupier also forced young women to join the Reich Labour Service (RAD) and, in some cases, the War Auxiliary Service (KHD). A total of 3,614 Luxembourger women were affected by these measures.

These young women and men faced a difficult choice during the war. Their fate, as well as that of their families, is not forgotten, noted the ministry.