Frans Lenaerts
1915-1943
Frans Lenaerts was an Antwerp doctor who joined the resistance during the German occupation. He worked as a spy and took part in covert operations within the F.R.B. and Groupe Clarence. His brave efforts ended tragically with his execution in 1943.
On 10 May 1940, when the German Wehrmacht invaded Belgium, an era of occupation and oppression began. But the country did not let itself be overpowered without a fight. The resistance flourished, and one of the notable figures in this story was Frans Lenaerts. This young man from Antwerp, once graduated from Ghent State University and later from ULB as a doctor, would trade his doctor's coat and stethoscope for binoculars and a pistol in his fight against German occupation.
The resistance in Belgium consisted of a network of people determined to fight the German occupiers. For Frans Lenaerts, Jewish resistance fighter Antoinette Kleinhaus was the key figure who put him in touch with Fernand Wolff, a name that would become a common thread in his resistance life. During the war years, Lenaerts was active in two resistance groups: the Front de la RĂ©sistance Belge (F.R.B.) and the Groupe Clarence. Frans Lenaerts specialised in observing freight and railway traffic and tracking German manoeuvres.
The Front de la Résistance Belge (F.R.B.) was founded by Fernand Wolff and Jules Van Vlasselaer, known by his alias “Dullin,” at the end of 1940. By around February 1943, the F.R.B. was likely fully integrated into the Clarence Service, an intelligence network closely linked with armed and sabotage-oriented resistance groups.
Frans Lenaerts specialised in observing freight and railway traffic and tracking German manoeuvres. He was not just a spy; he also took part in daring operations, such as the attempt to free Marcel Verhamme, a Clarence member and radio operator. Sadly, Verhamme was arrested in July 1943 and died four months later in captivity.
On 7 December 1943, Frans Lenaerts carried out his final act of resistance. According to biographical notes, he was with Fernand Wolff on a punitive expedition when their lorry was stopped by a German patrol. Another source, Antoinette Kleinhaus, claimed that Wolff and Lenaerts had been involved in a shoot-out after dumping the body of an informant into the canal near Sainctelette Square. Interestingly, Kleinhaus dated these events to March 1944, although Lenaerts had already been executed on 17 December 1943. Unfortunately, police records from that day are unavailable to clarify the details.
Although Frans Lenaerts’ role in the resistance was of great importance, his contribution is often overlooked in historical accounts. The man known as “tall Frans Lenaerts, with his bold Antwerp accent,” deserves to be remembered for more than just his height and dialect.