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At dawn on May 10, 1940, German soldiers descended from the sky and set up a roadblock at the northern entrance to Esch, cutting off the route to Luxembourg City. At four o'clock that afternoon, the municipal council held an emergency meeting and made a decision to evacuate the city. Women left the city at nine o’clock that evening, and men were to follow them at four o’clock in the morning.
While bombs and shells fell around the city, terrified and distraught people gathered in indescribable confusion. On foot, on horseback (even brewery horses were mobilized) and by car, a convoy set off to reach the French border. Some 25,000 people, including the majority of Esch Jews, intended to find shelter under the protection of the French army.