Andreas Storckel (1884-1945) lived at 127 Pleinstraat and was a retired railway worker when the Second World War broke out. Together with his wife Pauline Lefèvre and their daughter Anna, he joined partisan group 34 of the Independence Front.
As a veteran and firefighter from the First World War, Storckel chose to join the resistance. His home in Pleinstraat served as a command post for resistance movements. He distributed underground newspapers, provided shelter to prominent resistance fighters such as François Daman and Godfried Dreesen, took part in sabotage operations and hid ammunition. His house became a centre of armed resistance against the German occupiers. Storckel was also the neighbour of Hortense Daman, who was also active in the resistance as a young girl.
In February 1944, Storckel was arrested and imprisoned in Fort Breendonk. On 8 May 1944, he was deported to Buchenwald concentration camp. There he died during forced labour in a salt mine on 6 March 1945, less than six weeks before liberation. He was 60 years old and left behind a wife, four children and two grandchildren.
