Franziskus von Plettenberg was born on 29 July 1914 in Hovestadt (Village near the German Soest). Nothing is known about his youth, his education and his civilian career. Fortunately, we know a little more about his military career. He was an officer in the FLAK (Flugabwehrkanone), that is, anti-aircraft artillery.
In 1942 he was Oberleutnant (1st lieutenant) in a Flak regiment. On 1 December 1942 he was promoted to Hauptmann (captain) and served in Flakabteilung 88 and later on the staff of Flak regiment 5. He was active in the German occupation of the Sudetenland (November 1938). He served in Bulgaria and took part in the German campaign in North Africa from February 1941. During these actions he earned the Iron Cross I and II and was also wounded. With this he acquired the Verwundetenabzeichen (medal for a war wound).
From 1943 he was stationed in Nieuwer-Amstel (now Amstelveen). On 9 October 1943 he married Ursula Liedtke in Hovestadt. Her father, who died in 1934, was Jewish. However, mother and daughter realised that Jewish people were not safe because Jews were increasingly confronted with anti-Semitism from January 1933 onwards. Her mother therefore made sure that a non-Jewish man declared to the authorities that he was her father. After 20 July 1944, the day of the assassination of Hitler, a completely different phase would begin for both of them. Ursula was afraid that she would still be arrested, while Franciskus had to fear for his life because the Gestapo was looking for an uncle who was in the resistance. It was therefore conceivable that he would also be arrested. According to the youngest daughter Cornelia, Ursula then travelled to the Netherlands at the end of July 1944 and persuaded Franziskus to go into hiding. Franziskus then approached Mr Molleman who offered them shelter in his house on the Kostverlorenweg in Nieuwer-Amstel.
In her publication “Jaren van Verduistering” (Years of Darkening), Tini Visser states that they also went into hiding at an address on the Nieuwe Kalfjeslaan. Unfortunately, it is unknown where they first stayed. Presumably the hiding address on the Nieuwe Kalfjeslaan was betrayed, whereupon the resistance took them both to the Geertruidahoeve in Legmeer (Uithoorn). In mid-November 1944, they went into hiding with family doctor Janse in the Dorpsstraat in Uithoorn. He was the linchpin in the local resistance. There were weapons in his house. He also published the illegal magazine “De Uitkijk”. Franziskus published in this.
In May 1945, the resistance handed him over to the Canadians and he was placed in a prisoner of war camp. After 5 May 1945, Franziskus was brought before a German Kriegsgericht for desertion. However, he was acquitted. In July 1945, Ursula gave birth to her first child in Amsterdam. In the course of 1945, they both returned to Hovestadt. Franziskus became a representative for Volkswagen in the Netherlands. As a result, he visited the Molleman family more often. The contents of the letters that the Vereniging Historisch Amstelveen received from the descendants of Mr Molleman show that Franziskus and Ursula were grateful to the Molleman family. Franziskus did not live to be very old. He died in a car accident in Seesen (Harz) on 22 March 1968. Ursula died on April 16, 1995.
Due to a lack of good sources, it is currently not possible to make a coherent story of all the separate events. Think for example of the role of the resistance, acquittal by the German court, his hiding in Uithoorn. If you can possibly help us complete the puzzle, we would like to ask you to contact the VHA.