René Kauffmann was born in Lintgen on 24 September 1922 and lived in Schifflange during the war. He initially served in the RAD from March to September 1941, and later, in October 1942, he was conscripted into the Wehrmacht. However, a year after his conscription, in October 1943, he decided to desert during his home leave and sought refuge in France with the assistance of the Luxembourgish resistance group LRL. He was denounced and subsequently captured by the Gestapo. On 19 September 1944, he was executed in Dietz an der Lahn in Germany.
The desertion of René had severe consequences for his family. His father, Heinrich Kauffmann, was forcibly resettled and forced to work in Neuwied in June 1944, only to be repatriated on 13 April 1945. On 20 June 1944, his mother and sister were resettled to the Nohfelden resettlement camp in the Hunsrück, and later transferred to other camps in Boberstein, Hirstein, Baumgarten and Straßberg, until their repatriation on 6 May 1945. In addition to the displacement, their house and other belongings were confiscated by the German administration.
