​​Arthur Diedering was born on 12 September 1909 in Schkölen, near Leipzig in Germany. During the Second World War, he worked as a foreman in the Erla factory in Mortsel.

​​At the end of 1940, the German occupiers had seized the former car factory located here (the Minerva factory) and converted it into an overhaul and repair company for German fighter planes. Furthermore, all former Belgian employees of this car factory were forced to work in this Erla factory, under the management of the new German directors, including Arthur Diedering.

​​The Erla factory was used for storage and manufacturing of aircraft parts for the Luftwaffe (Germany Air Force). The factory was both of great strategic importance and a legitimate military target for the allies. The allies therefore wanted to destroy the Erla factory and make an impact on the wartime manufacturing capability. On 5 April 1943, American bombers bombed the factory with approximately 815 bombs. Only four of these bombs fell on the Erla factory.

​​The consequences of this bombing were nevertheless disastrous, with 307 civilian employees from the factory killed in this bombardment. Foreman Arthur Diedering did not survive the bombardment and died at the age of 33. His body is interned together with more than 39,000 fallen soldiers in the German military cemetery in Lommel. This would be their final resting place.

​​Because of the bomb scatter and not all bombs falling on the Erla factory, many landed off target in the densely populated areas around the factory. Four schools, a hospital and 3,424 houses in the area were destroyed as well. In total, 1,342 people were injured and 936 civilians died in this bombardment. As a result, this bombing on Mortsel was one of the heaviest bombardments in Belgium during the Second World War.