- Type
- Fortress
- Origins
- 1906 · 20th century per Wikidata: founding, first mention or construction
- Commissioned by
- Belgian Armed Forces
- Coordinates
- 51.0564°, 4.3414°
History
The fort was built between 1906 and 1913 as part of a new ring of defences around Antwerp, intended as the Belgian army's last redoubt. German artillery shelled it in 1914, and in May 1940 it briefly housed the headquarters of King Leopold III. In September 1940 the SS set up a transit camp in the fort for political prisoners, resistance members, hostages and Jews. Around 3,600 people passed through Breendonk; more than 300 died here of exhaustion or torture or were executed, and many others were deported to camps in Germany and Poland. The camp was liberated in September 1944, and in 1947 a law declared the fort a national memorial.
What to see
From outside, the concrete fort ringed by its moat looks like a grassy mound. Inside are the prisoners' barracks, solitary cells, the interrogation room with its instruments of torture and the execution ground with its posts and gallows. The exhibition tells the story of prisoners and guards through documents, photographs and survivors' testimony; it is a place to visit with care and respect.
Wikipedia article Official website Wikidata Q700580
Popularity: articles about this site in 20 Wikimedia projects (Wikipedia language editions and others).