Breendonck

Breendonck camp is situated on the highway from Antwerp to Brussels .
A former Belgian HQ of operations during the invasion turned into a "transit-camp" for deported jews and communists .
20 september 1940 , the first prisoners arrive at Breendonck , conditions were harsh but not yet deadly .
With the invasion of Russia , some SS-guards were replaced by Flemish SS men . This meant death to alot of the prisoners .
Food became scarce and conditions soon turned into life threathening ... some tried to eat grass in hope to stay alive , if they were not shot or hanged that is ... .
With the coming of new prisoners , some wooden sheds were build to house them .
The rest was kept inside the fortress , wich is damped and cold inside .

With my visit every year , the fortress still is amazingly well preserved ...
The SS canteen with the SS slogan : Meine Ehre Heisse Treue and the deathhead is so well preserved and still takes your breath away .
Also there are drawings and carvings into the small prisoncells made by the prisoners , still very visible today .

Hanging , executions , tortures , ... all were very common in Breendonck .
About 3500 prisoners have passed through Breendonck during the war , but they could only hold 600 at a time .

The gallows still are there , the execution poles still have the bulletholes in them , the barracks have their 2 sanitation bowls in the corner , medical care was absent .

Breendonck fortress was evacuated on 6 may 1944 as the Allies approached it . But a day after the evacuation more prisoners came in , so they evacuated again on 30 may 1944 .
The prisoners were send to Vught camp in Holland and then on to Germany .
The Allies found the camp empty ... .

The gallows , the trapdoors had to be operated at the right side . A large pin was turned around so the trap doors would open .
Opposing the gallows are the execution poles .
I visited the camp 5 times allready , if you're into WWII and live in Belgium , visit it ... .

The guardhouse , the gate with the sign : whoever passes this gate will be shot , the pebbleroad into the camp , this made many prisoners fall , the SS guard would laugh , then kick you until you got up or just walk over you ... . This is just one of the many eyewitness reports about Breendonck ... .