4th September 1944. German and Flemish SS guards evacuated Fort Breendonk in Belgium

 4th September 1944. German and Flemish SS guards evacuated Fort Breendonk in Belgium

With the seemingly unstoppable advance of the allied forces smashing their way through Belgium. Many of the security units began to remove evidence of their crimes.

One such place where crimes against the Belgian civilian population occurred was Fort Breendock. The fort of Breendonk is located along the ancient highway Brussels - Antwerp. 

It is perhaps the only camp which remains totally intact because at first Breendonk was a military fort and the buildings are built using concrete. For the German occupation administration, Breendonk was a "waiting" camp (Auffangslager) designed to receive Jews and political prisoners before their transfer to Germany. The first prisoners arrived on September 20th, 1940.

In the beginning, the conditions of life were very difficult but still tolerable. But after the German troops invaded Russia (June 1941), the German SS guards were reinforced by Belgian SS’s and the regime became quickly inhuman. The lack of food became so severe that several prisoners tried to eat grass. Executions by hanging or shooting were common. The cruellest Belgian SS guards were Wijss, De Bodt and Pellemans.

The prisoners had to live in bunkers built of concrete. These bunkers were very cold and damp and the Nazis provided only two sanitary tubs for over twenty prisoners. Medical care was deficient. Later on, because of the growing crowd, additional wooden sheds were built.

A total of over 3.500 persons were imprisoned at Breendonk, but the number of prisoners simultaneously present never exceeded 600. The regime was worse than in most other Nazi camps because the number of prisoners to keep watch on and to harass was small.

Torture, hangings and shootings were common in Breendonk. It is unsure how many prisoners died or were killed in Breendonk but recent research estimates their number at about 300.

Breendonk had been evacuated a first time on May 6th, 1944 and all the prisoners transferred to Germany. On the following days more members of the resistance were imprisoned in Breendonk.