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Fort Breendonk

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Fort Breendonk was built by the Belgian Government in 1906, but it has seen more military use as a German base than Belgian. Early in World War I, the Germans overwhelmed Breendonk using artillery that could fire from 5-6 miles outside the range of the Belgian guns; the Fort remained in German hands for the rest of the war. In World War II, Breendonk once again fell early in the conflict, and was taken over by the SS as a concentration camp. 3532 prisoners were detained there over the course of four years; of these, at least 1,733 did not survive the war; 2,330 were deported to other camps inside Germany. Some prisoners were tortured in an interrogation facility known as The Bunker . At least 391 people died at Breedonk itself.

Fort Breendonk today is a museum and a monument to those who died there. A tour of the facility takes about two hours.

Phone: 32/3/886 62 09

Location: Brandstraat 57, Willebroek 2830

Other History nearby:
(Antwerp) Antwerp Museum of Folklore
(Antwerp-Deurne) Antwerp Silver Museum Sterckshof
(Gent) Archaeological Museum of Bijloke Abbey
(Brussels) Atomium
(Beloeil-Aubechies) Aubechies Archaeological Site
(Brussels) Autoworld

03/28 Coming to The Willebroek area