Breendonk

301 people died at Breendonk at the hands of the Nazi regime during the second World War.

Going to a concentration camp or a Nazi prison camp feels a bit odd.  I always say I never go to see sad movies on purpose, like Marley and Me or the Fault in Our Stars, because I know the outcome, I know I’m going to cry, and I know it’s going to make me really sad.  Going to a concentration camp feels something like that.

The difference is, Marley and Me is not important, this is.

These are the horribly evil men that tortured, maimed, and killed Jewish prisoners as well as members of the Resistance and political prisoners. The acts of these men, and their wives, are too difficult to relay.  It’s unthinkable that a human was capable of that kind of cold torture and brutal murder, but these men, and many others, were.

The tours are given in a very matter of fact tone.  There is no beating around the bush, nor should there be.  It would be disrespectful to downplay the events that took place here.  The majority of the prisoners who were sent to Breendok were simply at the wrong place at the wrong time.  Many were sent to other, larger concentration camps, but survivors said that it may have even been worse here, because there was 1 guard for every 3 prisoners, meaning they were watched 100% of the time.

This is Isaac, a Jewish prisoner during World War II, whose offense was sitting on a bench in a public park after curfew because he was looking for something to eat.  The large picture was taken just four months after the small photo, and he was only 40 years old in both pictures.  As prisoner number 22, he was one of the earliest prisoners at this camp.  The bucket of food he’s carrying is meant to feed 60 prisoners.  Isaac lasted a mere 7 months at the prison before he died.  The stripe on his right pocket identified him as Jewish.  We followed his story through the camp.

Among the evil there were also brave men and women who sacrificed themselves to save hundreds more lives.  One woman in particular was kept in isolation, tortured, and interrogated every day.  She was imprisoned for running an underground operation that helped shot down allied forces get back to England and eventually, back home.  The entire time she was here, she didn’t say a word.  She was hospitalized twice, both times she was within an inch of her life, and eventually was killed by the guards interrogating her.  She never talked, and because of this, the underground operation continued and saved hundreds of lives.

I knew going to this camp would be difficult, but I’m glad I walked the halls where these prisoners walked, saw the beds that they slept in, saw the food that they ate, and had the opportunity to hear the stories of Isaac and many others.  I am so thankful to those who spend their lives preserving this history, lest we forget the thousands of Allied forces who died putting an end to this evil regime, or the innocent victims of camps like Breendok.