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Media Essay

Breendonk - Photographs

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Breendonk internment camps Belgium occupation

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Breendonk was an internment camp in German-occupied Belgium. The site had originally been built in the early twentieth century to serve as a Belgian fortress. After Germany conquered Belgium in 1940, the Germans turned Breendonk into an internment camp. Fewer than 4,000 prisoners were confined there during its existence.

Warning sign at the Breendonk camp

A sign outside the Breendonk transit camp warning that trespassers will be shot.

A sign outside the Breendonk transit camp warning that trespassers will be shot. Breendonk, Belgium, 1940-1944.

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Entrance to the Breendonk internment camp

Entrance to the Breendonk internment camp. Breendonk, Belgium, 1940-1944.

Entrance to the Breendonk internment camp. Breendonk, Belgium, 1940-1944.

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The Breendonk camp

A view of the Breendonk internment camp. Breendonk, Belgium, postwar.

A postwar photograph of the Breendonk internment camp in Belgium.

In August 1940, the Germans, who had occupied Belgium in May of that year, turned the fortress into a detention camp.

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Courtyard used for roll call in Breendonk transit camp

View of the courtyard in the Breendonk fortress prison where prisoners lined up for roll call.

View of the courtyard in the Breendonk fortress prison where prisoners lined up for roll call. Breendonk, Belgium, postwar.

This image is taken from a series of snapshots sold on the site after the end of World War II. 

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