2023-12-16 10:46:00
Several men, dressed in outfits from the 1940s, are standing and will be standing throughout the day on Saturday at Brussels central station, their faces turned towards a wall. Breendonk Fort, a War Heritage Institute site, wishes to commemorate the horror that the 3,600 political prisoners had to endure there during the Second World War. This symbolic action takes place on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
During the Second World War, 3,600 prisoners, mainly political, were imprisoned in Breendonk, where they were deprived of all their rights. When these people arrived at the Fort, they had to stand facing the wall in the courtyard for registration and distribution of their prison clothing. They were not allowed to move, breathe or cough, which was punished “mercilessly” by the SS. They also didn’t know how long they would stay there.
“Inspired by the terrible stories of Breendonk, young people face a wall for a whole day”, explains Jef Vrelust, site manager of Fort Breendonk. “They are dressed like the prisoners when they arrived at Breendonk in order to commemorate this moment as faithfully as possible. The objective is to offer today’s young people an enriching experience by allowing them to put themselves in the shoes of the prisoners , even if it’s only part of what they endured.”
“With this event, we want above all to pay tribute to the 3,600 political prisoners by putting young people in their place,” develops Mr. Vrelust. “In this way we want to build a bridge between the past and the present, because we must never forget what happened in Breendonk. That is why we are specifically involving young people in this installation.”
Kevin Frydman, the grandson of a former Breendonk prisoner, also spoke to our microphone: “I grew up with that, and I grew up with a grandfather who told me his story almost daily. I am here of my own free will and in completely normal living conditions. If I think regarding what “They must have felt at that moment, it’s something quite different, in the sense that they didn’t necessarily understand why they were there. With the fear and the living conditions.”
Fort de Breendonk
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