A monument in the Belgian capital Brussels honours the Jews from Belgium who were murdered by National Socialists during World War II.

Brussels, undated, View of the National Monument, Florida Center for Instructional Technology

In May 1940, the German Wehrmacht occupied Belgium and a military administration was established. Special offices were set up in order to deal with the »Jewish question«. These offices - the Security Police and the Security Service (Sipo-SD) - followed orders issued by the Reich Main Security Office in Berlin. There, Adolf Eichmann led Office IV B 4 which coordinated Germany's so-called Jewish policy and later the implementation of the »final solution of the Jewish question«. Between 1941 and 1943, Kurt Asche was responsible for Jewish affairs at the Sipo-SD in Brussels, after which he was succeeded by Fritz Erdmann. Like in other European countries, decrees issued by the German military administration entailed the suppression and exclusion of the Belgian Jews. Between October 1940 and September 1943, the occupiers issued 18 anti-Jewish decrees with the aim of preparing the upcoming deportation and murder of the Jews. From July 1942 on, the SS used the old Dossin barracks in Mechelen (Flanders) as the central collecting camp for Jews. On August 4, 1942, the first transport of Jews left Mechelen for Auschwitz-Birkenau. At first, only foreign Jews were affected by the deportations, but beginning September 1943, Jews with Belgian citizenship were also arrested. Until Belgium's liberation, a total of 24,916 Jews and 351 Roma and Sinti were deported from the Mechelen collection camp to concentration camps in the East. Of those, fewer than five per cent survived.

Brussels, undated, View of the National Monument, Florida Center for Instructional Technology

The monument is dedicated to the Jews who were deported from Belgium to concentration camps in the East. It also honours the Belgian Jews who either died in action as soldiers or were killed as resistance fighters. Moreover, the monument commemorates the six million Jews murdered in the Holocaust.

Brussels, undated, The names of victims on the inside of the monument, Florida Center for Instructional Technology


Brussels, undated, Memorial plaque to the Belgian Jews who died in action as resistance fighters, Florida Center for Instructional Technology

In 1964, Belgian state authorities decided to erect a monument to the Jews who were deported from Belgium and later murdered. Architect André Godard designed the monument, which was inaugurated on April 19, 1970, on the anniversary of the uprising in the Warsaw ghetto. The monument, situated in the community of Anderlecht, can also be used as a roofless synagogue.
Since 2014 the monument has not been accessible on a regular basis. Most of the time, the gates are closed, due to lack of personnel, security issues and an unclear definition of competences.

Brussels, undated, Interior view of the National Monument, Florida Center for Instructional Technology


Brussels, undated, Star of David on the path leading to the monument, Florida Center for Instructional Technology

Name

Mémorial national aux martyrs juifs de Belgique

Address

Square des martyrs juifs
1070 Bruxelles

Web

https://www.memorial50.be/

Open

Currently the monument is not accessible on a regular basis.