Soldiers and civilian employees from Allied forces North Battalion and U.S. Army NATO pause for a group photo during their visit to the National Memorial of Fort Breendonk in Willibreok, Belgium, on May 6 during this year’s 2024 Days of Remembrance and Holocaust Remembrance Day. The national memorial is located about an hour north of SHAPE headquarters in Mons, Belgium, and is open seven days a week except Jan. 1, Dec. 24-25 and Dec. 31. (Courtesy photo)
VIEW ORIGINAL
WILLEBROEK, Belgium – Allied Forces North Battalion visited the National Memorial of Fort Breendonk on May 6 during this year’s 2024 Days of Remembrance and Holocaust Remembrance Day.
“On the Holocaust Remembrance Day, AFNorth Soldiers and civilian employees, along with U.S. Army NATO, visited Fort Breendonk in Belgium to solemnly pay our respects to the millions who lost their lives and the survivors who endured unimaginable suffering,” said Capt. Erica Loroff, commander of the AFNorth headquarters company.
The National Memorial of Fort Breendonk is a former Belgian Army fortification constructed from 1906 to 1913 as part of the defense of Antwerp.
The fortress was used by Belgium during both World War I and World War II. After Belgium surrendered to Germany in 1940, the Germans began using the fortress as a prison camp for political prisoners, members of the Belgian resistance and Jewish people.
During the war 303 of the estimated 3,590 prisoners held in the prison died or were executed.
The national memorial is located about an hour north of SHAPE headquarters in Mons, Belgium, and is open seven days a week except Jan. 1, Dec. 24-25 and Dec. 31.
