Mechelen concentration camp
Kazerne Dossin (the former Mechelen transit camp) is a site in Mechelen, Belgium, where a military barracks, the tragedy of the Holocaust, and a present-day museum all intersect. The complex began life as a military base, but in March 1942 German occupying forces converted it into a transit camp (Sammellager) for Jews and for Roma and Sinti from across occupied Belgium. It was the only camp of its kind in the country, run by SiPo-SD, a branch of the SS-Reichssicherheitshauptamt.
What happened at the Mechelen transit camp?
Between 1942 and 1944, 25,484 Jews and 352 Romani people passed through the barracks. They were assembled at Kazerne Dossin and then loaded onto freight trains bound for concentration camps in occupied eastern Europe, above all Auschwitz-Birkenau. Two-thirds of those deported were killed almost immediately upon arrival. By the time of liberation and the end of the Holocaust in Belgium, only 1,221 Belgian Jews had survived — a stark measure of what took place here.
What became of the building after the war?
After the Second World War, the barracks reverted to military use and served the Belgian army from 1948 until 1975. A memorial plaque honoring the victims was already placed there in 1948, but it took several more decades before the site gained a proper museum function. From 1980 onward, most of the former barracks complex was converted into housing, meaning that today only part of the original structure remains connected to its historical role.
How did today's museum come about?
In 1995, the first museum institution dedicated to this history opened inside part of the old barracks, under the name Jewish Museum of Deportation and Resistance. That was only a precursor to the memorial as it exists now. In 2001, the Flemish Government decided to expand the site by constructing an entirely new museum building, situated opposite the historic barracks. The new building opened in September 2012 under its current name: Kazerne Dossin – Memorial, Museum and Documentation Centre on Holocaust and Human Rights.
What can visitors see today?
The modern museum stands next to the original barracks building, together forming a memorial site that combines the authentic historical location with a contemporary exhibition and documentation space. The institution focuses not only on the history of deportations from Mechelen, but more broadly on the Holocaust and human rights, making it one of the most significant memorial sites of this period in Belgium.
Frequently asked questions
Where is Kazerne Dossin located?
In the city of Mechelen, Belgium, on the site of a former military barracks converted into a transit camp during the war.
How many people passed through the camp?
Between 1942 and 1944, 25,484 Jews and 352 Romani people were deported from here, mainly to Auschwitz-Birkenau.
When did the current museum open?
The new museum building opposite the former barracks opened in September 2012, following the Flemish Government's 2001 decision to expand the memorial site.
Do the original barracks still exist?
Part of the complex was converted into housing from 1980 onward, but the historic section remains linked to the memorial alongside the new museum.
