Fort Breendonk is a reinforced concrete military fortress built between 1906 and 1913 near Willebroek as part of the defensive ring protecting Antwerp and its port. Designed to withstand mid-19th century artillery, the fort became a Nazi transit camp from September 1940 during German occupation, holding resistance fighters, political prisoners, and Jews under Flemish and German SS command. Approximately 303 people perished at the fort including executions, with another 1,741 estimated deaths in other camps following transfers. Today it stands as one of Europe's best-preserved World War II camps, functioning as a memorial and museum offering insight into wartime conditions.
