Kazerne Dossin: Memoriaal, Museum en Onderzoekscentrum over Holocaust en Mensenrechten / Kazerne Dossin: Mémorial, Musée et Centre de Recherche sur la Shoah et les Droits Humains
- Kazerne Dossin: Memorial, Museum and Research Centre on Holocaust and Human Rights
- Kazerne Dossin: Memoriaal, Museum en Documentatiecentrum over Holocaust en Mensenrechten / Kazerne Dossin: Mémorial, Musée et Centre de Documentation sur l'Holocauste et les Droits de l'homme
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History
In 1756, Empress Maria Theresa of Austria commissioned the construction of the barracks to accommodate Austrian soldiers. The building’s architecture reflects Viennese classicism rather than blending with the local style. Between 1781 and 1940, the barracks played a pure military role. Until 1914, the building served as a depot for the regiments of Grenadiers, Riflemen and Third Rifles Guards. Later it became a weapon depot and from 1918, an auxiliary depot of the 7th Line regiment. In 1936, the barracks received the name of the commander of this latter regiment during the First World War: Lieutenant-General Emile de Dossin de Saint Georges (1854-1936), who was thus honoured as war hero, because of his crucial role in the Battle of the Yser (17-31 October 1914). The function of the Dossin barracks between May 1940 and July 1942 remains a mystery but on 27 July 1942 the building became a ‘Sammellager’, a transit camp for Jews, Roma and Sinti. Between July 1942 and September 1944, 25,490 Jews and 353 Roma were rounded up and transported from the Dossin barracks to Auschwitz-Birkenau and to a number of smaller concentration camps. Immediately after the Second World War, the Dossin barracks served as a detention centre for Belgian collaborators. At the end of 1948, the Belgian army established a school in the barracks for the administration of the Army. On 30 May 1948, a commemorative plaque was attached to the façade of the Dossin barracks as commemoration to the deportations that took place. In June 1950, a training centre of the Financial Services was added to the complex. Since 1956, an annual ceremony has been organised to commemorate the Jewish victims. After the Centre for Administrative Service left in March 1975, the Dossin barracks fell into disrepair. The city of Mechelen considered demolishing the barracks but due to protests, the façade was put on the list of Listed Buildings. In 1977, ownership was transferred from the state to the city of Mechelen, but only in 1980 it was decided to renovate the dilapidated building as an apartment complex. From then on, the barracks would be known as the ‘Habsburg Courtyard’, a reference to the Austrian rulers who built the complex and to the quietness within its walls. Many people however thought it was inopportune to cast aside the history of the Dossin barracks as Sammellager. Therefore, the Vereniging van de Joodse Weggevoerden in België (VJWB) – Dochters en Zonen van de Deportatie (English: Association of Jewish Deportees in Belgium – Daughters and Sons of the Deportation) – and the Centraal Israëlitisch Consistorie van België (CICB) (English: Central Israeli Consistory of Belgium) pressured the city and the Flemish Community to reserve a space in the barracks for establishing a museum. Natan Ramet, himself a camp survivor deported from the Dossin barracks, was appointed chairman. On 7 May 1995, the Joods Museum van Deportatie en Verzet (JMDV) (English: Jewish Museum of Deportation and Resistance) was ceremoniously inaugurated by HRH King Albert II. On 11 November 1995, the museum was opened for the public. With 30,000 visitors per year, the JMDV quickly burst at the seams. Starting in 2001, the Flemish government developed plans for a new and larger building to house the permanent exhibition. Because purchasing the entire Dossin barracks was impossible, they opted for a new construction according to a design by bOb Van Reeth. In the right wing of the old barracks, a Memorial was furnished. Flemish Prime Minister Kris Peeters and Bart Somers, the Mayor of Mechelen, opened this commemoration hall on 4 September 2012. The new museum with the permanent exhibition on the other side of the road was inaugurated on 26 November 2012 in the presence of HRH King Albert II and Kris Peeters, the Prime Minister of Flanders. On 27 January 2020, the renovated Memorial opened its doors. Today, Kazerne Dossin - Memorial, Museum and Research Centre on Holocaust and Human Rights welcomes over 75,000 visitors each year.
Archival and Other Holdings
The Kazerne Dossin Research Centre holds a statutory mandate to collect and centralise all information regarding the persecution of Jews, Roma and Sinti in Belgium and Northern France during the Second World War, as well as Jews, Roma and Sinti from Belgium persecuted in other countries or having fled to non-occupied territories. This mission comprises the identification, description and digitization of documents and archives, in both public and private hands, and the safekeeping of original documents and archives. Combining a museum, memorial and research function, Kazerne Dossin actively sets out to identify, collect and preserve original documents, photographs, publications and objects on the Belgian case. In addition, the team digitises relevant documents elsewhere (in institutions or by private persons) to make them digitally available at the Kazerne Dossin research centre. All acquisitions are described on collection level according to ISAD(G) standards, which are made available to the public online via the Kazerne Dossin image bank: https://beeldbank.kazernedossin.eu/portal/media. The collections’ contents can be consulted in the Kazerne Dossin reading room and in the reading room of partner institutions. For a complete list of partners and for more information on consultation and registration procedures, please visit our website: https://kazernedossin.eu/en/research-centre/. The research team of Kazerne Dossin conducts targeted research, shares expertise in networks and with third parties, holds lectures and issues publications. Their goal is to gain and give further insight into the past and put a face to the deported Jews and Roma, and to assist third parties in their research and learning process.
Opening Times
Kazerne Dossin Museum
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Closed Wednesdays
Research Centre Kazerne Dossin
By appointment, Monday through Friday (9 am to 5 pm)
Conditions of Access
1) If you would like to consult the archive or the library of Kazerne Dossin, please submit a research statement. The necessary form can be downloaded from this link:
https://kazernedossin.eu/en/research-centre/archives/
2) Provide the completed and signed form, together with a copy of a valid proof of identity, to Kazerne Dossin. This can be done by mail.
3) The employees of the Kazerne Dossin research centre will then review your application and provide a written confirmation upon approval.
4) With this confirmation, you can sign up at the Kazerne Dossin research centre or in the reading room of one of the following partner institutions:
- Mémorial de la Shoah, Paris, France
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington D.C., United States
- Herinneringscentrum Kamp Westerbork, Westerbork, the Netherlands
- The National Archives of Belgium
5) When you visit the Kazerne Dossin reading room you will receive a copy of the reading room regulations. At the start of each visit you are required to sign the visitors’ register. Local rules apply in the reading rooms of partner institutions.
6) A researcher from Kazerne Dossin or the partner institution will provide you access to the Kazerne Dossin image bank in the reading room.
Reproduction Services
If you have specific questions about the contents of the archive collection, or about reproduction or copyright matters, please contact the Kazerne Dossin via archives@kazernedossin.eu