Kazerne Dossin marks 70th anniversary of Auschwitz liberation

Kazerne Dossin, or the Dossin Barracks, is the site where Jews and other minority groups were held until their deportation to concentration camps in Germany and Poland during the Second World War. It is now a government-funded memorial and museum (pictured) that works to educate the public, and particularly young people, about the dangers of racism and xenophobia.

“We have to continue to inform young people about the horrors that were committed then,” said museum director Herman Van Goethem at yesterday’s ceremony.

Flemish education minister Hilde Crevits repeated the message that education was essential to combat racism. “It is essential to teach students to be aware of the dangers of stereotyping,” she said. “This can make them more responsible citizens.”

Minister-president Geert Bourgeois spoke on behalf of his government, saying that “this tragic period has left a permanent wound in European society. The Flemish government confirms its commitment to remembering the Holocaust.”

Federal politicians and royalty also travelled to Auschwitz, in the south of Poland, yesterday to attend the ceremony held on the site of the Nazi concentration camp where more than one million people died during the war. Some 300 Auschwitz survivors took part in the ceremony, along with leaders from many European countries. Belgium’s King Filip and Queen Mathilde attended the ceremony as did prime minister Charles Michel and foreign affairs minister Didier Reynders.

Speakers at the event warned that anti-Semitism is on the rise again in Europe. “Once again Jewish boys are afraid to wear yarmulkes on the streets of Paris, Budapest, London and even Berlin,” said Ronald S Lauder, president of the World Jewish Congress.

photo by Daniël Geeraerts/ImageDesk