be-002157-kd 00157
type: RecordSet
archival history: A digital copy of the postcard was donated to the Jewish Museum of Deportation and Resistance, predecessor of Kazerne Dossin, in 2006.
biographical history: In 1756, Empress Maria Theresa of Austria commissioned the construction of the barracks to accommodate Austrian soldiers. Between 1781 and 1940, the barracks played a pure military role, which was met in various ways. Until 1914, the building served as 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 regiment during the First World War: Lieutenant-General Emile de Dossin de Saint Georges (1854-1936). A resident of Liège (Belgium), he was honoured as a war hero, because of his crucial role in the Battle of the Yser (17-31 October 1914). Between May 1940 and July 1942 the building was used as a facility for officers of a German air force unit and as a training centre for the Dietsche Brigade - Zwarte Militie which was a Nazi oriented militant wing within the Vlaams Nationaal Verbond [Flamish National Union]. From 27 July 1942 until 4 September 1944, the barracks were designated ‘Sammellager’, a transit camp for Jews and Roma. Most were deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau and murdered. After WWII, the Dossin barracks was repossessed by the Belgian state. At the end of 1948, the Belgian army established a school in the barracks for the administration of the Army. In June 1950, a training centre of the Financial Services was added to the complex. On 30 May 1948, a commemorative plaque was attached to the façade of the Dossin barracks as commemoration to the crimes committed at the location. Since 1956, an annual pilgrimage is organised to commemorate the victims. After the Centre for Administrative Service left the building in March 1975, the Dossin barracks fell into disrepair. In 1980 the city of Mechelen decided to renovate the dilapidated building as an apartment complex, renaming them the ‘Habsburg Courtyard’. Many, however, thought it was inopportune to cast aside the history of the Dossin bar…
location of copies: Digital copy available as collection KD_00157 at Kazerne Dossin
accruals: No further accruals are to be expected
conditions of access: Contact Kazerne Dossin Documentation Centre: archives@kazernedossin.eu
conditions of use: Contact Kazerne Dossin Documentation Centre: archives@kazernedossin.eu
has beginning date: 1950-01-01
has end date: 1950-12-31
has or had holder: be-002157
has or had some members with language: fra
has or had some members with language: nld
has record set type: Collection
identifier: KD_00157
record resource extent: 2 digitised images (1 document)
scope and content: A postcard depicting the façade of the Dossin barracks after the war
title: Postcard depicting the Dossin barracks. Collection