Donations to the library

Kazerne Dossin is particularly grateful to the following people for their donations to the library: Mr. Aronis, Betty Blaugrund, Suzy Bloch, Jean-Pierre Callens, Mr. Cappell, Luc Corremans, Mr. Czerwony, Rosine De Dijn, Willy Engels, Robert Jacques, Lieve Kennes, Jan Maes, Philippe Messer, Ellen Ogez, Tania Polak, Mr. Rubin, Mr. Schwarcz, Fabienne Van Dam, Rudi Van Doorslaer, Herman van Goethem, Veerle Vanden Daelen, Patrick Verwerft, legacy Norbert Vos-Obstfeld, Mr. Waslet and Roland Westreich.

Kazerne Dossin would also like to express its gratitude for donations from the following organisations: publishers Lamiroy and Lannoo for books donated to our library, Gedenk- und Bildungsstätte Haus der Wannsee-Konferenz, Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung, Mémorial de la Shoah (Paris) and the Auschwitz Foundation.

Donations to the archive

Kazerne Dossin is particularly grateful to the following people for their donations to the archive: Freddy Avni, Diane Bajkowski-Keyser, Jacques Beckmann, the Ceyssens family (with special thanks to Jos, Frans, Johan, Luc, Marc, Ria, Thieu en Magda Ceyssens), Koenraad Decock, Geert Dobbelaere, Susie Ehrman Dellal, Daphna Epstein-Riff, Irene Seany Geuns, Greta Geysen, Paul Hicguet, the Jewish Museum of Belgium (with special thanks to Sophie Collette), Theodore Kornblum, Nathalie Kuchler-Miodownik, Rochelle Lafer-Schwarz, Valerie Lieber-Wien and family, Mimi Littman-Goldberg, Regina Normon, Jo en Sofie Peeters-Van Krunkelveldt, Tania Polak, Marc Reydams, Ruth Ringer, David Scharia, Stella Silberberg, Maxime Szyf, Fabienne van Dam, Veerle Vanden Daelen, Bart Van der Herten, Denis Van der Linden, Herman Vandormael, Flor Van Laer, Annick Van Son, Patrick Verwerft, Albert Waslet, Jozef Weitman, Dora Zeiger and Katrien Zomers.

Kazerne Dossin would like to thank all researchers, family members and friends of deportees who provided photographs for the portrait wall.

Image database

In 2024 Kazerne Dossin received 39 new donations. 25 of them were original pieces or part thereof that were donated to our organisation. The remaining 14 consisted of digital copies. All the documents, photographs, objects and precious printed materials that we received were then described as a collection in accordance with international standards and added to the image databank. All the items in the collections were subsequently described individually. The team also conducted further research into the many photographs to identify their origin, the people portrayed in them and their fate.

In 2024 the focus was also on making previously acquired collections available via the image databank. A total of 58 collections were thus unlocked, including the family photographs of our founder, Natan Ramet, and the archive of resistance fighter Sam Perl.

Physical archive

The originals managed by Kazerne Dossin are preserved in a climate-controlled depot. They were inserted into photo sleeves, acid-free covers and boxes on site. In 2024 the team handled the professional processing of all new acquisitions in the archive.
Several previous donations were also reviewed and re-documented. For example, objects belonging to our founder, Natan Ramet, were photographed in improved conditions to optimize their digital accessibility.

The repackaging of research files, donated by Johannes Blum, also continued in 2024. The use of acid-free materials and more efficient storage methods not only improved the physical level of protection but also put the available space to better use. This restructuring will eventually increase storage capacity to ensure that future donations can be permanently and painstakingly incorporated into the physical archive of Kazerne Dossin.

The inventory of the art sub-collection was also completed. It will act as a basis for further exploration of the potential repurposing of part of this sub-collection.

Display case with changing displays

On 10 March 2023 Kazerne Dossin inaugurated a new display case with much appreciated support from the Berler Foundation. In 2024 it became a dynamic tool that bridges the gap between the museum and the memorial. Objects from the daily lives of persecuted, and in some cases deported, racially persecuted residents of Belgium tell their personal stories. The arrangement in the changing display case is updated every four months.

In early 2024 the display case featured Jenny Birnbaum. As a teenager, Jenny not only survived deportation from the Dossin Barracks to Auschwitz-Birkenau but she also managed to keep some small mementos from the camp. The display case exhibited several pendants and medals from her personal collection, donated by her daughters.

From June to October 2024 the tableware of an Antwerp Jewish family was on display. The family was deported to Wijchmaal in Limburg in late 1940 and entrusted its precious porcelain to the local Vanderhoydonck family. It was never retrieved. The inauguration of the display case took place in the presence of the Ceyssens family, relatives of the Vanderhoydonck family.

At the end of 2024 the changing display case exhibited several objects by artists who were part of the Malerstube painting studio at the Dossin Barracks. The display included a painting of a Jewish prisoner by the artist Irene Spicker, the painting box she received from the artist Karol Deutsch (Irene Spicker collection) and a canister of turpentine used in the Malerstube (Calixte Vandevelde collection).

Interview project

In 2024 Kazerne Dossin again interviewed survivors of the Holocaust. With the disappearance of the last witnesses, preserving their stories for posterity is increasingly becoming a key priority.

On 5 May 2024 an interview with Jozef Weitman was recorded as part of the Open Huizen event in Antwerp. It focused on the life and legacy of his uncle, Abraham Manaster, who played a crucial role in the Jewish resistance in Belgium during World War II, particularly in the rescue and hiding of Jewish children. The interview provides valuable insights into Manaster’s work and its impact on the Jewish community in Belgium. Thanks to the interview, several digitalised documents and a photograph, the Jozef Weitman collection became part of the Kazerne Dossin archive in 2024.

On 18 September 2024 Théodore (Théo) Kornblum participated in an interview in Knokke-Heist. Born in Borgerhout in 1932, Kornblum survived the Holocaust thanks to the efforts of a network of resistance fighters and religious institutions. After the anti-Jewish measures in 1942, his father was forced to work and his family had to go into hiding. On 31 January 1943 his mother, Rywka Szwarcfuter, was betrayed and deported from the Dossin Barracks on Transport XX. Three days later she arrived at Auschwitz-Birkenau where she was selected for forced labour but did not survive.

Théo himself adopted a false name, Théo Legrand, and survived thanks to the help of, amongst others, the Bishop of Namur and the protection of an orphanage in Gilly where he stayed with his younger brother. After the war he returned to Antwerp and for many years maintained the hope that his mother would return. During the interview he talked about the impact of these events on his subsequent life. He recalled in detail the 1941 pogrom in Antwerp and the difficulties associated with being in hiding as a child. In addition to his testimony, Kornblum also allowed Kazerne Dossin to digitise 11 photographs from his collection, resulting in the Théodore Kornblum-collection.

Digitalisation

In 2024 our digitisation staff scanned 120 dossiers which resulted in 48,016 scans. The digitisation of the archive of the Brüsseler Treuhandgesellschaft (BTG) is ongoing and will take several more years. BTG was a company established by a branch of the German military administration (Gruppe XII) whose purpose was to appropriate funds derived from property owned by enemy powers and Jews.

Starting in May 2024, one employee has been dedicating one day a week to searching the archives at the Service for War Victims for missing photographs of deportees. This has already resulted in several dozen new photographs for our portrait wall.

European Holocaust Research Infrastructure (EHRI)

Kazerne Dossin is an active consortium partner of the European Holocaust Research Infrastructure (EHRI). Within this network, Kazerne Dossin coordinates the content of the EHRI Portal, focusing whenever possible on semi-automated data integration to enhance the sustainability of the portal. Kazerne Dossin coordinated the update of all country reports in the EHRI Portal and took the initiative to publish the EHRI Portal Data Model. Kazerne Dossin hosted several EHRI meetings and was actively represented at several meetings and workshops, including the launch of EHRI-IP in February 2024 and the EHRI-3 General Partner Meeting in June 2024.

Partnerships

In 2024 Kazerne Dossin participated in the FAIR-IMPACT project, a European project aimed at improving the Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability and Reusability of data and descriptions on websites and in databases. As part of this FAIR-IMPACT project, Kazerne Dossin analysed the FAIR-ness of the image database and developed a plan to make both the image database and the data stored in it easier to find, more accessible, exchangeable and reusable.

On 30 April 2024 Archiefpunt launched the War Diaries project, which kicked-off at Kazerne Dossin and will involve project staff searching for World War II related diaries with a Belgian link in archives, museums and with private individuals. Kazerne Dossin is a member of the steering committee and supports the project by bringing diaries from its own archives to the attention of Archiefpunt.

Together with Frédéric Crahay, Thierry Rozenblum and Richard Menkis, Kazerne Dossin produced a themed issue focused on 80 years of liberation in the Getuigen/Témoigner (Witnessing) magazine. The volume, published in October 2024, includes articles with a Belgian perspective on the liberation of Holocaust survivors, the liberation of the Dossin Barracks and Breendonk camp, the encounters between Jewish Allies and local Jewish survivors in liberated Antwerp, and the Jewish community in Liège.

International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA)

The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) organised two plenary sessions in 2024 chaired by the United Kingdom: one in June in Glasgow and one in December in London. Kazerne Dossin was represented at both meetings. Veerle Vanden Daelen chaired the IHRA Monitoring Access to Holocaust Collections project, which successfully completed her activities at the plenary session in Glasgow.

Internship supervision, volunteers and Article 60 employees

In 2024 the Collections and Research team again focused on coordinating and expanding the existing group of enthusiastic volunteers. They set to work entering books into the catalogue, compiling data and tracing deportees. The volunteers also concentrated on locating new portraits for the memorial wall at the museum and on unlocking the content of archive collections.

The Collections and Research team also received support in 2024 from two individuals attached to Kazerne Dossin via Sociaal Huis subject to ‘Article 60’ status. Interns Morien, Tist and Vincent helped the team answer questions about deportees as part of the Every Name Matters project and assisted with documenting Roma life in Belgium. Intern Sana focused on cataloguing and packaging research files, whilst interns Suzanne and Tereza worked on developing and testing an umbrella database with personal data of people who were persecuted.

Kazerne Dossin would like to thank Bart, Carine, Dirk, Enas, Erik, Gil, Hilde, Ilse, Jo, Marc, Morien, Roland, Sana, Suzanne, Tereza, Tist, Tom and Vincent for their commitment and their vital assistance with the unlocking of the library and archive to make them more accessible.

Portrait Ceremony

Kazerne Dossin organised its 11th annual portrait ceremony on 28 November 2024. During the ceremony 78 portrait photographs of deportees, discovered over the past year, were added to the memorial wall in the museum. The names of 14 Jewish victims who lived in Belgium but were deported from Drancy in France were read out as well. Their photographs were also added to the portrait collection over the past year.

Curator Veerle Vanden Daelen shared several moving stories about the portraits that were found during the ceremony. Archivist Dorien Styven reflected on the story of Melanie Majerowicz, the 21,000th photograph added to the memorial wall.

The photographs that were added to the memorial wall in 2024 originated from the General State Archives − Service for War Victims Archive, the Archives départementales du Nord, FelixArchief, Johannes Blum collection, Yad Vashem, family members and friends of deportees and researchers from around the world. Kazerne Dossin would like to express its sincere gratitude for their support.

Research

Archivist Dorien Styven and Dr. Janiv Stamberger, coordinator of the Vredescentrum and Antwerpen Herdenkt, continued their research in 2024 into the Jewish involvement in organised resistance in Belgium during World War II. Relying on various series, dossiers and databases, they compiled an overview of the details of approximately 1,200 known Jewish resistance fighters. The analysis yielded fascinating insights.
The research findings were presented at conferences in Antwerp and Munich and were shared with a wider audience via an online seminar of the United Nations Outreach Programme on the Holocaust on 7 November 2024.

Talks and conferences

Janiv Stamberger & Veerle Vanden Daelen, ‘Joden en marginaliteit – een verkenning’ (Jews and marginality − an exploration), “Dag van de Nieuwste Geschiedenis 2024 (Day of the Latest History 2024), In de marge van de geschiedenis (On the margins of history): actueel onderzoek, debatten, uitdagingen” (current research, debates, challenges), Belvue Museum, Brussels, 13 March 2024.

Marion Carré, Joham Oomen & Veerle Vanden Daelen, Panel discussion ‘Museums and Democracy in an increasingly AI driven world’ moderated by Guido Gerrichhauzen, international conference ‘Innovation and integrity. Museums paving the way in an AI-driven society.”, NEMO, FARO, ICOM Belgium & Flanders and Huis van de Europese geschiedenis (House of European History), Brussels, 20 March 2024.

Eric Geerkens, Nico Wouters & Veerle Vanden Daelen, Debate, Colloquium “De rol van de NMBS bij de treintransporten en deportaties tijdens de Tweede Wereldoorlog” (The role of NMBS in train transports and deportations during World War II), Belgian Senate, Brussels, 29 March 2024.

Veerle Vanden Daelen, ‘Heropleving van Joods leven in Antwerpen na WO II, een praktijkvoorbeeld van tolerantie?’ (Revival of Jewish life in Antwerp after WWII, a practical example of tolerance?), Online lecture, Prince-Academy, 10 April 2024.

Veerle Vanden Daelen, Presentation, Conference “Tracks of Time: Preserving Holocaust

Memory via Railway Remembrance,” the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the EU, Kazerne Dossin, Mechelen, 15 April 2024.

Tomas Baum ‘Key-note: omgaan met polarisatie’ (dealing with polarisation), Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, 16 April 2024

Tomas Baum ‘Comfortabel confronteren (Harmonious confrontation): over meningen, blijven luisteren en polarisering’ (about opinions, continuing to listen and polarisation), Stad Gent, 19 April 2024

Dorien Styven & Veerle Vanden Daelen, “The one with the complete and exact numbers is lying. The one with the best estimations should be applauded.” Belgium’s Jewish population and specificities during the Holocaust’, International conference “Quantifying the Holocaust. Classifying, Counting, Modelling: What Contribution to Holocaust History?”, Paris, 15 May 2024.

Laurence Schram, ‘Sauvons les enfants’ (Let’s save the children) a debate with members of the scientific committee of the “Vies brisées, vies sauvées” (Lives broken, lives saved) exhibition, Groupe SNCF − Campus Etoile, Paris, 15 May 2024.

Janiv Stamberger & Dorien Styven, ‘Jewish Resistance in Antwerp (1940-1944)’, “16de Contactdag Joodse Studies van de Lage Landen” (16th Contact Day Jewish Studies of the Low Countries), University of Antwerp, Antwerp, 23 May 2024.

Laurence Schram, ‘Kazerne Dossin: a museography based on people,” International conference on Musealisation of Holocaust Memory. Museums as Places of Remembrance”, Holocaust Memorial Centre, Budapest, 30 & 31 May 2024.

Tomas Baum, ‘Remembering the persecution of Jews, Sinti and Roma and promoting human rights today’ Panel Challenging Exclusive, Discriminatory and Divisive Narratives, International Coalition of Sites of Conscience, Liverpool, 20 June 2024.

Janiv Stamberger & Dorien Styven, ‘Jewish resistance in Belgium: new perspectives and shifting paradigms’, Conference “Changing Perspectives on Resistance during the Second World War”, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, 19 September 2024.

Talks and conferences – continuation

Veerle Vanden Daelen, ‘Joden en Joods leven in bevrijd Antwerpen, 4 september 1944-1945’ (Jews and Jewish Life in liberated Antwerp, 4 September 1944-1945), Study day “De bevrijding en de naoorlogse periode in België” (The liberation and postwar period in Belgium), organised by the Auschwitz Foundation and the non-profit organisation vzw Auschwitz in Gedachtenis (Auschwitz in Memory), CegeSoma, Brussels, 18 October 2024.

Dorien Styven, “Onze strijd is niet voorbij” (Our struggle is not over yet): De bevrijding van Buchenwald en de overlevenden uit België” (The liberation of Buchenwald and survivors from Belgium), “De Bevrijding en de Naoorlogse Periode in België” (The Liberation and Postwar Period in Belgium) Conference, the Auschwitz Foundation, Brussels, 18 October 2024.

Laurence Schram, ‘Septembre 1944 (September 1944): La “ libération “ de la caserne Dossin’ (The liberation of Kazerne Dossin), “De Bevrijding en de Naoorlogse Periode in België” (The Liberation and Postwar Period in Belgium) Conference, the Auschwitz Foundation, Brussels, 18 October 2024.

Veerle Vanden Daelen, ‘#FakeImages − Réflexions sur comment présenter l’antisémitisme historique dans un exposition’ (Reflections on how to present historical anti-Semitism in an exhibition), Study day “Transmettre la mémoire .(Transmitting memories.) La médiation culturelle au service de la mémoire collective” (Cultural mediation for the benefit of collective memory), Mundaneum, 24 October 2024.

Dorien Styven, ‘Jewish Resistance in Belgium: Collecting Data from Challenging sources’, “Nazi Persecution − Person data and data standards (database conference)” Conference, Institut für Zeitgeschichte, Munich, 30 October 2024.

Janiv Stamberger & Dorien Styven, ‘Courage and Compassion: Jewish Resistance in Nazi-occupied Belgium’, Online event, United Nations Outreach Programme on the Holocaust, 7 November 2024.

Laurence Schram, ‘La caserne Dossin, antichambre d’Auschwitz’ (The Dossin Barracks, antechamber of Auschwitz), Université catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, 8 November 2024.

Veerle Vanden Daelen, ‘Diversiteit − Over Joodse aanwezigheid in onze samenleving’ (Diversity − About the Jewish presence in our society), Guest lecture by Prof. Dr. An Mariman, Studium Generale − Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences − Ghent University, Ghent, 25 November 2024.

Mike Bryant & Herminio García-González, ‘The EHRI Knowledge Graph, New Possibilities for the EHRI Portal’s Data’. “EHRI Webinar”, EHRI, 27 November 2024 (Slides and video are available online).

Veerle Vanden Daelen, ‘Geallieerde Joodse soldaten en hun ontmoetingen met de Antwerps-Joodse overlevenden’ (Allied Jewish soldiers and their encounters with Antwerp-Jewish survivors), Lecture Vredescentrum Antwerpen, Vredescentrum Antwerpen, Antwerp, 17 December 2024.