Fact and fiction are polar opposites. Or aren’t they? History is increasingly dressed up as fiction, and the Holocaust is a prime example of this. Graphic novelists have been tackling the subject of the Holocaust since the 1970s: at times with apprehension and hesitation, but also with respect. Art Spiegelman’s graphic novel ‘Maus’ has acquired a place in the literary canon, but many other cartoonists have also sought to address the subject of the Holocaust through their work. In the exhibition, more than 200 comic strips, graphic novels and manuscripts guided visitors through the fictionalization of the Holocaust.

To mark Holocaust Remembrance Day, Senior Researcher Dr Laurence Schram gave a talk in the Chamber of Deputies.

On International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Kazerne Dossin screened ‘Cuba’s Forgotten Jewels’ at the UGC cinema in Antwerp in association with the Red Star Line Museum and the Peace Centre.

The same day, kazernedossin.memorial went live. This online website commemorates the more than 25,500 victims deported from the transit camp at Dossin barracks.

In the presence of the press, Judy Kreith – who made the ‘Cuba’s Forgotten Jewels’ documentary – presented Kazerne Dossin with a suitcase belonging to her mother Marion Kreith. During the war, Marion managed to avoid deportation by fleeing to Havana.

Ballon Media and author Emile Bravo present the new Spirou album “Hope in frightened days – part 1” in Kazerne Dossin.

Kazerne Dossin and Cinemien organized a preview of ‘Werk Ohne Autor’  (Never Look Away). Kazerne Dossin’s Dr Veerle Vanden Daelen introduced the film.

Curator Erwin Joos and Alderman for the Port of Antwerp Annick De Ridder opened the guest exhibition ‘Eugeen van Mieghem 1875-1930 and the Emigrants of the Red Star Line’.

We are all too familiar with images of large groups of immigrants looking to settle in Europe. Some one hundred years ago the situation was in reverse: millions of people emigrated from Europe to the United States of America in search of better living conditions. Around a century ago the Antwerp social artist Eugeen van Mieghem (1875-1930) movingly depicted the many Jewish migrants in Antwerp about to embark on the Red Star Line for the United States. In the period 1873-1934, the Red Star Line transported approximately two million emigrants and Antwerp was one of the most important embarkation points in Europe.

Kazerne Dossin and Filmhuis Mechelen organized a screening of the film ‘Kichka: Life is a cartoon’ about the relationship between Holocaust survivor Henri Kichka and his son Michel.

In collaboration with the education support organization Démocratie ou Barbarie, Kazerne Dossin organized its annual Teachers’ Day for all French-speaking teachers from primary and secondary schools and higher education institutes. Thirty-three teachers attended. The theme was the conceptualization of genocide.

Herman Van Goethem, author of the book ‘1942. Het jaar van de stilte’ (1942. The year of silence) talked to writer Jeroen Olyslaegers. Together they reflected on 1942, a turning point in the Second World War. 165 people came to listen to the discussion.

According to anthropologist Rik Pinxten, there is a real need for us all to evolve from distrust to renewed trust. He presented his latest book ‘Het nieuwe vertrouwen’ (The New Trust) in which he shared his alternatives to a fossilized ideology.

Opera Vlaanderen presented a new opera based on Jonathan Littell’s novel Les Bienveillantes (The Kindly Ones). Christophe Busch, the makers of the opera and other experts elucidated the creation during a round table discussion.

During the Easter holidays, Kazerne Dossin put the spotlight on the schools programme, giving teachers and their guests the opportunity to scrutinize both the permanent and special exhibitions free of charge. No fewer than 345 teachers and partners came along for inspiration.

On Liberation Day of Belgium, which is marked annually, Veerle Vanden Daelen gave a talk in the Senate. This was followed by an interview with Norbert Vos – who as a boy during the war went into hiding – and his ‘sister-in-hiding’ Mona Verhaeghe. Jacques Brotchi, who also went into hiding as a child, then gave a personal account of his experience.

Dr Veerle Vanden Daelen and Dr Laurence Schram made a contribution to the 12^th Contact Day arranged by the Institute of Jewish Studies (University of Antwerp). Its purpose is to facilitate contact between researchers working in the field of ‘Jewish Studies on the Low Countries’ and to give them the opportunity to present their research.

During the second edition of Mechelen Museum Night, culture-lovers were able to visit seven cultural venues, including Kazerne Dossin, with just one ticket. 355 people seized the opportunity.

During the summer holidays, the museum hosted ‘Jos Hakker’s bakery’. As part of Fly’s Treasures (Schatten van Vliegen), we invited children to come and visit pastrycook Jos’ bakery at Kazerne Dossin and to hear his life story.

Following an emotional visit to Dossin barracks, artist Willy Baeyens made a series of portraits. They were brought together in an installation consisting of more than a hundred old, seemingly abandoned suitcases. Each case contains a portrait (oil on canvas) of a child whose young life was suddenly interrupted by the horror of the Holocaust. Most of the children died, some survived, a few managed to escape the horror and still had hopes for the future. A walk past and in-between the suitcases, makes the fear, pain and grief almost tangible.

Kazerne Dossin commemorates the liberation of the Dossin Barracks 75 years ago. During a projection portraits of deportees who could be liberated can be seen.

Kazerne Dossin opened its doors to visitors free of charge on Open Monuments Day, the largest monuments festival in Flanders. Given that in 2019 it was 75 years since Dossin barracks was liberated, the theme was ‘liberation’. Experts spread around the museum shed light on the subject to no fewer than 1,549 visitors.

As the 10,000^th participant on the ‘Holocaust, Police and Human Rights’ training course since it was first introduced in 2014, 20-year-old Selm from Oudenaarde was given an extra special welcome.

Holocaust expert Dieter Pohl gave a talk entitled ‘What we know and what we don’t know about the history of the Holocaust’, organized jointly by Kazerne Dossin and the Institute of Jewish Studies.

The square between the Museum and the Memorial was named the Irene Spickerplein in honour of Irene Spicker who was a Jewish artist interned in Dossin barracks. Her son and grandson unveiled the nameplate.

The 63^rd pilgrimage to the former Dossin barracks took place on October 6^th, marking the 77^th anniversary of the beginning of the deportation of Jews, Roma and Sinti.

Polarization can lead to violence between groups, but sometimes it is necessary if headway is to be made. In collaboration with GO!, Kazerne Dossin organized the first open training session entitled ‘Wij of zij: omgaan met de dynamiek van polarisatie’ (We or they: dealing with the dynamics of polarization). The same day the network also presented its new ‘wij-zij’ website.

The Quetzal Prize for Human Rights and Democracy in Guatemala was presented at Kazerne Dossin. This year the prize went to Bernardo Caal Xol, who campaigns tirelessly for impunity in Guatemala.

The auschwitz.camp exhibition was officially opened. Professor of Sociology of Crime (KULeuven) Stephan Parmentier delivered the keynote address. A panel discussion with Christophe Busch,  Frederic Crahay and Hans Citroen followed. The guest exhibition ‘Exodus’ of photographs by photographer Hilde Braet opened that same evening.

Images of barbed wire, maltreatment and mass murder have made Auschwitz the symbol of the Holocaust. But behind the horror is a multi-layered story. How did a labour camp become an extermination camp with gas chambers? How did a mix of colonialism, racial beliefs and extermination politics lead to one of the most infamous episodes in recent history? Images, maps and objects show that the Interessengebiet Auschwitz was more than a camp. It was a Nazi empire in the making.

Photographer Hilde Braet visualized two stories, the stories of Charlotte and Esra. Though they differ in time and place, they have much in common. Theirs are stories about the destructive power of constantly having to flee. The now 95-year-old Charlotte Klipstein immigrated to Belgium just before the Second World War. To avoid deportation to Auschwitz, she had to go into hiding several times. Esra fled Afghanistan and eventually found herself in the Red Cross refugee centre in Belgium.

Our Friends and archive donors were invited to the first Friends’ Day to thank them for their support. They were given an exclusive viewing of the new special exhibition auschwitz.camp.

Historians Veerle Vanden Daelen and Frank Sebrechts were guests on the authors’ stage ‘Antwerp during the Second World War’ at Antwerp Book Fair.

History has never been so burningly topical and that is precisely the point author and theatre-maker Kurt Defrancq wanted to make with his production, ‘De Binnenzak van de ziel’ (The inside pocket of the soul). Several classes of schoolchildren were invited to Kazerne Dossin for a preview.

During the study day ‘La discrimination – comprendre, prévenir et réagir’ (Discrimination – understand, prevent and react), Kazerne Dossin presented numerous effective educational tools for dealing with discrimination in the classroom.

At the annual portrait ceremony, more than 220 new portraits were added to the impressive wall of portraits. David Van Turnhout recounted how he had tracked down two portraits of family members.

Photographer Hilde Braet talked to 95-year-old Charlotte Klipstein, who went into hiding and managed to avoid deportation to Auschwitz. Inspired by the ‘Exodus’ exhibition, she spoke about fleeing then and now.

Kazerne Dossin showed the documentary ‘Felix Nussbaum’. Afterwards, film-maker Lydia Chagoll and writer Mark Schaevers discussed artist Felix Nussbaum’s impressive oeuvre.

On the annual Day of the Public, the museum was open free of charge.  Visitors were able to view the permanent exhibition and the special exhibition ‘auschwitz.camp‘, and enjoy numerous other activities too. We welcomed no fewer than 905 visitors.

The Belgian publisher’s EPO, presenter Frieda Van Wijck and author Fred Brouwers presented the book ‘Beethoven in de bunker’, about the Nazis’ remarkable relationship with classical music.