Kazerne Dossin

Nowadays, Kazerne Dossin in Mechelen is a Memorial, Museum and Documentation Center on the Holocaust and Human Rights. During the Second World War, 25,835 people (25,484 Jews and 351 Gypsies) were deported from the Dossin base to concentration camps in Germany and Poland. That is why the entire site is not an 'ordinary' museum location but a 'place of remembrance'.

Because purchasing the entire Dossin barracks was impossible, the city opted to build a new construction. The museum building was designed by bOb Van Reeth and contains a new permanent collection. A commemoration hall was furnished in the right wing of the old barracks building. The new building is a design by bOb Van Reeth (AWG Architecten-Antwerp). He designed the building as a monument in the city.

The museum has the shape of a pentagon. In the tip are glass windows overlooking the city. Four stories high, with a serene white facade along the street. The windows overlooking the barracks are bricked up with 25,000 white bricks. They symbolize more than 25,000 people who were deported.

Check out their website for more information about a visit or the full story.