User:Esther Rosenblum

 Ronald Linthout 

A Belgian historian who spent ten years studying the atrocities which took place in the "Fort van Breendonk" during the Second World War. From september 1940 till the first week of September 1944 the former World War I fortress was used as a camp (Anhalte Lager) to lock up political prisoners, communists, smugglers, hostages, resistance members and Jews. The aim was to clear Belgium from all "unwanted citizens". The prisoners were deliberately starved and deprived from any form of medical help. Sadism and torture were an everyday thing and life meant nothing to the SS.

The camp was run by two Commandants, Phillip Schmitt and later by Schonwetter. The guards outside the camp were German Wehrmacht soldiers. Inside the walls the prisoners were "guarded" by Flemish SS who literally murdered ("slaughtered") numerous inmates.

Linthout interviewed 40 former prisoners who survived and videotaped their testimonies. Non of these interviews have been publicly released. A couple of interview snippets are to be found on YouTube. Overall language is Dutch.

Ronald is the author of the published book "Breendonk, het begin". He worked closely with Simon Wiesenthal and contributed to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington.

http://collections.ushmm.org/search/?utf8=%E2%9C%93&q=linthout&search_field=all_fields

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NLZdVB7FD4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMicic5lyUU