Season 1 Episodes
3 episodes
1
Breendonk quickly gains a terrifying reputation
During World War II, Fort Breendonk was turned into an SS prison. The camp quickly gained a terrifying reputation. Prisoners endured starvation, forced labour and terror. Professor Koen Aerts reconstructs the horrors of the camp and explores the lives of some of its unfortunate prisoners.
2
Belgian torturers at Breendonk
As the war progresses, the violence escalates. In 1942, a torture chamber and execution site are set up at Fort Breendonk. Prisoners know that any day could be their last. Belgian SS men and block leaders brutally terrorise their fellow countrymen. One of them will pay with his life. Shortly before the end of the war, several Breendonk prisoners take revenge on their former tormentor...
3
Time for retribution
Johnna Fox’s great-uncle was commandant of Fort Breendonk during World War II. Today, she visits for the first time the place where her grandfather’s brother spread terror. Schmitt would be the last person sentenced to death to be executed in Belgium, in 1950. Breendonk’s troubled history has also left its mark on writer Jeroen Olyslaegers. He visits the fort in search of answers about his great-grandfather...