Leopold Claessens, age 21
As a political prisoner, Leopold Claessens is forced to make the V-weopons that fell on Antwerp.
Bombmakers as victims
In 1943 ontdekken en bombarderen de geallieerden de test- en productiesite van V-bommen in het noorden van Duitsland. Daarop besluit de nazitop om zoveel In 1943, the Allies discover and bomb the V-weopon production and testing site in northern Germany?
As a result, the Nazis decide to locate production underground wherever possible. Near the city of Nordhausen in central Germany is a hill with an underground tunnel complex. Between August of 1943 and March of 1945 the Nazis press approximately 60.000 prisoners into forced labour. About 2600 of them are Belgians, including more than 100 from Antwerp. They expand the tunnel complex and produce weapons on an assembly line. The underground concentration camp is called Dora. More than 28.000 prisoners perish in Dora. Among the dead are at least 1.241 Belgians.
Leopold Claessens after the liberation of Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in April 1945. Next to him are two British soldiers. Captivity had taken a heavy toll.
How do the V1's and V2's work?
A new beginning?
After the German surrender, the city slowly begins to rebuild. More than 6.000 houses have been destroyed. Another 15.000 residences are heavily damaged. Traces of the destruction caused by the V-weapons will remain visible in the cityscape for decades. The effects can still be seen today in many streets.
For a long time, the civilian victims of the V-weapons received little attention. There are hardly any memorials or monuments that refer to the V-bombs. Nor is there much mention of psychological assistance. Many of Antwerp's citizens will live in silence with their trauma and grief.