I did not know that there was a concentration camp in the Netherlands. “Kamp Vught” was actually the only SS concentration camp outside Nazi Germany during the Second World War.
Did you know this fact?
Vught is a village a few kilometers south of ‘s-Hertogenbosch (colloquially known as Den Bosch), in the province of North Brabant.
Here lies Camp Vught or Konzentrationslager Herzogenbusch, a concentration camp built in the Summer of 1942 by Nazi Germany during its occupation of the Netherlands, in the World War II. At this very location, it is now an educational museum known as the “Nationaal Monument Kamp Vught”.
Introductory
My museum visit started with a short introductory film. On the wall, there is a timeline listing dates and data of the 70-85 million military and civilian casualties worldwide.
Museum
The permanent exhibition is made up of seven ‘islands’ which encompass 18 months of Camp Vught’s situation chronologically and thematically. It guides you through the seven seasons of this camp’s existence, starting from construction of the camp in the summer of 1942, prisoners’ arrival, types of work units and life situation till the end of evacuation in September 1944. Exhibits are supported with 32.000 personal stories, objects, videos, photography and interactive installations, represented by 36 different nationalities.
“Upon arrival at the camp, all things are taken. Children are allowed to keep their own clothes. Adults receive a prison uniform. Taking away personal belongings is one of the steps of dehumanization.”
It was a lot of reading even with the aid of an audio guided tour. How everything about a prisoner was stripped, from a name to just a number.
” … the conditions in the camp are horrific. The kitchen is not finished. Most of the barracks have no windows. Many prisoners have lice. There is also no clean drinking water, as result of which numerous prisoners suffer with diarrhoea or contract other illnesses. In addition, there is no hospital and scarcely any medicine.”
“In March 1943 there are over three thousand prisoners. The mortality rate is high: 144 prisoners die in January and February of that year. There is no mortuary. The dead bodies are therefore piled up in a washing area and buried in the woods at night.”
I pulled out drawers, observing individual belongings. I read about the gruelling work life at this camp that it was soul-destroying. Absolutely heart-wrenching!
Camp Vught was a Durchgangslager or transit camp. As many as 12,000 Jewish prisoners were sent here to Vught, an intermediate station before being transported onwards to camps outside the Netherlands, where they were subsequently murdered.
Dutch underground members, Haarlem-born sisters, Betsie ten Boom (1885–1944) & Corrie ten Boom (1892–1983) were held here at Vught in 1944, before being sent to Ravensbrück concentration camp.
By early September 1944, the last deportation trains had left, and most guards had also fled to Germany. At least 750 prisoners died here. At the end of September 1944, the last few hundred prisoners were freed.
Leaving the permanent exhibition, I stepped outside onto the original campgrounds. I walked past the trench where the prisoners had dug out for themselves. There were watchtowers reconstructed along the side. It is quite surreal.
3D model
In front of the building’s courtyard was a 3D model of all the structures of this camp. I sat on the side listening to more stories, grasping the history lesson.
Barracks
I made my way to the reconstructed barracks where prisoners in Camp Vught were accommodated. It was only half the original size: a sleeping area with 240 bunk beds, a communal area, a toilet and a washroom. The eye-witnesses’ personal stories from the audio enlightened my imagination further.
Children’s Memorial
Next stop brought me back outside to The Children’s Memorial on the edge of the grounds. It was erected in 1999. I sought refuge under a tree, enjoying my lunch, facing the monument. I continued to listen to the audio tour …
” … The monument lists 1269 names of children who were gassed shortly after arriving in Sobibor, the extermination camp in occupied Poland, in June 1943 … ”
I gasped. Horrified. I stopped eating.
Crematorium
The last camp structure was the crematorium. It was used to cremate the bodies of the 750 prisoners who had been executed by firing squad or had died as a result of illness or debilitation in the camp. There is a reconstructed room, Cell 115, a jail space of approximately nine square meters, where a ‘Bunker Drama’ tragedy was leaked to the press.
On the night of January 15 to 16, 1944, 74 women were locked in one cell for 14 hours. 10 women die as a result.
The museum ground expands further. There is a memorial centre with defaced panels bearing the names of 329 executed prisoners. A Room for Contemplation, where you will find all the names of prisoners with their place of birth, dates of birth and death. You could walk the 2.5km long trail into the woods where this killing by firing squad took place. Check out the restored track sections on the railway line with two historic ‘Oppeln’-type goods wagons that were once used to deport prisoners. The entire terrain is huge but walkable.
Last but not least, Barracks 1B is located 500m down the road from the museum. It features an exhibition called “If walls could talk”, stories of the various groups who were at the camp either during or after the war.
The town of Vught was liberated on 26 and 27 October 1944.
Presently, one part of original Camp Vught has been converted into Woonoord Lunetten, living quarters for Indonesian Moluccan Koninklijk Nederlands Indisch Leger (KNIL or Royal Netherlands East Indies Army) military personnel and their families since 1951. Another part of it is a Penitentiary Institution Vught, a maximum security prison. The camp’s old kitchen is now Geniemuseum or Engineer Museum. The surrounding area of Vughtse Heide nature is a military training ground.
Nationaal Monument Kamp Vught
📍Lunettenlaan 600. 5263 NT Vught.
I must say, Nationaal Monument Kamp Vught is one of the best museum I have ever visited. The way the museum presented its own identity across the premises with engaging stories. I was absolutely captivated. Plus all the exhibits give younger generation a connection to the past. A true insight into the history of humankind. Go visit!
Website: https://www.nmkampvught.nl/english/
Address: Lunettenlaan 600. 5263 NT Vught.
Opening Hours: Camp – Mon – Fri 10am – 5pm and Sat & Sun 12 noon – 5pm. Barracks 1B – Wed 12 noon – 5pm and Sat & Sun 1pm – 5pm.
Entrance Fees: €12.00 for adults and €6.00 for youth age 10 – 17 yrs old. Free for Museumkaart holders. Please note: payment by debit or credit card only.
Audio Guides: included with your ticket and it is available in Dutch, English, French and German. Special audio tour, “Behind Barbed Wire”, is available for visitors aged 10 – 12 yrs, only in Dutch and English.
Ticket is a combi for a visit to Camp Vught National Memorial and Barracks 1B. Please note the different opening hours.
Getting There: highly recommended with your own car transportation! Local bus 207 has a capacity of 8 passengers and does not run on Sundays. Plan your trip via 9292.nl.
