Summer Vacation in Belgium Day 7: Brussels Jewish Museum

Last year, I went to the deportation museum in Belgium.  It happened to be open on Mondays, where as the Jewish Museum of Belgium in Brussels was closed on Mondays.  Later that week, a terrorist attack was made on museum goers at the Jewish Museum in Brussels.  Several people were killed in the shooting.  Usually after this type of illegal political activity, people are afraid to return to the location of the violence, ensuring the effectiveness of the terrorist act.  The only way to undermine the terrorist act is to render it powerless by ignoring that particular act and carrying on with patronage as usual.  In support of the Museum, and also- of course-for the purpose of learning this slice of critical history, we went to visit the Jewish Museum in Brussels.  It tells a very important perspective of the various Jewish populations in Belgium and the stories of these people.  

This movie was my favorite part of this small museum.  It explains that 23,000 Jews, both local and foreign resident were in Belgium and were captured.  Some were deported, a tiny minority survived and lived to bear witness of the situation.  In contrast to the large deportation Museum that looks deeply at some individuals and gives an overview of the logistics involved with the Jewish detainment and deportation, this film talks about specific Jewish populations in particular cities and how various administrations of each city responded to Nazi prerogatives.  

The Jewish Museum also hosted a photography exhibit.