Hof der dingen - Wartime postcard: war camps in West Flanders

That both world wars left deep scars on West Flanders and its citzizens goes without saying. Thousands perished in the Great War, and just as many were taken away as prisoners of war. One of them was the father of Karel Jonckheere—a versatile poet, critic, and journalist from Ostend—who for a long time was listed as missing, until it emerged that he had been captured and was being held in a concentration camp in northern Germany. 

When his family finally discovered his whereabouts, they sent him this postcard: “Best wishes from your wife and children.” That single line was all he had to hold onto. 

This postcard travelled to Germany—but did you know there were also camps here in West Flanders? During the Second World War, Camp Markhove (near Kortemark) and Camp Proven served as sub-labour camps for the Buchenwald concentration camp, housing political prisoners and forced labourers. 

The SS-Baubrigade was stationed in Kortemark and Proven for five weeks, from 28 July to 2 September 1944. After the Allied landing in Normandy, the brigade was withdrawn from the German-occupied Channel Island of Alderney and the prisoners were sent to Belgium to build and develop platforms for V-1 rockets. 

On 28 July 1944, a train pulled into Kortemark carrying 553 political prisoners from Poland, Ukraine, Belarus, Czechoslovakia, and the Netherlands. Of these, 335 were kept in Kortemark, housed in the Markhove school, while 218 were sent to Proven. 

In Kortemark, the prisoners were forced to carry out concrete work for the V-1 launch sites. They were usually transported to the construction sites by bus or truck, while materials for the concrete structures arrived by boat via Ypres and Izegem. 

In the end, ten prisoners lost their lives in Kortemark and Proven, while 120 managed to escape. Our thanks to Anny De Clercq for donating this unique family artefact.