The National Shooting Range (; ) was a

firing range A shooting range, firing range, gun range or shooting ground is a specialized facility, sports venue, venue, or playing field, field designed specifically for firearm usage qualifications, training, practice, or shooting sport, competitions. ...

and military training complex of situated in the municipality of

Schaerbeek (French language, French, ; former History of Dutch orthography, Dutch spelling) or (modern Dutch language, Dutch, ) is one of the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, 19 municipalities of the Brussels, Brussels-Capital Reg ...

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

, Belgium. Opened in 1889, it was intended as a place where the '' Garde Civique'' and the

army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

could conduct shooting drills. During both

world war A world war is an international War, conflict that involves most or all of the world's major powers. Conventionally, the term is reserved for two major international conflicts that occurred during the first half of the 20th century, World War I ...

s, the site was under the control of the occupying German forces and was used for the executions of civilians, prisoners and captured members of the

Belgian Resistance The Belgian Resistance (, ) collectively refers to the resistance movements opposed to the German occupation of Belgium during World War II, German occupation of Belgium during World War II. Within Belgium, resistance was fragmented between many ...

. It was demolished in 1963, with the site now occupied by a media complex.

History

The idea of a national shooting range dates back to the

Belgian Revolution The Belgian Revolution (, ) was a conflict which led to the secession of the southern provinces (mainly the former Southern Netherlands) from the United Kingdom of the Netherlands and the establishment of an independent Kingdom of Belgium. The ...

of 1830. The first range was started in 1859 by then-

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Charles Rogier, and mayor of

, Eugene Dailly, at the Prince Baudouin barracks on the /. This first range was abandoned in 1886 by the

Government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

due to obsolescence. Modernisation of weapons meant that longer ranges were required. The Shooting Commission (''Commission du Tir'') decided to build a larger venue to permit military units garrisoned in Brussels and private individuals to practise over longer distances. In 1886, work was begun on a plateau at Linthout on the modern /. The centre opened in 1889. The building included a indoor range which was used by members of the '' Garde Civique'' until 1920 and the

until 1945. In 1963, the centre was demolished. The site is now occupied by a media complex for the Belgian

public broadcaster Public broadcasting (or public service broadcasting) is radio, television, and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service with a commitment to avoiding political and commercial influence. Public broadcasters receive ...

RTBF The ("Belgian Radio-television of the French Community"), shortened to RTBF (branded as rtbf.be), is a public broadcasting, public service broadcaster for the French Community of Belgium, French-speaking Community of Belgium. Its counterpart i ...

and VRT. The centre had become a focus of Belgian patriotism; it was occupied and used for executions by the invading military forces of the

German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, and again by those of

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. In both world wars, prisoners held at Saint-Gilles Prison, both civilians and captured members of the

, were taken to the National Shooting Range to be executed. Amongst those executed at the site were the English nurse

Edith Cavell Edith Louisa Cavell ( ; 4 December 1865 – 12 October 1915) was a British nurse. She is celebrated for treating wounded soldiers from both sides without discrimination during the First World War and for helping some 200 Allied soldiers escape ...

(on 12 October 1915) and

Gabrielle Petit Gabrielle Alina Eugenia Maria Petit (20 February 1893 – 1 April 1916) was a Belgian spy who worked for the British Secret Service in German-occupied Belgium during World War I. She was executed in 1916, and was widely celebrated as a Belgi ...

(on 1 April 1916). The only remaining building is dedicated to Edith Cavell. There is a small cemetery, close to the present television centre, known as the '' Enclos des fusillés'' ("Enclosure of the executed"). There are 365 tombs, and a pillar among the graves marks the location of the urn containing the remains of victims of the concentration camps in 1940–1945.

People executed

World War I

* Philippe Baucq, (Shot 12 October 1915) *

, (Shot 12 October 1915) *

, (Shot 1 April 1916)

World War II

* Abraham Fogelbaum, (Shot 21 January 1942) * Adelin Hartveld, (Shot 21 January 1942) * Victor Thonet, (Shot 20 April 1943) * André Bertulot, (Shot 10 May 1943) * Arnaud Fraiteur, (Shot 10 May 1943) * Maurice Raskin, (Shot 10 May 1943) * Gaston Bidoul, (Shot 20 October 1943 - member of Réseau Comète) * Emile Delbruyère, (Shot 20 October 1943 - member of Réseau Comète) * Jean Ingels, (Shot 20 October 1943 - member of Réseau Comète) * Robert Roberts-Jones, (Shot 20 October 1943 - member of Réseau Comète) * Georges Maréchal, (Shot 20 October 1943 - member of Réseau Comète) * Albert Mélot, (Shot 20 October 1943 - member of Réseau Comète) * Eric de Menten de Horne, (Shot 20 October 1943 - member of Réseau Comète) * Ghislain Neybergh, (Shot 20 October 1943 - member of Réseau Comète) * Henri Rasquin, (Shot 20 October 1943 - member of Réseau Comète) * Antoine Renaud, (Shot 20 October 1943 - member of Réseau Comète) * Edouard Verpraet, (Shot 20 October 1943 - member of Réseau Comète) * Alexandre Livchitz, (Shot 10 February 1944) * Youra Livchitz, (Shot 17 February 1944) * Lucien Orfinger, (Shot 26 February 1944) * Anton Winterink (Shot 6 July 1944)

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * History:

External links

{{Schaerbeek Buildings and structures in Brussels Schaerbeek World War II sites in Belgium World War I sites in Belgium Shooting ranges in Belgium Execution sites Buildings and structures completed in 1889 1889 establishments in Belgium Buildings and structures demolished in 1963