Beverloo Camp

Beverloo Camp

Tanks of the 12th SS Panzer Division on parade

Beverloo Camp was the old name of the military installations in Leopoldsburg, Belgium, 75 km northeast of Antwerp.

During World War I, it hosted Belgian and German troops. In 1920 the facilities hosted the pistol and rifle shooting events for the 1920 Summer Olympics. While those events took place, combat engineers detonated grenades four kilometres from the shooting stands.

For World War II during the German occupation following the Battle of France, 10,000 members of the Hitler Youth forming the 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend were trained at the camp. During the war, it was also used as a transit camp for the Holocaust. Josef Nassy was imprisoned here during World War II.

References

• Old pictures of the Truppenübungsplatz Beverloo.
• Hitler Youth history, including at Beverloo. Archived at WebCite
• Sports-reference.com Shooting overview of the 1920 Summer Olympics.
• US Holocaust Museum profile of Josef Nassy.