#Landmark
Strijdershuis, Bruges
During the Second World War, this location was the meeting place for the Black Brigade. Nowadays a commemorative plaque presented to Bruges by the Canadian South Alberta Regiment in September 1999 is located at the entrance to the Strijdershuis (Veteran's House) reminds us of the Canadian role in liberating the city.
The Black Brigade were the Flemish that collaborated with the Nazi Occupiers. It consisted of the VNV (Vlaamsch Nationaal Verbond, a Flemish nationalist political party in Belgium from 1933 to 1945) and the Verdinaso (Verbond van Dietsche Nationaal-Solidaristen or Union of Dutch National Solidarists, a Belgian fascist political movement active between 1931 and 1941).
The house located here was named the “Vlaamsch Huis” (Flemish House). From here, riots broke out on the Market Square on 21 July 1941 after a spontaneous parade was held on Belgian National Day.
After the liberation, the house came into the hands of veterans from World War I and World War II, who renamed it the “Strijdershuis” (Veteran's House). Today it still has this name.