Overview: On Easter Monday, April 14, 1941, a pogrom took place in Antwerp, instigated by Flemish pro-Nazi collaborators who attacked Jewish-owned shops and synagogues.
Escalation of Violence
The Antwerp Pogrom on Easter Monday, April 14, 1941, was a violent anti-Jewish riot instigated by members of the Flemish National Union (VNV), the Black Brigade (Zwarte Brigade), and other pro-Nazi collaborators. After a screening of the antisemitic propaganda film Der Ewige Jude ("The Eternal Jew") at a local cinema, a mob of around 200 collaborators marched into the Jewish quarter to launch a coordinated attack.
The rioters targeted synagogues, Jewish-owned businesses, and homes. The Eisenmann Synagogue on Oostenstraat and the grand Van Den Nestlei Synagogue (now the Romi Goldmuntz Synagogue) were vandalized and set on fire. Torah scrolls were dragged into the street and burned. The mob also looted numerous shops and physically assaulted Jewish residents who crossed their path, including Antwerp's Chief Rabbi Marcus Rottenberg, whose home was vandalized.
The Aftermath and Collaboration
Although local firefighters arrived at the burning synagogues, they were pressured by the German occupiers and collaborators not to intervene, resulting in severe damage to the historic buildings. The violence occurred with the passive consent and active encouragement of the German military administration, which used the event to justify further anti-Jewish measures. The pogrom deeply shook the community, demonstrating the immediate threat of local collaboration and foreshadowing the systematic deportations that began the following year.