Gestapo Headquarters
During World War II, following the Nazi invasion of Belgium, Brussels was occupied by the German military. The Nazi security organisation, the Sicherheitspolizei-Sicherheitsdienst, of which the Gestapo was a part, set up their Brussels headquarters on Avenue Louise.
They occupied numbers 347, 418, 453 and 510; initially their headquarters were in number 453, the "Résidence Belvédère".
On 20 January 1943, Jean de Sélys Longchamps, a Belgian (born in Brussels) who had become a fighter pilot in the Royal Air Force, mounted a solo attack on the headquarters at number 453. Benefiting from the wide avenues, and the large height of the apartment block relative to the neighbouring buildings, he flew his Hawker Typhoon at a low altitude straight towards the building, firing the plane's 20mm cannons, before returning to England.
Following this attack, the SD moved their headquarters to number 347 Avenue Louise. The cellars at this address were used to detain and interrogate captured members of the Belgian resistance. The torture which took place here brought the name of Avenue Louise considerable infamy at the time.
A monument to Baron de Selys Longchamps now stands in front of 453 Avenue Louise.
Read more about this topic: Avenue Louise
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