Brussels Gestapo HQ

After Belgium was occupied in the spring 1940, the German Security Police, which was part of the Gestapo, established its headquarters on Avenue Louise 453 in central Brussels. During the war, Belgians suspected of anti-German activities were taken to headquarters for questioning or imprisoned in one of the cells in the building’s basement. On January 20, 1943, the Belgian RAF pilot Jean de Selys Longchamps carried out a solo raid on the headquarters. The attack killed four German officials, including deputy head of SIPO Brigadeführer Max Thomas, and seriously injured five. Longchamps acted on his own initiative and was demoted but was posthumously decorated for his action. Longchamps died in a plane crash in August 1943.