"I felt the English soldier next to me: he was dead" 

On December 16, 1944, a German V2 bomb fell on the Antwerp Cinema Rex. 567 people died there. Antwerp-born Camiel De Vree was a young boy of fifteen and was sitting in the movie theater at the time. "I'll never forget it. In the movie, Buffalo Bill took his revolver and at that moment the hall collapsed." 

Cinema Rex was one of the largest cinemas in Antwerp in 1935, with its location on De Keyserlei also forming the center of a district with numerous smaller cinemas. Georges Heylen was able to develop cinema into a very successful business and managed to expand it into a cinema empire in Antwerp, among other things by purchasing numerous smaller cinemas. In 1944, the cinema was destroyed by a bomb.

The death toll was 567 casualties to soldiers and civilians, 291 injured and 11 buildings were destroyed. 210 of the dead were British soldiers. This was the single highest death total from one rocket attack during the war in Europe.

In 1946, Heylen decided to rebuild the complex according to the original plans, with some modifications. The cinema went bankrupt in 1993. In 1995, the complex was demolished for the construction of the UGC cinema complex.

" A dead soldier saved my life "

The bomb attack on Cinema Rex during WWII is still the bloodiest in Europe's history. Georges Pinckaers, one of the survivors, went back to the site of the disaster, which is slowly threatening to be forgotten, together with historian Pieter Serrien (32). 

At that time, the popular cinema on De Keyserlei was completely full. A thousand visitors watched The Plainsman, a classic western with Buffalo Bill. For 567 of them, the film visit meant their sudden death.  

A plaque, commemorating the tragic events,  was placed in front of the entrance hall of the UGC cinema.

READ ME

Read the text about Rex Cinema and complete the mission in Actionbound. 

• Who developped cinema into a booming business in Antwerp?
• How many British casualties were there amongst the 567?
• Find out which movie was playing when the bomb hit Rex Cinema. 
• Show respect, when you take a selfie of your group with the plaque of Rex Cinema.

Good luck!

SCAN ME