Ministry of Public Health. Belgian liaison mission to the International Tracing Service in Bad Arolsen

Collection description

Collection

Country:: Belgium

Holding institution:: National Archives of Belgium

Holding institution (official language):: Archives Générales du Royaume

Postal address:: Ruisbroekstraat 2-6 / Rue de Ruysbroeck 2-6, 1000 Brussel

Phone number:: +32 (0)2 513 76 80

Web address:: http://www.arch.be/

Email:: archives.generales@arch.be

Reference number:: NAB-Brussels-510-2336

Title:: Ministry of Public Health. Belgian liaison mission to the International Tracing Service in Bad Arolsen

Title (official language):: Ministère de la Santé publique. Mission de liaison belge auprès du Service international de Recherches à Bad Arolsen

Creator/accumulator:: FOD Volksgezondheid, Veiligheid van de Voedselketen en Leefmilieu; SPF Santé Publique, Sécurité de la Chaîne Alimentaire et Environnement

Date(s):: 1938/1988

Extent:: ca. 40 linear metres

Scope and content:: This fonds contains documents related to the organisation of the liaison mission, the supervision of personnel, a rich correspondence, requests for information (ordered alphabetically), publications of the International Tracing Service (ITS) and documentation. The following files are of great interest to our guide: no. 135 (correspondence between Marie-Céline de Dorlodot, the Service Social Juif and German institutions such as the Landesversicherungsanstälte and Deutsche Dienststelle concerning attestations for wearing the yellow star and the tracing of individuals, 1956-1975), no. 145 (correspondence between the liaison mission and the Ministry of Public Health concerning responses to individual requests, and attestations for wearing the yellow star, 1957-1958), nos. 136-151 (reports, notes and correspondence between the Ministry, the ITS, the French and Belgian liaison missions and the German authorities, correspondence on the history of the concentration and deportation camps and their prisoners, as well as documents related to identification and obtaining archival documents for this purpose) and nos. 183a-183f (alphabetical lists of individuals arrested by the occupier as Jews or Gypsies, and deported by the transports departing from the transit camp Mechelen between the 4th of August 1942 and the 31st of July 1944, material sent by the War Victims administration ordered alphabetically by family name (of the missing persons), 1971). A supplement of archival material transferred in 2012 is still being processed.

Administrative/biographical history:: The creation of an autonomous Ministry of Public Health dates back to 1936 and forms the conclusion of a long evolution towards increased state involvement on this matter. Before, several ministries – including the Ministries of the Interior, of Justice, of Industry and Employment – had competences such as the supervision of medicine and public healthcare. In order to harmonise the scattered competences in the field of public health, the ministry was assisted by advisory bodies such as the Interministeriële Commissie voor Sanitaire Actie and the Koninklijke Commissie voor de Volksgezondheid. After a short period as Ministry of Public Health and Provisioning (since May 1940), the ministry was dismantled, only to be re-created in 1944. In the post-war period, the creation of the Bestuur voor Schade aan Personen (‘administration for damage to individuals’) is of particular importance. Following the successive constitutional reforms from 1980 onwards, certain competences were transferred to the different Communities. In 2001, the former Ministry for Social Affairs, Public Health and Environment was split up into the FPS Social Security on the one hand, and the FPS Public Health, Safety of the Food Chain and Environment on the other. (K. Velle & F. Strubbe, “De FOD Volksgezondheid, Veiligheid van de Voedselketen en Leefmilieu”, in P. van den Eeckhout & G. Vanthemsche (ed.), Bronnen voor de studie van het hedendaagse België 19de – 21e eeuw. Tweede herziene en uitgebreide uitgave, Brussel, Koninklijke Commissie voor Geschiedenis, 2009, pp. 435-451.)

Access points: locations:: Belgium; Germany; Mechelen

Access points: persons/families:: de Dorlodot, Marie-Céline

Subject terms:: Historical research; Holocaust; Holocaust--Concentration camps; Holocaust--Deportation; Holocaust--Survivors; Holocaust--Yellow star

Finding aids:: F. Strubbe, Inventaire des Archives de la Mission de liaison belge au SIR à Bad Arolsen, Bruxelles, ARA-AGR.

Yerusha Network member:: State Archives of Belgium

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