Chaplain files

Collection description

Collection

Country:: Belgium

Holding institution:: Royal Museum of the Armed Forces and of Military History

Holding institution (official language):: Musée Royal de l’Armée et d’Histoire Militaire

Postal address:: Parc du Cinquantenaire 3 / Jubelpark 3, 1000 Brussel

Phone number:: +32 (0)2 737 78 11

Web address:: http://www.klm-mra.be/D7t/en/content/archives

Email:: infocom@klm-mra.be

Reference number:: RMAF-Brussels-Dossiers aumôniers

Title:: Chaplain files

Title (official language):: Dossiers aumôniers

Creator/accumulator:: Ministerie van Landsverdediging; Ministère de la Défense

Date(s):: 1882/1962

Date note:: ca. 1885-1962

Extent:: 14.3 linear metres

Scope and content:: This fonds contains general files concerning the military chaplaincy. We note a file related to the Jewish chaplaincy, covering the years 1918-1962. This file can be found in box 72/1.

Administrative/biographical history:: The War Ministry was created following Belgian independence, as one of the five original ministries. Its predecessor was the Comité de la Guerre of the provisional government. Until 1912, the Ministers of Defence were often officers, but this was less and less the case in later years. In addition to the Minister, the King also plays a role (as commander-in-chief of the armed forces) in the military decision-taking process and until the Second World War the sovereigns often actively influenced military policy. In 1920, the department was given its current name of Ministry of Defence. The institutional history of the ministry is marked by many minor and major changes, especially since the First World War (notably in the 1920s and 1950s, in 1963, 1974, 2000-2002). One of the reasons was the entanglement of tasks and competences, and the appointment of both civilian and military personnel – a consequence of the vaguely defined administrative and military functions of the ministry. Following the Copernicus reforms (2000-2002) the ministry was not (yet) transformed into a Federal Public Service, but its structure was thoroughly reshaped in order to avoid overlaps, to limit intermediate command levels, and to reduce personnel. Today, the four armed forces (Land, Air, Marine and Medical) and their respective services form a unified structure. Several general directorates and staff departments are in charge of human resources, legal affairs and mediation, as well as military intelligence and security, strategy, operations and training etc. (J. VAESEN, “Het Ministerie van Defensie en de krijgsmacht”, in P. van den Eeckhout & G. Vanthemsche (ed.), Bronnen voor de studie van het hedendaagse België 19e – 21e eeuw. Tweede herziene en uitgebreide uitgave, Brussel, Koninklijke Commissie voor Geschiedenis / Commission Royale d’Histoire, 2009, pp. 388-407.)

Subject terms:: Military; Rabbis

System of arrangement:: The files are arranged thematically.

Access, restrictions:: The fonds is freely consultable, except for the files of officers born less than 120 years ago. Consultation of these files requires the authorisation of the Centre de Documentation historique in Evere.

Yerusha Network member:: State Archives of Belgium

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