Section 6A

Collection description

Collection

Country:: Belgium

Holding institution:: Provincial Archives of East Flanders

Holding institution (official language):: Provinciaal Archief Oost-Vlaanderen

Postal address:: Pelikaanstraat 38, 9000 Gent

Phone number:: +32 (0)9 267 87 52

Web address:: http://www.oost-vlaanderen.be/public/over_provincie/geschiedenis/archief/

Email:: archief@oost-vlaanderen.be

Reference number:: PArEFl-Ghent-Afdeling 6A

Title:: Section 6A

Title (official language):: Afdeling 6A

Creator/accumulator:: Provincie Oost-Vlaanderen; Province de Flandre Orientale; Province of East Flanders

Date(s):: 1800/1999

Date note:: 19th - 20th centuries

Extent:: 40 linear metres

Scope and content:: In this fonds we note no. 20212 which contains archival material related to the Jewish community in Ghent. It consists of i.a. accompanying correspondence related to the budgets of the Jewish community of Ghent (1912-1931); accounts “van klerk tot meester” of the heirs of Jacques Jacobs (treasurer of the Jewish community in Ghent) addressed to Henri Heyman, and correspondence concerning the approval of the final accounts of Heyman (1920-1934); accounts (1931-1940, 1962-1963, 1972-1978) and budgets (1931-1942, 1962-1966, 1973-1978) of the synagogue in Ghent; a letter from secretary-general Romsee to the governor of the province concerning the suppression of certain subsidies for the Jewish community (1942); a letter from M. Berkovitch (president of the Jewish community of Ghent) to the governor announcing the newly elected board members.

Administrative/biographical history:: The present division of Belgium into provinces dates back to the French period, when the Southern Netherlands were split up into nine départements (decree of 14 Fructidor, year III). Since the division of the province of Brabant in 1995 Belgium has ten provinces. For almost 150 years, the Provinciewet of 1836 remained the legal framework. The constitutional reforms of 1970 and 1980 also affected the provinces, who escaped elimination but were thoroughly reformed (law of 6 July 1987). Since 1 January 2002 the organic law regarding the provinces is a competence of the Regions; both the Flemish and Walloon Regions have since issued their own provincial decrees. A province is headed by a governor. He/she is assisted by a provincial executive (bestendige deputatie; today called ‘deputatie’ in Flanders, ‘collège provincial’ in Wallonia) selected from the provincial council. The tasks and competences of the provinces were only vaguely described in the Provinciewet. In practice, the provincial executive and the governor primarily supervise(d) lower administrations including municipalities, the Public Centres for Social Welfare and church councils (kerkfabrieken). The province also has the authority to create certain institutions such as schools. The governor is responsible for keeping the peace, public order and security; for this purpose he is authorised to call upon the Gendarmerie (Federal Police, since 1998). As a consequence of these tasks and competences, provincial archives contain documents on a wide range of subjects such as public works, public health, finances of the municipalities and local institutions, elections, provincial education, public order etc. Among the general sources we notably mention minutes of meetings but also the (published) Bestuursmemoriaal in which the decisions, circulars, regulations etc. of the provincial bodies are included. Relevant for this guide are the documents resulting from the organisation and supervision of recognised religions (incl. budgets, accounts, appointment and housing of rabbis, works to synagogues). Provincial archives also contain documents regarding policy during the Second World War, including material on the anti-Jewish ordinances, registration of Jews, deportation, spoliation etc. (P. van den Eeckhout, “De provincies”, 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. 105-138.)

Access points: locations:: Ghent

Access points: persons/families:: Berkovitch, M; Heyman, Henri; Jacobs, Jacques; Romsee

Subject terms:: Antisemitism; Antisemitism--Antisemitic measures; Correspondence; Financial matters; Financial records; Jewish community

Finding aids:: Unpublished transfer list AL 54.

Yerusha Network member:: State Archives of Belgium

fullscreen: Section 6A

Collection

Downloads

Full record

Image fragment

Formats and links

Formats