[Section Fonds administratifs] Police / Public order and security

Collection description

Collection

Country:: Belgium

Holding institution:: Archives of the City of Brussels

Holding institution (official language):: Archives de la Ville de Bruxelles

Postal address:: Huidevettersstraat 65 / Rue des Tanneurs 65, 1000 Bruxelles

Phone number:: +32 2 279 53 20

Web address:: http://archives.bruxelles.be

Email:: archives@brucity.be

Reference number:: ArCity-Brussels-[Section Fonds administratifs] Police / Ordre Public et Sécurité

Title:: [Section Fonds administratifs] Police / Public order and security

Title (official language):: [Section Fonds administratifs] Police / Ordre Public et Sécurité

Creator/accumulator:: Ville de Bruxelles; Stad Brussel; City of Brussels

Date(s):: 1800/2016

Date note:: Material continues to be added to this collection.

Extent:: 1,656 linear metres

Scope and content:: This fonds is very rich in archival material relevant for this guide. For the series “19th century”, we notably find Carton 351 titled “Religious statistics. Census of Jews living in Brussels” (1817, 1827). This file contains correspondence and the actual census of the Jews in Brussels (on 11 September 1817), totalling six notebooks divided into sections. The census was drafted by the mayor and aldermen of the city of Brussels. It was addressed to Mr. Deby, president of the “central synagogue of the Jews” in Brussels. It contains the surnames and first names of individuals older than 10 years, their position or profession, place of birth, age, mention of children younger than 10 years, date of their establishment in the city, address, number and observations.

We also note the file D.210B./323 concerning the state funeral of Louis Bernheim (1861-1931). The file consists of i.a. correspondence regarding the organisation of the state funeral of Lieutenant General Bernheim, the Royal Decree (18 February 1931) concerning the state funeral, queuing cards placed on the windshield of the car or to be shown by the driver intended for ambassadors, ministers, senators and other personalities, as well as maps and plans of the funeral procession.

Referring to the filing plan of the archives of the police for the “20th century”, we firstly note the following files: POL 791.94 “Anti-Semitic measures” and POL 710.461 “Anti-Semitism – pro-Semitism”(1971-1974). They contain correspondence, reports and notes concerning matters of security and the organisation of cultural or political events including Jewish organisations, exchanged between the administration of the city of Brussels and the Brussels local police, and Jewish organisations such as the Fédération sioniste de Belgique, the Communauté Israélite de Bruxelles (CIB), the Association des Amitiés Belgo-Israéliennes, WIZO, the CCOJB, the KKL, the UEJB and the Fédération de la jeunesse juive de Belgique (FJJB). The reports and (hand written and typed) notes from the police mainly regarding antisemitic incidents, terrorist threats, letter bombs, attempted murder and assassinations. They also concern incidents involving Jewish individuals, notably persons caught in the act of illegally putting up posters denouncing the situation of Jews in the USSR, organising demonstrations outside the Syrian embassy without authorisation, etc. We find press clippings, leaflets and pamphlets as well. The file POL 714.296 “Religious ceremonies – synagogues” (1981-1982) concerns the antisemitic attack against the synagogue in the rue de la Régence 32 in Brussels in September 1982, on the occasion of Rosh Hashana, as well as the security measures taken later. File POL 714.296, the second volume (1985), contains reports and notes from the police concerning security measures to be taken near synagogues, including on the occasion of religious ceremonies (circumcisions, bar mitzvot, marriages), weekly services and major holidays. Schedules of services were communicated to the police on a monthly basis. This folder also contains correspondence from the police, the Communauté israélite de Bruxelles and the Beth Israel synagogue.

Lastly, we point out that this fonds also contains the series of individual alien files of the city of Brussels.

Administrative/biographical history:: The municipality is one of the levels of government with which citizens most often come into contact. Its tasks and competences were first established by the decree of 14 December 1789, and by the order of 19 Frimaire year IV [1795-96]. After Belgian independence, the legal framework was provided by the Gemeentewet of 1836 and later the ‘Nieuwe Gemeentewet’ (1988). Since 2002, the organic law regarding municipalities is a competence of the Regions. Until 1980, municipalities were supervised by the provincial and central authorities. Today, there is a division of powers between the federal and regional governments. A municipality is led by a mayor, who is also the head of the local police. He/she is assisted by a college of aldermen, selected from the municipal council. Currently, there are 589 municipalities in Belgium. Before the large-scale fusions in the 1970s – in other words, for a large part of Belgian history – there were 2359 municipalities. The municipality had/has, among others, competences regarding the management of its assets, institutions and staff; municipal revenue and expenditure; Civil Registry; health and safety in public places; urban planning and environment; public works; militia; education; elections etc. This is reflected in the sources held in municipal and city archives. Important general sources include the (sometimes published) minutes of meetings and records of the municipal council and college of aldermen (often indexed by subject). We also refer to all kinds of administrative reports and general correspondence. The series of sources of the Civil Registry (e.g. birth, marriage and death certificates, population registers, registers of arrival and departure) are crucial for historical research on individuals. Relevant for this guide are notably the alien registers (since 1933), and the alien files preserved in some larger cities. Of major importance are also the accounts, correspondence and other material regarding the recognised religions. They contain information on their operation, budgets, assets but also the appointment of ministers, donations to religious communities, various conflicts etc. Building permits and files regarding environmental permits contain information and usually blueprints of buildings. Lastly, in many municipal and city archives there are specific series of sources regarding policy during the First and Second World War. We mention e.g. the various anti-Jewish ordinances, documents regarding the spoliation of the Jews, the so-called Jodenregister (register of Jews), correspondence related to the implementation of the anti-Jewish policies etc. (J. Art & E. Vanhaute (ed.), Inleiding tot de lokale geschiedenis van de 19de en de 20ste eeuw, Gent, Mens & Cultuur, 2003; P. van den Eeckhout, “De gemeenten en de lokale openbare instellingen”, 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. 31-92.)

Access points: locations:: Brussels

Access points: persons/families:: Bernheim, Louis

Subject terms:: Antisemitism; Antisemitism--Antisemitic measures; Ashkenazi Jews; Burial; Census; Jewish community; Jewish community records; Jewish daily life and religious practices; Jewish holidays; Jewish political activity; Law enforcement; Law enforcement--Gendarmerie; Statistics; Synagogues; Vital records; Zionism; Zionism--WIZO (Women's International Zionist Organization); Zionism--Zionist organisations and parties

Finding aids:: The fonds is described in the Pallas database of the ASB-AVB. See also the finding aids Inventaire no. 23, Archives de la Police (cartons MM 1-155, cartons POL 156-1106) ; Inventaire no. 24/1-5, Archives de la Police (POL 156-400) ; Plan de classement/Inventaire Archives de la Police 20ème siècle, which can be consulted in the reading room (3 volumes). We also note the Fichiers de la police des étrangers, 1880-1930 (card indexes to the alien files). These indexes are ordered alphabetically by name. They can be accessed on the computers in the reading room of the ASB-AVB.

Yerusha Network member:: State Archives of Belgium

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