Archives du Musée Serge Kruglanski

Collection description

Collection

Country:: Belgium

Holding institution:: Serge Kruglanski Museum

Holding institution (official language):: Musée Serge Kruglanski

Postal address:: Rue Léon Frédéricq 19, 4020 Liège

Phone number:: +32 (0)4 224 4040

Email:: dinahkorn@gmail.com

Reference number:: SKruglanskiM-Liege-Archives of the Musée Serge Kruglanski

Title:: Archives du Musée Serge Kruglanski

Title (official language):: Archives du Musée Serge Kruglanski

Creator/accumulator:: Communauté israélite de Liège

Date(s):: 1884/2016

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

Extent:: 1.5 linear metres

Scope and content:: This fonds contains a variety of files related to the Jews in Liège, Jewish institutions and Jewish community life in this city. We note various types of documents such as correspondence, administrative documents, photographs, posters, leaflets, newspapers, etc as well as Judaica. We firstly point out the documents related to/produced by the Museum such as membership cards, correspondence, files related to organised exhibitions or concerning loans of objects, the statutes of the Museum, etc. Furthermore, we find documents collected by the Museum, and related to Jewish life in Belgium and particularly in the Liège region, including many copies of archival material kept in other institutions, publications regarding the history of the Jews in Liège and press clippings. The fonds also contains archival material and Judaica donated to the Museum by Jews from Liège and their descendants. We notably point out the postcards of the synagogue of Liège, the register of the Jewish school in Liège (1884-1900)(which mentions the names of the pupils, their conduct and grades), a register of the Heder in Liège (1961-1963), photographs of the leaders of the synagogue, a file concerning the Jewish plots of the cemetery of Robermont (including the list of Jews buried there, 1956-1959), many personal documents entrusted to the Museum by Jews from Liège or their descendants such as photographs, identity papers, work permits, etc. Lastly we mention the file concerning the Jewish community in Seraing, notably containing a list of members of this community as well as photographs.

Administrative/biographical history:: The presence of a Jewish community in Liège dates to the early 19th century. Before that, Jews were not tolerated in the Prince-Bishopric. The Jewish community was dependent on the main synagogue in Maastricht. It came under the authority of the Central Jewish Consistory of Belgium in 1834, encompassing the communities of Limburg. In 1840 there were 23 families, or about 88 people. The community grew over the years, mainly due to the emigration of Jews from the Netherlands and Dutch Limburg, but also from Alsace, Great-Britain and the German Empire. The Communauté Israélite de Liège was officially recognised by royal decree of 7 February 1876. The community did not have a dedicated place of worship at the time; the faithful gathered in private homes. The chapel of the former Saint-Julien hospice was reassigned to become a synagogue. Due to the expansion of the community a new, larger synagogue was built. Located in the rue de la Boverie, this synagogue, designed by architect Joseph Rémont, is still in use today. It was inaugurated in 1899 and became a listed monument in 2005. The Jewish population in Liège significantly increased since the end of the 19th century, reaching 1,000 individuals in 1892, including numerous foreign students at the turn of the 20th century. Many immigrants came to work in the industrial area and notably settled in Seraing, where they established their own community, including a place of worship (oratoire) in the rue du Marais. Furthermore, the ministre officiant of Liège regularly went to Spa for the holidays, Shabbat and other religious services organised for the Jewish vacationers in this health resort. Given the success of this resort destination, he was assigned a particular ministre officiant in 1912. By 1939, the Jewish community of Liège was estimated at almost 2,560 individuals, of which 60% were of Polish origin. 733 Jews of the region lost their lives due to the persecution during the war. There were many who could be hidden and avoid deportation. The community was gradually rebuilt after the Second World War. Its activities resumed. A number of Lebanese and Syrian Jewish families came to Liège, diversifying an almost exclusively Ashkenazi community. A cultural centre was created, the Foyer israélite. In 1984 the Musée de la Communauté Israélite de Liège was founded, also known as the Musée Serge Kruglanski. The community also manages a cemetery in Eijsden (the Netherlands) as well as two Jewish plots in the municipal cemetery of Robermont. (F. Bihain, Étude sur les Juifs dans le Sud du Limbourg hollandais et à Liège (XVIIIe et XIXe siècles), Mémoire de licence en histoire et littérature orientale, ULg, 1989-1990 ; W. Bok, Aspects de la communauté juive de Liège, mémoire de licence, ULg, 1959 ; T. Rozenblum, Une cité si ardente … Les Juifs de Liège sous l’Occupation (1940-1944), Bruxelles, Luc Pire, 2010 ; J.-P. Schreiber, Politique et religion. Le Consistoire central israélite de Belgique au XIXe siècle, Bruxelles, éd. de l’Université de Bruxelles, 1995, pp. 85-91.)

Access points: locations:: Liege; Seraing

Subject terms:: Cemeteries; Ceremonial objects; Education; Education--Schools and universities; Historical research; Jewish community; Jewish community records; Jewish daily life and religious practices; Museums; Photographs; Synagogues

Access, restrictions:: Researchers are required to make an appointment with the person in charge of the Musée Serge Kruglanski.

Yerusha Network member:: State Archives of Belgium

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