Metadata: PK Antwerp 2001 C
Collection
- Country:
- Belgium
- Holding institution:
- State Archives in Beveren
- Holding institution (official language):
- Rijksarchief te Beveren
- Postal address:
- Kruibekesteenweg 39/1, 9120 Beveren
- Phone number:
- +32 (0)3 750 29 77
- Email:
- rijksarchief.beveren@arch.be
- Reference number:
- SAB-Beveren-512-R452
- Title:
- PK Antwerp 2001 C
- Title (official language):
- PK Antwerpen 2001 C
- Creator/accumulator:
- Gerechtelijke politie bij het parket van de Procureur des Konings; Police judiciaire près le parquet du Procureur du Roi
- Date(s):
- 1914/1998
- Extent:
- ca. 90 linear metres
- Scope and content:
- The fonds PK Antwerpen 2001 C is incredibly rich in material relevant for this guide. The series “Onderzoeksdossiers ‘Documentatie P’ en ‘Documentatie B’” contains over 4,000 research files on a wide variety of subjects including communism, socialism, fascism, Flemish nationalism, extreme right, strikes, the Second World War, repression, espionage, social movements, various social and cultural organisations, migration and the non-Belgian population in Antwerp etc. It is a veritable gold mine for historical research. These files generally contain correspondence, various (often confidential) reports of the police, security and intelligence services, processen-verbaal, but often also confiscated documents, publications, propaganda (leaflets, posters) and photographs. We firstly note the hundreds of files related to Jewish individuals – often militants, refugees and sailors – for the years 1919-1940. It often concerns militants from (radical) left wing milieus. Furthermore, the fonds contains many files concerning Jewish organisations. We point out the following files: “Zionist movement” (no. 376; for the years 1929-1937), “Kulturverein” (no. 380; 1929-1932), “Centrale des Cercles culturels ouvriers juifs en Belgique” (no. 459; 1930), “Poale Sion” (no. 473; 1930-1938), “Jewish workers’ chess club “Serp”, a section of “Kulturverein”” (no. 777; 1931), “Gezerd (Gesellschaft Erde). Belgische Vereniging voor de kolonisatie van Joodse arbeiders in Birobidzhan” (no. 1034; 1929-1934), “Occident Rouge. Israeli [sic] periodical” (no. 1082; 1932), “Verbond van de Zionisten-Revisionisten” (no. 1334; 1934-1948), “Patronate. Polish Jewish association” (no. 1342; 1934-1935), “Schalem Aleichem” (no. 1352; year 1934; the file concerns a Jewish library, probably the Jewish popular library Sholem Aleichem, preserving the books of the former Kulturverein), “Verbond voor Economisch Verweer Antwerpen” (no. 1457; 1939), “Haschaumer Hatzair [sic]” (no. 1781; 1937; concerning the youth movement “De Jonge Wacht”, in other words Hashomer Hatzair), “Belgische Joodse Oud-Strijders en Oud-Gedienden” (no. 1890; 1938), “Geoelah. Algemene Joodse Eenheidsbeweging” (no. 1907; years 1938-1939), “Vereniging van Belgische Joodse Burgers” (no. 1908; year 1938), “Ezra. Jewish refugee organisation” (no. 1974; 1939), “Joods Nationaal Fonds (Keren Kayemeth Leisrael)” (no. 1997; 1939-1941), “Bond voor Belgische Joodse Burgers” (no. 2006; 1939), “Centraal Beheer voor Joodse Weldadigheid en Maatschappelijk Hulpbetoon te Antwerpen” (no. 2007; 1940), “Nieuwe Zionistische Organisatie” (no. 2035; 1939), “Ydische Arbeiders Sport Klub” (no. 2064; 1939-1957; concerning the sport club JASK), “Brith Hachanaim” (no. 2065; 1939) and “Actiecomité voor Joodse Vrijwilligers” (no. 2106; 1939). The following files relate to antisemitic press and/or organisations: “Quid Novi. Anti-Joods blad” (no. 1721; dated 1937), “Anti-Joods Actiecomité” (no. 1761; 1937-1944), “Volksverwering. Propagandablad ter beveiliging van Ras en Bodem” (no. 1772; 1938-1948), “Rassenpolitische Auslands-Korrespondenz” (no. 1780; 1937-1939), “Anti-Joodse actie” (no. 1863; 1938), “Anti-Joods Front” (no. 1954; dated 1939-1940), “Gustaaf [V.]” (no. 1985; 1939-1945; concerning the publisher of the weekly De Aanval. Strijdblad voor Recht, Arbeid en Brood, tegen Jodendom, Marxisme en Vrijmetselarij), “Vox. Orgaan van de groep R.A.S. (Ras-Aarde-Bodem/Rechtvaardigheid-Aansprakelijkheid-Solidariteit)” (no. 1988; 1939), “Welt-Dienst” (no. 2113; 1939), “Un cri dans la nuit. Considérations sur la crise internationale. Uitgave van Volksverwering” (no. 2319; 1939-1940), “Jozef A. [P.]” (no. 3100; 1945-1946; the file concerns the SS, DeVlag and the persecution of the Jews) and “Volkswacht. Actie ter vrijwaring van ons volks en nationaal erfgoed. Verweer tegen Jodendom, Vrijmetselarij en Bolsjewisme” (no. 3257; 1941). The fonds also contains other files that might possibly be relevant – see i.a. the files “Algemene Diamantbewerkersbond van België” (no. 1487; dated 1935-1975), “Het Katholiek Bureau voor Israël” (no. 1733; 1937-1938), “movement of Israelis in the harbour of Antwerp)” (no. 2762; 1974-1979), “Diamantclub van Antwerpen” (no. 2961; 1944-1953), “Unie tegen het Racisme, het Antisemitisme en voor de Vrede” (no. 3750; 1950-1982), “concentration camps” (no. 3784; 1946), “Wiedergutmachung” (no. 4045; 1959), “Fort Breendonk. War crimes” (nos. 4106 – 4125; 1944-1991), “Volksfront and “Waakzaamheidscomité van de anti-fascistische intellectuelen”” (no. 1491; 1935-1938) and others. We also mention nos. 15-19 (photographs of individuals), the card indexes giving access to the research files (nos. 1-8), and the card index related to the prisoners of the German section of the prison of Antwerp (nos. 4267-4270). Recently a supplement was added to this fonds. At the time of writing this addition was still being processed and the final references were not yet completed. However, the following relevant files can be found by means of the codes in parentheses: “anti-Jewish actions” (1938-1991)(cfr. 2142B) (totalling 3 folders and 10 bundles), “persecution of the Jews during the Second World War” (1943-1990)(cfr. 3633), “emigration of Jews to Palestine” (1945-1954)(cfr. 3785B), “Verenigde Joodse Groeperingen van Antwerpen” (1946)(cfr. 3791B), “Irgoen Zvai Leoemi, Jewish terrorist organisation” [Irgun] (1947-1972)(cfr. 3910B), “Hulp aan Joodse slachtoffers van de oorlog vzw” (1947-1951)(cfr. 3911B), “Jewish organisations” (1948-1995)(cfr. 3920), “Haganah” (1948-1982)(cfr. 3983B), “Israëlitische begrafenisvereniging van Antwerpen (Frechie Stichting)” (1948)(cfr. 4025B), “Belgisch Israëlitisch Weekblad” (1959)(cfr. 4329) and “Zionism” (1987-1995)(cfr. 2819). The following files might be of relevance: “war crimes” (1944-1995)(cfr. 3110B), “trial of general von Falkenhausen” (1950-1951)(cfr. 4207); “Vrij Historisch Onderzoek” (1989-1997)(cfr. D18) and “Verbeke Siegfried” (1980-1996)(cfr. PD410621/1). The supplement also contains a complete card index for the series “Documentatie B” (to which most of the cited files belong), making it possible to search the series by name of persons and organisations.
- Administrative/biographical history:
- The gerechtelijke politie (GPP) / police judiciaire (PJP) (‘judicial police’) was created in 1919. Although propositions to create an autonomous judicial police had been made since the late 19th century, the project only gained widespread political support after the First World War, with the high crime rate during the Occupation having certainly played a role. The judicial police was under the authority and supervision of the procureurs-generaal, and was led by the procureurs des Konings of the different jurisdictions. The Commissariat Général / Commissariaat-Generaal (General Commissioner’s Office) was set up in 1936; it was in charge of the national coordination of the different brigades and of centralising information. The main decision-taking and advisory body was the Comité tot regeling van de Gerechtelijke Politie (set up in 1927), to which an advisory committee was added in 1949 in order to counterbalance the power of the judiciary. Another related body is the Nationaal Instituut voor Criminalistiek en Criminologie (whose predecessor was created in 1920). The judicial police of Brussels was by far the largest department (almost half of the total corps) and often operated in jurisdictions other than its own, due to the central role of the capital, the presence of particular forms of crime and the policy of centralisation of information from foreign and national agencies in Brussels. During the Second World War, the corps continued to function under the authority of secretary-general Gaston Schuind; due to the structurally understaffed police services of the occupier, Belgian judicial police officers were regularly called in. The corps was reinforced after the Liberation, out of fear of the left-wing of the resistance. The service remained virtually unchanged until the police reforms of 2001, when it was replaced by the Federal Police. The service had mainly repressive tasks: it investigated criminal activity, gathered evidence and brought offenders before the courts. In addition it also monitored all kinds of political groups that potentially posed a threat to public security. (C. Martens, Inventaris van het archief van de gerechtelijke politie bij het parket van de procureur des Konings van Brussel (1921-1976), Bruxelles, ARA-AGR.)
- Access points: locations:
- Belgium
- Subject terms:
- Aid and relief
- Aid and relief--Philanthropy and charity
- Aliyah
- Anti-Fascism
- Antisemitism
- Antisemitism--Antisemitic measures
- Antisemitism--Antisemitic propaganda
- Antisemitism--Antisemitic publications
- Communism
- Holocaust
- Holocaust--Collaboration
- Holocaust--Concentration camps
- Jewish political activity
- Jewish self-defence and resistance
- Libraries
- Refugees
- Restitution and compensation
- Socialism
- Sports
- War crimes
- Zionism
- Zionism--Zionist organisations and parties
- Zionism--Zionist youth movements
- Access, restrictions:
- Consultation of documents less than 100 years old requires the authorisation of the Procureur-Generaal bij het Hof van Beroep of Antwerp, or the Procureur des Konings bij het parket of Antwerp.
- Finding aids:
- P. Drossens, Inventaris van het archief van de Gerechtelijke Politie bij het parket van de Procureur des Konings te Antwerpen, overdracht PK Antwerpen 2001 C, Brussel.
- Yerusha Network member:
- State Archives of Belgium
