Metadata: Archives of the judicial police attached to the Parquet du Procureur du Roi of Brussels
Collection
- Country:
- Belgium
- Holding institution:
- National Archives of Belgium 2 – Joseph Cuvelier Repository
- Holding institution (official language):
- Archives Générales du Royaume 2 – Dépôt Joseph Cuvelier
- Postal address:
- Hopstraat 26-28 / Rue du Houblon 26-28, 1000 Bruxelles
- Phone number:
- +32 (0)2 274 15 00
- Web address:
- http://www.arch.be/
- Email:
- agr_ar_2@arch.be
- Reference number:
- NAB2-Brussels-PJP Bruxelles-GPP Brussel
- Title:
- Archives of the judicial police attached to the Parquet du Procureur du Roi of Brussels
- Title (official language):
- Archives de la police judiciaire près le Parquet du Procureur du Roi de Bruxelles
- Creator/accumulator:
- Gerechtelijke politie bij het parket van de Procureur des Konings; Police judiciaire près le parquet du Procureur du Roi
- Date(s):
- 1921/1976
- Extent:
- 60 linear metres
- Scope and content:
- This fonds is very rich in relevant material. It is composed of several sections: political files, public security (sûreté publique), strikes, resistance, State security (sûreté de l’État), (terrorist) attacks, sabotage and robberies, and supplying (ravitaillement). In this case, the section of ‘political files’ is of the most interest to us. These files, varying in size and content, concern both individuals and organisations, often suspected of adhering to communism. The files on organisations often contain lists of members and reports of activities. In the following description we only mention the files related to organisations/events – see no. 22 Solidarité (1944-1955) ; no. 136 Volksverwering ; no.616 : AIVG (1944-1956) ; n°617 Solidarité juive (1944-1956) ; no. 618 Union européenne des Juifs turcs (1945) ; no. 703 Office israélite de presse et de documentation (1945) ; no. 874 Comité d’assistance aux réfugiés juifs (1940) ; no. 867 Mouvement national anti-juif (1939) ; no. 874 Comité israélite des réfugiés victimes des lois raciales (1952) ; no. 1077 Secours Rouge International (1936-1937) ; no. 1203 Sionisme (1945-1956) ; no. 1559 Arbeter Ring ; no. 1711 Verenigde joodse groeperingen van Antwerpen (1946-1954) ; no. 1712 Fédération sioniste de Belgique (1947-1957) ; no. 1713 Conseil des Associations juives de Belgique (1946-1949) ; no. 1875 Poale Zion (1948-1950) ; no. 1886 Secours mutuel juif (1947-1950) ; no. 1893 Irgun Zovai Leumi (1947-1958) ; no. 1922 Keren Hayessod de Belgique (1947) ; no. 1922 The Sztern Gang ; no. 1963 Achara, Jewish sect [sic] (1947) ; no. 1981 “Jewish conspiracy against London” (1947) ; no. 1982 Union des femmes juives (1946-1948) ; no. 1994 Agoedas Jisrael [Agudat Israel] (1947-1954) ; no. 1995 Joodse socialistische partij (1947-1950) ; no. 2045 “Jewish actions in Belgium” (1947-1950) ; no. 2069 Misrahi (1948-1955) ; no. 2125 ““Our Word” in Yiddish” (1948-1952) ; no. 2412 Jeunesses Borochovistes (1948) ; no. 2520 Union des sionistes révisionnistes (1948-1959) ; no. 2521 Nouvelle organisation sioniste (1945) ; no. 2538 Organisation reconstruction, travail, association belge pour le développement du travail industriel et agricole parmi les Juifs (ORT) ; no. 2546 Dror (Liège); no. 2578 : Bethar (1948) ; no. 2579 Front de la Jeunesse juive (1948) ; no. 2628 Confédération mondiale des Sionistes généraux (1950-1960) ; no. 2647 sports association Maccabi (1939) ; no. 2683 American Joint Distribution Committee (1949-1952) ; no. 2694 WIZO (1949) ; no. 2697 Sionistes révisionnistes unifiés (1950) ; no. 2747 Fédération de la jeunesse juive (1949) ; no. 2748 Beth Zion (1949) ; no. 2909Brit Trumpeldor (1939-1949) ; no. 3132 L’union des Juifs contre le racisme, l’antisémitisme et pour la paix (1950) ; no. 3253 Ligue belge contre le racisme et l’antisémitisme ; no. 3258 Union sportive de la jeunesse juive (1950) ; no. 3270 Demokratische Iddische Sportklub DISK (Charleroi) ; no. 3484 Union contre le racisme, l’antisémitisme et pour la paix (1950) ; no. 3657 Ligue internationale juive Bnai Brith (1951-1958) ; no. 3771 Fonds national juif (1952) ; no. 3797 Union des Juifs victimes de guerre (1952) ; no. 3811 Association des prisonniers politiques juifs (1949) ; no. 3830 Organisation des sionistes généraux Shnat Sherout (1952) ; no. 3856 Prokor (1952) ; no. 3857 Comité d’initiative contre les négociations israélo-allemandes (1952) ; no. 4092 Union des étudiants juifs de Belgique (1954) ; no. 4110 : Hashomer Hatzair (1954) ; no. 4200 Israëlische Verenigde Werkerspartij (Mifleget Hapoalim Hameuhedet) (1954-1965) ; no. 4429 antisemitism (1959-1960) ; no. 4652 racism (1941-1942) ; no. 4649 antisemitism (1941-1942) ; no. 4650 Volksverwering (1942) ; no. 4747 Association des Juifs en Belgique (AJB) (1944-1954) ; no. 4760 Centrale anti-juive (1946) ; no. 4790 Jewish Refugees Welfare Society (1947-1949) and no. 4813 the camp in Drancy (1950). In the section “Files of the Sûreté de l’État” (1950-1969) we find reports sent to the Parquet du Procureur du Roi of Brussels, written by the Sûreté de l’État between 1950 and 1969. These reports are of great interest, notably with regard to extreme right movements, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and especially the reactions of the Belgian Jewish community to the conflicts in the Middle East (for example, the Six Day War in 1967, and the potential sending of volunteers to fight alongside the Israeli army). Lastly, the fonds also contains files related to the resistance during the Second World War – namely, concerning individuals who sent an application to the Office de la Résistance, for their official recognition as a resistance fighter. The files (more than 500 in total) are ordered chronologically by date of application and generally consist of correspondence exchanged between the Commissaire en chef aux délégations judiciaires and the Parquet du Procureur du Roi of Brussels, as well as reports by the local police. We also find lists of the sessions and the reports of the audiences of the Office de la Résistance, 3e Commission de Contrôle of Brussels. The reports contain the number of the file of the applicant, his name, first name and address, date and place of birth.
- 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:
- Brussels
- Subject terms:
- Aid and relief
- Aid and relief--Philanthropy and charity
- Aliyah
- Antisemitism
- Communism
- Education
- Education--Students
- Holocaust
- Holocaust--Collaboration
- Jewish languages
- Jewish languages--Yiddish
- Jewish political activity
- Jewish self-defence and resistance
- Migration
- Migration--Immigration
- Refugees
- Socialism
- Sports
- Sports--Sports clubs
- World War II
- Zionism
- Zionism--Revisionist Zionism
- Zionism--World Zionist Organization
- 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 général près la Cour d’appel of Brussels, or the Procureur du Roi près du parquet of Brussels.
- Finding aids:
- 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, in press.
- Yerusha Network member:
- State Archives of Belgium
