Metadata: Dienst van het Sekwester (Second World War). Series ‘Suspects’ and ‘Enemies’
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-545-363
- Title:
- Dienst van het Sekwester (Second World War). Series ‘Suspects’ and ‘Enemies’
- Title (official language):
- Dienst van het Sekwester (Tweede Wereldoorlog). Reeksen ‘Verdachten’ en ‘Vijanden’
- Creator/accumulator:
- Dienst van het Sekwester; Office des Séquestres
- Date(s):
- 1944/1995
- Extent:
- ca. 717.5 linear metres
- Scope and content:
- This voluminous fonds is divided in two parts, each containing thousands of individual files. The series “enemies” (vijanden; ennemis) consists of a large number of files related to natural or legal persons of an ‘enemy’ nationality (German, Japanese etc.), whose assets were automatically sequestered (following the legislative orders of 23 August 1944 and 1 August 1945). The series of “suspects” (verdachten; suspects) relates to Belgian natural or legal persons suspected of collaboration with the enemy during the Second World War, and whose possessions were therefore temporarily sequestered (following the legislative order of 17 January 1945). In practice, we find in this fonds – in particular in the series “suspects” – files concerning German institutions (e.g. the Brüsseler Treuhandgesellschaft), Belgian collaborating organisations, companies as well as individuals whose possessions were (rightly or wrongly) sequestered. The files mainly consist of correspondence (between various administrations, or with the concerned persons/organisations), bookkeeping documents, various forms, notes, etc. Some large files occasionally contain archival material of the organisation or the business in question, confiscated by the Dienst van het Sekwester. These files are of particular importance because of the tragic situation of some Jewish Shoah survivors (or their descendants) whose possessions were sequestered after the war, since they had regained the German or Austrian nationality. Their files contain i.a. correspondence in which they explain their situation, supporting documents testifying to the ‘civisme’ of the individual, and occasionally attestations of Jewish organisations (e.g. COREF, AIVG) and resistance groups (e.g. Comité de Défense des Juifs). In some cases, the covers of these files even contain the indication “Juif”. They are particularly interesting to study how the Belgian government dealt with these kind of legal-ethical dilemmas.
- Administrative/biographical history:
- The Dienst van het Sekwester / Office des Séquestres (Sequester Office) was established as a public institution and commenced its operations already in early September 1944. It was responsible for the supervision, custody and management of enemy property. From 1951 it was also authorised to liquidate (German) assets. From 1944 to 1959, a total of 28,496 files on ‘enemies’ and 15,134 files on ‘suspects’ were created. The actual processing of the files was carried out by four directorates. Its general policy was elaborated by the board of administration (including a Dutch and French speaking secretary), a government commissioner and a Council of three commissioners. The central management of the Sequester Office was composed of the president of the board of administration, the four directors and the head of the accounting department. Day-to-day management of the sequestered assets was done via the provincial agencies (in Antwerp, Bruges, Charleroi, Ghent, Namur, Liège and Hasselt). Mandatary-supervisors and mandatary-managers were in charge of the supervision of larger companies; public notaries managed the sequestered private assets. In some cases, separate management and coordination committees were tasked with managing businesses from a particular sector. The Sequester Office reached peak activity in the early post-war years: in 1947 it supervised 318 companies with a total of roughly 30500 employees. However, the office was heavily criticised, eventually leading to the creation of a parliamentary inquiry commission (1955). As its activities were steadily declining, steps were taken to dismantle the office from the mid-1950s. The Sequester Office was only dissolved in 1959, and its remaining rights and competences were transferred on 1 January 1960 to the Administratie van Registratie en Domeinen of the Ministry of Finance. Of particular importance for this guide is the fact that the Sequester Office managed the assets of German and collaborating businesses and organisations, including those that had played a role in the spoliation of the Jewish population of Belgium. Initially, even German and Austrian Jews were sequestered – an untenable situation for which first an unofficial solution and later (1947) a legal solution was found. (Studiecommissie betreffende het lot van de bezittingen van de leden van de Joodse gemeenschap van België, geplunderd of achtergelaten tijdens de oorlog 1940-1945, De bezittingen van de slachtoffers van de Jodenvervolging in België: spoliatie, rechtsherstel, bevindingen van de Studiecommissie., Brussel, Diensten van de Eerste Minister, 2001; J.-M. Yante & P.-A. Tallier (dir.), F. Plisnier, S. Carnel, G. Coppieters & V. Pirlot, Gids van de instellingen van openbaar nut in België. Deel II. Band 1. Notities van de parastatalen onderworpen aan de wet van 16 maart 1954 en van diegene die daarvoor afgeschaft werden (notities 1 tot 159), Guides/Gidsen no. 70, Brussel, ARA-AGR, 2008, pp. 330-333.)
- Access, restrictions:
- Access requires the authorisation of the Administrateur-Generaal of the Patrimoniumdocumentatie (FPS Finance).
- Finding aids:
- The archives are made accessible by a complex and sizeable card index. Searches are therefore carried out by the personnel of ARA2-AGR2. Because the fonds contains gaps, it is possible that not every file for which an index card exist is found. Researchers are required to send their request to agr_ar_2@arch.be .
- Yerusha Network member:
- State Archives of Belgium
