Metadata: FPS Justice. Direction générale Législation, Droits fondamentaux et Libertés. Direction Droits fondamentaux. Service des Cultes et de la Laïcité. Files of the Culte israélite
Collection
- Country:
- Belgium
- Holding institution:
- National Archives of Belgium
- Holding institution (official language):
- Archives Générales du Royaume
- Postal address:
- Ruisbroekstraat 2-6 / Rue de Ruysbroeck 2-6, 1000 Brussel
- Phone number:
- +32 (0)2 513 76 80
- Web address:
- http://www.arch.be/
- Email:
- archives.generales@arch.be
- Reference number:
- NAB-Brussels-510-2345
- Title:
- FPS Justice. Direction générale Législation, Droits fondamentaux et Libertés. Direction Droits fondamentaux. Service des Cultes et de la Laïcité. Files of the Culte israélite
- Title (official language):
- SPF Justice. Direction générale Législation, Droits fondamentaux et Libertés. Direction Droits fondamentaux. Service des Cultes et de la Laïcité. Dossiers du Culte israélite
- Creator/accumulator:
- SPF Justice; FOD Justitie
- Date(s):
- 1830/2011
- Extent:
- 2.5 linear metres
- Scope and content:
- This fonds is very rich in relevant material. It is divided in two parts: “general matters” and “provincial matters”. The files are arranged thematically and not chronologically; documents of several periods are found in the same file, and some files cover multiple decades. This structure allowed the functionaries in charge of a certain question to supplement the file over longer periods. The various subjects fall within the framework of the competences of the Service des Cultes of the Ministry of Justice: the recognition of places of worship and religious communities, the management of religious buildings, nomination and payment of the salaries of the ministers and the relations with the representatives of the recognised religions. The files in the general and provincial series notably concern the following topics: the relations between the Consistory and the Ministry of Justice; the recognition, regularisation and organisation of the Jewish religion (culte israélite); the status, rank and salary of the rabbis, the Chief Rabbi and the ministers (ministres officiants); the application of the anti-Jewish measures during the Second World War; the war damage to synagogues; Jewish cemeteries; schools; statistics on the population of the Jewish communities; ritual baths (mikveh); ritual slaughter (shehitah); the conservative Jewish community of Cureghem (Kuregem); the community known as “Les Sabbatistes”; the Jewish community of Seraing; the Jewish community of Charleroi; the Jewish community of Liège; the Jewish community of La Louvière; the Jewish community of Namur; the Jewish community of Ghent; the Jewish community Adath Yisrael of Knokke; the community Beth Hillel in Forest; the Jewish community Maale of Uccle-Forest. We also note files concerning the construction, maintenance etc. of the following synagogues: the Sephardic synagogue and community in Antwerp, the Nederlandsche israelitische gemeente in Antwerp, the Orthodox synagogue Machsike Hadass in Antwerp, the synagogue in Borgerhout, the Romi Goldmuntz synagogue, the synagogue in the rue de la Régence in Brussels, the Orthodox synagogue of Brussels in Anderlecht, the Orthodox synagogue in Schaerbeek, the Sephardic synagogue in Schaerbeek, the synagogue of Charleroi, the synagogue of Liège, the services of worship in Spa, the synagogue of Arlon, the synagogue in Ghent, the synagogue in Ostend, the synagogue in Waterloo, the synagogue in Knokke, the Athénée Maïmonide in Brussels and the school in the Lange Leemstraat in Antwerp.
- Administrative/biographical history:
- The Ministry of Justice is subdivided into different directorates. Its structure evolved in the course of the 19th century. It entered a relatively stable phase in 1925; it was then composed of the following five main directorates: recognised religions (cultes / erediensten), donations, bequests and foundations; prisons; Public Safety (Sûreté publique); youth protection; legislation. During the 1930s, the Sûreté publique was transferred several times to the Ministry of the Interior and then re-integrated into the Ministry of Justice. The Legislation Administration is in charge of matters regarding the acquisition or loss of nationality, and it handled naturalisation applications, declarations of nationality and of loss of nationality, name changes and attributions of family name, and residency of foreigners. The ministry of Justice also supervises the recognised religions in Belgium: six religions and one philosophical community. The ministry examines litigations, determines the organisation of the religions, manages religious buildings, fixes and supervises the payment of the salaries of the ministers of worship etc. In 1839, the Sûreté publique / Openbare Veiligheid (Public Safety) was notably charged with the control of aliens in Belgium; the administration was placed under the authority of the Ministry of Justice. Its mission included the expulsion of foreigners considered undesirable, implying the collaboration of notably the municipal administrations, the army and the judiciary. The Police des Étrangers / Vreemdelingenpolitie (Alien Police) was one of the services of the Sûreté publique. It created a sort of exhaustive database of the aliens present in Belgium: an individual file fitted with a unique S.P.-number (“Sûreté publique”) was opened for each alien entering Belgian territory. After the First World War, the Sûreté publique was split into two sections: the first one was charged with monitoring subversive elements in society and gathering intelligence of a political nature; the second section, the Alien Police, dealt with migration and the residence of aliens. In this period, the first rudiments of the status of political refugee were created. However, due to its restrictive definition, thousands of Jewish refugees from Germany were not officially recognised as political refugees. In 1977, the directorate of the Alien Police became the Office des Étrangers / Dienst Vreemdelingenzaken (Immigration Office). Finally, in 1994, the Immigration Office was transferred from the Sûreté Publique to the Ministry of the Interior. (R. Depoortere & N. Saoudi, Inventaire des archives du ministère de la Justice. Direction générale de la Législation civile et des cultes. Archives des services des Cultes, Dons, Legs et Fondations, Versement 2001, T 562, Bruxelles, ARA-AGR, 2002 ; F. Caestecker, F. Strubbe & P.-A. Tallier, Les dossiers individuels des étrangers produits par la Sûreté publique (Police des Etrangers) (1835-1943), Jalons de Recherche/Zoekwijzers n°19, Bruxelles, ARA-AGR, 2009; E. PUT, Het Ministerie van Justitie (1831-1988). Deel 1. Organisatiestructuur van de centrale administratie en de adviesorganen, Miscellanea Archivistica Studia n°6, Bruxelles, ARA-AGR, 1990.)
- Access, restrictions:
- Consultation of documents older than 30 years containing personal information requires the authorisation of the Algemeen Rijksarchivaris or his representative. This authorisation is granted on the basis of a research declaration signed by the researcher. For consultation of more recent archives researchers should contact the FPS Justice – Service des Cultes et de la Laïcité.
- Finding aids:
- M. Amara, Inventaire des archives du SPF Justice : Service des cultes et de la laïcité. Dossiers du culte israélite 1830-2010, I 549, Bruxelles, ARA-AGR, 2013 ; C. WEILL, Inventaire des archives du culte israélite du Ministère de la Justice, 1830-1971, Bruxelles, Centre National des Hautes Études Juives.
- Yerusha Network member:
- State Archives of Belgium
