Metadata: Administration of the Sûreté Publique. Department of the Alien Police. Individual files opened between 1913 and 1930 (nos. 1.000.000-1.668.399)
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-510-2252
- Title:
- Administration of the Sûreté Publique. Department of the Alien Police. Individual files opened between 1913 and 1930 (nos. 1.000.000-1.668.399)
- Title (official language):
- Administration de la Sûreté Publique. Service de la Police des Étrangers. Dossiers individuels ouverts entre 1913 et 1930 (nos 1.000.000 – 1.668.399)
- Creator/accumulator:
- SPF Justice; FOD Justitie
- Date(s):
- 1913/1930
- Extent:
- 1,700 linear metres
- Scope and content:
- For every alien entering Belgian territory, the Alien Police opened an individual file. These files generally include the following documents: a declaration of inscription in the municipality, with mention of the family situation, profession, the period during which the alien wants to stay in Belgium, changes of residence etc. ; official documents (excerpts) of the Civil Registry (certificates of birth, death, marriage); one or more photographs of the alien; a form describing the face shape, morphology, colour of the eyes and hair, etc. of the alien. Lastly, the cover of the file mentions the surnames, first names and file numbers of relatives and family members. Files were closed after i.a. the death of the concerned person in Belgium, his voluntary departure from Belgium, his expulsion etc. Files of politically active aliens are in the minority but they are often voluminous and rich in material concerning the demonstrations and meetings they attended, their publications, press clippings, correspondence etc. Files of married women are generally merged with those of their husband. Documents concerning the children of the couple are generally also included in the file of the father. These individual files constitute an essential source for anyone wishing to conduct genealogical research on a relative of non-Belgian origin, but also for researchers studying a wide range of topics and wishing to carry out a cross-sectional, quantitative or qualitative analysis on the basis of this exceptional archival source.
- 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 points: locations:
- Belgium
- Access, restrictions:
- The files are available to researchers 100 years after they were opened. Every individual is allowed to consult his/her own file; right holders are also allowed to consult files of individuals, if they can prove the family relationship with the concerned individuals. Consultation in the framework of historical or genealogical research is granted in accordance with the legislation concerning the protection of privacy, on the basis of a derogation (research declaration) by the Algemeen Rijksarchivaris.
- Finding aids:
- The fonds is made accessible through card indexes arranged alphabetically by family name. For the names starting with the letters A – Kab, see the microfilms 2998/1-2998/144. For letters Kac – L, the cards are missing, and researchers are required to call upon the reading room staff; for letters M – Z there are microfiches, which need to be requested from the reading room staff. More detail on the fonds can be found in F. Caestecker, F. Strubbe & P.-A. Tallier, Les dossiers individuels des étrangers produits par la Sûreté publique (Police des Étrangers) (1835-1943), Jalons de Recherche/Zoekwijzers n°19, Bruxelles, ARA-AGR, 2009.
- Yerusha Network member:
- State Archives of Belgium
