Metadata: Diplomatic archives
Collection
- Country:
- Belgium
- Holding institution:
- FPS Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, Directorate Archives
- Holding institution (official language):
- SPF Affaires étrangères, Commerce extérieur et Coopération au développement, Direction Archives
- Postal address:
- Karmelietenstraat 15 / Rue des Petits Carmes 15, 1000 Brussel
- Phone number:
- +32 (0)2 501 81 01
- Email:
- archives@diplobel.fed.be
- Reference number:
- FPS-Brussels-Archives diplomatiques
- Title:
- Diplomatic archives
- Title (official language):
- Archives diplomatiques
- Creator/accumulator:
- FOD Buitenlandse Zaken, Buitenlandse Handel en Ontwikkelingssamenwerking; SPF Affaires étrangères, Commerce extérieur et Coopération au développement
- Date(s):
- 1830/2016
- Language:
- French
- Dutch; Flemish
- German
- Extent:
- 2,775 linear metres and 6,540 microfilms
- Scope and content:
-
This fonds is very rich in relevant material for this guide. The files are made accessible by keywords. We notably find interesting files by referring to keywords such as “Jewish question”, “Zionism”, “aliens”, “Israelites”, “Poland”, “emigration”, “Germany”, “refugees” etc.
Related to the keyword “Jewish question” are files concerning the pre-war period (reference 12.989), the persecutions of Jews in Nazi Germany (ref. II.336) and Romania (ref. II.409), and the Second World War (ref. II.742).
Linked to the keyword “Zionism” we find general files (dated 1921-1936; ref. II.522) and files concerning the influx of Jewish refugees in various countries between 1933 and 1948 (ref. 12.180).
The keyword “Israelites” was attached to files concerning the allocation of Haitian passports during the Second World War (ref. 13.379) and the situation in the Holy Land (ref. 176).
The various sub-series related to the Belgian legations in other countries are of great interest. We note in particular the political correspondence and the reports of the Belgian legation in Warsaw (1935-1940)(ref. 11078, microfilm P584, P555 and P586-587) and of the Belgian legation in Germany (1933-1940)(ref 11.047; microfilm P36-P38), which contain numerous files concerning the situation of the Jews in these countries, on the persecutions and potential flows of immigration. This correspondence also informs us on the opinion of the Belgian authorities on these matters. We also note files concerning the spoliation of the Jews (ref. II.864), the compensation of the victims of Nazism (ref. 15.796) and the exchange of Belgian Jews for Germans (microfilm 412, Df. 421).
Linked to the keyword “emigration” are relevant files covering a much larger time frame. Numerous files are related to the transit and stay in Belgium of Jews from Russia and Eastern Europe in the early 20th century (see i.a. ref. 2.669.BIS.IX, 2.669.BIS.I.A, 2.669.BIS.XI, 2.949, 2.953, 2.961, 4.385, 4.386, 4.387, 4.823). They concern the protection of emigrants (ref. 2.669.BIS.IX), their transport, their embarkation at the port of Antwerp, sanitary conditions in the port (1892-1909)(ref. 2.949), statistics on the emigration from Antwerp (1927-1931)(ref. 4387), Romanian emigration (1900)(ref. 4823), emigration from Russia (1903-1910) etc. We also note correspondence from the Ezra organisation and the Red Star Line (ref. 4.386, 2.699.BIS.XI). These files provide a unique perspective on the daily misery of the emigrants. They also contain information on the complex issue of the trafficking in white women, in which Jewish women from Russia and Eastern Europe arrived in, and usually transited through, the port of Antwerp. Searches in this fonds can also be done on the basis of a separate card index, which however only relates to “refugees” (cfr. notably Réfugiés vol. 1, items 90, 209 and 236). Based on this card index we only find a couple of smaller files concerning Jewish refugees in Belgium.
- Administrative/biographical history:
- The Ministry of Foreign Affairs was created in February 1831; it replaced the Comité diplomatique of the provisional government. Initially, the primary mission of this new ministry was to obtain international recognition for the young Belgian kingdom. The organisational structure and missions of the ministry continued to evolve throughout the 19th century. Until the First World War, foreign policy was no real priority for the Belgian governments, as the limited number of diplomats in this period shows. This changed after the war (cfr. notably the creation of a League of Nations office within the ministry) and especially after 1945, due to the increased international cooperation (e.g. NATO, UN, European integration movement). As a consequence, the organogram and functions of the ministry were repeatedly modified. The successive constitutional reforms also had an impact on the ministry: today, the regional governments are allowed to conclude international agreements, and have certain competences regarding foreign trade. Within the administration, the secretary-general (called ‘chairman of the board of directors’ since 2000) remained very influential for a long time. Since the 1970s, the cabinet of the Minister of Foreign Affairs has become increasingly influential. Today, the ministry (which became a Federal Public Service in 2002) is composed of six directorates-general (Bilateral Affairs, Consular Affairs, Development Cooperation, European Affairs and Coordination, Legal Affairs and Multilateral Affairs and Globalisation) and five directorates and staff directorates. In addition, the FPS Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation also has a number of important functions – via its Directorate Protocol and Security – in matters regarding Belgian nobility, the National Orders, royal visits, etc. For a long time, Belgian diplomacy was almost exclusively dominated by the nobility, bourgeoisie and officers: until the First World war, diplomatic offices were highly prestigious but practically unpaid. After the Second World War the influence of the aristocracy waned rapidly. For quite some time, the diplomatic corps also predominantly consisted of French-speaking men. Since the 1960s, language use has been more balanced. In 1973, Edmonde Dever was the first woman to be appointed as ambassador. (http://diplomatie.belgium.be; V. Dujardin, “De FOD Buitenlandse zaken”, in P. van den Eeckhout & G. Vanthemsche (ed.), Bronnen voor de studie van het hedendaagse België 19e – 21e eeuw. Tweede herziene en uitgebreide uitgave, Brussel, Koninklijke Commissie voor Geschiedenis / Commission Royale d’Histoire, 2009, pp. 369-388.)
- Access, restrictions:
- Access requires the authorisation of the archivist of the FPS Foreign Affairs.
- Finding aids:
- There is a card index; it can be consulted on appointment with the archivist of the FPS Foreign Affairs.
- Yerusha Network member:
- State Archives of Belgium
