Metadata: Ministry of Reconstruction. Archives of the Bestuur voor Schade aan private goederen
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-DGDI
- Title:
- Ministry of Reconstruction. Archives of the Bestuur voor Schade aan private goederen
- Title (official language):
- Ministerie van Wederopbouw. Archief van het Bestuur voor Schade aan private goederen
- Creator/accumulator:
- Ministerie van Wederopbouw; Ministère de la Reconstruction
- Date(s):
- 1939/1960
- Date note:
- ca. 1941-1960
- Extent:
- ca. 17,000 linear metres
- Scope and content:
- The individual files of war damage to private property (known as “oorlogsschadedossiers” / “dossiers dommages de guerre” / “war damage files”) are a particularly valuable source for historical research. The fonds consists of two large series - the central series and the provincial series. The relatively complex application procedure (at the central and provincial level, with possibility of appeal at the Raad van State) is reflected in the often extensive files. Of importance are, in any case, the general declaration forms containing basic information on the applicant (individuals but also businesses), the identification, nature and cost estimate of the damage, etc. They are generally accompanied by various attachments serving as evidence – invoices, attestations, lists of moveable goods, copies of notarial documents etc. In the case of looted or destroyed dwellings, we often even find lists of all household goods (furniture, personal possessions, clothing, utensils etc.). Sometimes the supporting documents predates the damage incident itself – see for example pre-war photographs of houses, factories, businesses etc. The correspondence and various forms filled out by the administration are of importance in order to study the government policy of the compensation of war damage. Of major interest are the very detailed reports by experts, charged with studying and evaluating the effective damage sustained. The reports often also contain information on the cause and circumstances (e.g. aerial bombings, looting etc.) of the damage. The ‘war damage files’ provide valuable information on i.a. the socio-economic situation in occupied Belgium, daily life before, during and shortly after the Second World War, the reconstruction of Belgium after the war and so on. As for the Jewish population, we find many files of individuals related to the compensation of war damage – not just general war damage (e.g. bombings) but also damage directly related to the Shoah in Belgium (e.g. spoliation of household goods and furniture by the occupier). There are also files for a number of Jewish religious communities and their synagogues (see i.a. the Israëlitische Gemeente of Antwerp, de Communauté israélite de Bruxelles, the Israëlitische Gemeente of Ostend and the Synagogue israélite du rite Portugais in Antwerp).
- Archival history:
- The archives were (re)discovered in 2005. Some 11 linear kilometres of archival material were destroyed after selection in the provincial series of files. (The files of the ‘central series’ were entirely preserved. As for the ‘provincial series’, only the files containing photos, maps, plans or other remarkable documents were kept.) All files of the central series (except for those concerning the provinces Limburg, East and West Flanders) as well as all (remaining) files from the provincial series were transferred to the General State Archives 2 – Joseph Cuvelier Depot in 2006-2009 and 2012-2014. At the time of writing, the transfer operation is still ongoing.
- Administrative/biographical history:
- The Ministry of Reconstruction was created in the spring of 1946, following the merger of the Ministry for War Victims and the Ministry for War Damages. The communist Jean Terfve became the first Minister of Reconstruction (1946-1947). The two most important services of the ministry were the Bestuur der Schade aan Personen (‘administration for damage to individuals’) and the Bestuur der Oorlogsschade aan Private Goederen (‘administration for damage to private property’). The first one was notably in charge of according the different statuses (civilian resistance fighter, defaulter, political prisoner etc.) and payment of financial support linked to a particular status. The Bestuur der Oorlogsschade aan Private Goederen was composed of nine provincial directorates and one central directorate, and was notably responsible for granting financial compensation to individuals and private organisations (including companies) whose property was damaged or destroyed during the war. It managed 48 cooperatives supporting the reconstruction in various ways. The Ministry of Reconstruction was active until mid-August 1952. Its duties regarding war victims were transferred to the Ministry of Public Health and Family. The administration of war damages to private property was handed over to the Ministry of Public Works and Reconstruction. (P. Bourgeois, Le Ministère des victimes de la guerre (1945-1946). Le Ministère des dommages de guerre (1945-1946). Le Ministère de la Reconstruction (1946-1952). Organisation et compétences, Miscellanea Archivistica Studia no. 42, Brussel, ARA-AGR, 1993.)
- Access, restrictions:
- The authorisation of the Algemeen Rijksarchivaris or his representative is required, as well as the signing of a research declaration. Researchers are asked to send their request, as detailed as possible (incl. surname, first name, address etc. of the claimant), to agr_ar_2@arch.be. The researcher will be contacted after preliminary research by the staff of the institution.
- Finding aids:
- The main finding aids are two card indexes, arranged alphabetically by name of the owner/business (or organisation) and geographically by location of the incident respectively. The alphabetical index cannot be consulted for practical reasons. For the provinces East Flanders, Limburg and a part of Brabant the geographic index is missing. For the sake of completeness, we mention various inventories (prepared by F. Antoine and J. Derwael) although they are mainly for internal use and for example don’t contain names of individuals. Lastly, we mention the research guide F. Antoine, Les dossiers individuels des dommages de guerre aux biens privés (Deuxième Guerre mondiale). Jalons de recherche/Zoekwijzers n°27, Brussel, ARA-AGR, 2011 and F. Antoine, De individuele dossiers « Oorlogsschade aan private goederen " (Tweede Wereldoorlog), Jalons de Recherche/Zoekwijzers no. 33, Brussel, ARA-AGR, 2012.
- Yerusha Network member:
- State Archives of Belgium
