Metadata: Archives of the Centre pénitentiaire – École in Marneffe
Collection
- Country:
- Belgium
- Holding institution:
- State Archives in Liège
- Holding institution (official language):
- Archives de l’État à Liège
- Postal address:
- Rue du Chéra 79, 4000 Liège
- Phone number:
- +32 (0)4 252 03 93
- Email:
- archives.liege@arch.be
- Reference number:
- SA-Liege-523-5508
- Title:
- Archives of the Centre pénitentiaire – École in Marneffe
- Title (official language):
- Archives du Centre pénitentiaire- École de Marneffe
- Creator/accumulator:
- Centre pénitentiaire – École de Marneffe
- Date(s):
- 1936/1981
- Language:
- French
- German
- Dutch; Flemish
- English
- Extent:
- 21 linear metres
- Scope and content:
- This fonds is very rich in relevant material; in fact, the files that are of interest to our guide are far too numerous to describe in detail. We notably find individual records and files concerning Jewish refugees; lists of specialised workers, academics, students and children among the Jewish refugees; documents concerning the supply of food, supplies and furniture by the Comité d’Assistance aux Réfugiés juifs; files concerning the living conditions of the refugees; medical reports; documents on the luggage and personal belongings of the refugees; consular documents related to their plans to emigrate to Palestine or the United States etc. We also note the extensive correspondence addressed to Michel Charles Matton, the director of the Marneffe internment centre, by Jewish refugees interned in France.
- Administrative/biographical history:
- In the late 1930s, many Jewish refugees from Germany and Austria as well as many stateless people of German origin fled to Belgium. Similarly to the camps opened in Switzerland to accommodate these refugees, the Belgian government opened a first centre in Merksplas in 1938, with a capacity of 600 people. Other centres were established later, including the one in Marneffe (capacity of 550), following the decision of the Council of Ministers of June 2, 1939. The first Jewish refugees arrived in June, but the reassignment of the centre was not completed until July 6. Although the primary goal of the centre was to house the Jewish refugees, from September 1939 onwards there was a gradual shift towards more security-related purposes; the centre had become a means to monitor illegal Jewish refugees and to limit their freedom of movement. This closed centre, supervised by the Sûreté Publique (Public Security), was under the authority of the Administration générale des prisons; it was also supported by Jewish refugee committees (Comités d’Assistance aux Réfugiés Juifs) of Brussels and Antwerp. Michel Charles Matton, the director of the Marneffe centre, also managed the centre in Marchin (near Huy), where Jewish refugees were received as from October 1939. The incorporation of the Marchin centre into the institution in Marneffe was officially concluded in January 1940. While Marneffe was intended for families, Marchin – with a capacity of 300 beds – mainly housed single men aged 45 years or more. On 9 May 1940, the Belgian authorities began placing German nationals or stateless persons of German origin under administrative arrest, and transported them to France. The Belgian internment centres were evacuated; the refugees detained there were sent (in part) to the camps of Saint-Cyprien (men), Gurs (women), Rivesaltes (families) and Les Milles. In the summer of 1940, the German authorities repatriated their nationals, but many Jews continued to be detained in France until the summer of 1942, then being transferred to Drancy, the final stage before deportation to Auschwitz. The buildings of the Marchin centre were returned to the Administration des Domaines of Huy in Septembre 1940. The Marneffe centre however remained in service under the denomination Centre pénitentiaire agricole, and housed, from 1942, young Belgian common law prisoners. The centre was later transformed into a prison-school for the purpose of educating young French-speaking offenders. (L. Druez, Inventaire des archives du Centre pénitentiaire- École de Marneffe, I 120 (Archives de l’État à Liège), Bruxelles, ARA-AGR, 2011.)
- Access points: locations:
- Marneffe
- Access points: persons/families:
- Matton, Michel Charles
- Subject terms:
- Aid and relief
- Aid and relief--Food distribution
- Aid and relief--Philanthropy and charity
- Aliyah
- Children
- Education
- Education--Students
- Mandatory Palestine
- Migration
- Migration--Emigration
- Migration--Immigration
- Professions
- Professions--Scholars (secular), scientists, and academics
- Refugees
- 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.
- Finding aids:
- L. Druez, Inventaire des archives du Centre pénitentiaire- École de Marneffe, I 120 (Archives de l’État à Liège), Bruxelles, ARA-AGR, 2011.
- Yerusha Network member:
- State Archives of Belgium
