Metadata: “Jews and foreigners”
Collection
- Country:
- Belgium
- Holding institution:
- State Archives in Antwerp
- Holding institution (official language):
- Rijksarchief te Antwerpen
- Postal address:
- Sanderusstraat 81, 2018 Antwerpen
- Phone number:
- +32 (0)3 236 73 00
- Reference number:
- SAA-Beveren-PAA 981
- Title:
- “Jews and foreigners”
- Title (official language):
- “Joden en vreemdelingen”
- Creator/accumulator:
- Provincie Antwerpen; Province d’Anvers; province of Antwerp
- Date(s):
- 1940/1943
- Scope and content:
- This fonds is of crucial importance for the reconstruction of the persecution of the Jews in the region of Antwerp. It mainly consists of outgoing and incoming correspondence of governor Jan Grauls and his cabinet with i.a. municipal administrations in the district of Antwerp, Feldkommandantur 675, Feldkommandantur 520 and various organisations (e.g. the Red Cross), concerning subjects such as: the establishment of the ‘lists of aliens’ (incl. lists of Jewish inhabitants of various nationalities), expulsion orders for Jews, the Jewish ordinances, the exclusion of Jews from the administrations, the implementation of the register of Jews, the compulsory transfer of Jews to Limburg etc. In many cases the correspondence is accompanied by attachments, such as lists of persons.
- Administrative/biographical history:
- The present division of Belgium into provinces dates back to the French period, when the Southern Netherlands were split up into nine départements (decree of 14 Fructidor, year III). Since the division of the province of Brabant in 1995 Belgium has ten provinces. For almost 150 years, the Provinciewet of 1836 remained the legal framework. The constitutional reforms of 1970 and 1980 also affected the provinces, who escaped elimination but were thoroughly reformed (law of 6 July 1987). Since 1 January 2002 the organic law regarding the provinces is a competence of the Regions; both the Flemish and Walloon Regions have since issued their own provincial decrees. A province is headed by a governor. He/she is assisted by a provincial executive (bestendige deputatie; today called ‘deputatie’ in Flanders, ‘collège provincial’ in Wallonia) selected from the provincial council. The tasks and competences of the provinces were only vaguely described in the Provinciewet. In practice, the provincial executive and the governor primarily supervise(d) lower administrations including municipalities, the Public Centres for Social Welfare and church councils (kerkfabrieken). The province also has the authority to create certain institutions such as schools. The governor is responsible for keeping the peace, public order and security; for this purpose he is authorised to call upon the Gendarmerie (Federal Police, since 1998). As a consequence of these tasks and competences, provincial archives contain documents on a wide range of subjects such as public works, public health, finances of the municipalities and local institutions, elections, provincial education, public order etc. Among the general sources we notably mention minutes of meetings but also the (published) Bestuursmemoriaal in which the decisions, circulars, regulations etc. of the provincial bodies are included. Relevant for this guide are the documents resulting from the organisation and supervision of recognised religions (incl. budgets, accounts, appointment and housing of rabbis, works to synagogues). Provincial archives also contain documents regarding policy during the Second World War, including material on the anti-Jewish ordinances, registration of Jews, deportation, spoliation etc. (P. van den Eeckhout, “De provincies”, 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. 105-138.)
- Access points: locations:
- Antwerp
- Access points: persons/families:
- Grauls, Jan
- 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:
- List by L. Schram in F. Helssen, N. Faes & B. Sas, PAA 2765 en PAA 981 Ordemaatregelen, 1878-1978. Inventaris, Antwerpen, Provinciearchief, 2009.
- Yerusha Network member:
- State Archives of Belgium
