Metadata: 2nd section
Collection
- Country:
- Belgium
- Holding institution:
- Provincial Archival Service of West Flanders
- Holding institution (official language):
- Provinciale Archiefdienst West-Vlaanderen
- Postal address:
- Provinciaal Archiefgebouw, Gistelse Steenweg 528, 8200 Sint-Andries
- Phone number:
- +32 (0)50 40 72 90
- Reference number:
- PASWFl-SAndries-2de afdeling
- Title:
- 2nd section
- Title (official language):
- 2de afdeling
- Creator/accumulator:
- Provincie West-Vlaanderen; Province de Flandre Occidentale; Province of West Flanders
- Date(s):
- 1800/1999
- Date note:
- 19th - 20th centuries
- Scope and content:
-
Among the material produced by the 2nd section we mainly note bookkeeping documents, in particular the budgets and accounts of i.a. the Jewish community of Ostend approved by the Bestendige Deputatie.
In sub-fonds “Begrotingen en rekeningen” (reference “BE / PAWV / A/1875-1940/A.2.-Begr. en rek./P.B./”) we find budgets and accounts of i.a. the Jewish community of Ostend, for the years 1904-1914 and 1920-1936, see nos. 2387, 2393, 2403, 2408, 2411, 2418, 2423, 2429, 2437, 2442, 2447, 2487, 2493, 2500, 2507, 2513, 2521, 2527, 2533, 2536, 2545, 2549, 2557, 2563, 2565, 2575, 2578 and 2584. From 1937, there are separate series of accounts (nos. 2589, 2593, 2597, 2624, 2629, 2635, 2640, 2646 and 2651; for the years 1937-1938, 1940, 1945-1950) and budgets (nos. 2587a, 2591, 2595, 2600, 2621, 2626, 2632, 2637, 2643 and 2649; for the years 1937-1939, 1941, 1945-1950).
Similar series can be found in the sub-fonds related to the transfers of 2001 (reference “BE / PAWV / A/1940-heden/A.2./2001/P.B.”) and 2002 (reference “BE / PAWV / A/1940-heden/A.2./2002/P.B.”). The series of accounts for the years 1951-1979 and 1981-1983 can be found in (sub)fonds 2001 nos. 1026, 1029, 1032, 1035, 1038, 1041, 1044, 1047, 1050, 1053, 1057, 1061, 1066, 1070, 1075, 1080, 1085, 1090, 1095, 1098, 1105, 1114, 1119, 1124 and in (sub)fonds 2002 nos. 453, 456, 458, 461, 464, 467, 470, 471, 473. The series of budgets for the years 1951, 1953-1959, 1961, 1963-1964, 1966, 1969, 1970-1983 can be found in (sub)fonds 2001 nos. 1154, 1161, 1165, 1172, 1184, 1188, 1193, 1198, 1203, 1209, 1214, 1220, 1226, 1232, 1237, 1243, 1249, 1255, 1261 and in (sub)fonds 2002 nos. 423, 426, 429, 433, 436, 439, 442, 445, 449.
Lastly, we also point out the bundle of approved final accounts for the year 1962 (sub-fonds 2001, no. 1311). The archives of the 2nd section also contain series of budgets and accounts of the Jewish communities in i.a. Ostend and Knokke-Heist, from 1983 until the present.
- 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:
- Knokke-Heist
- Ostend
- Subject terms:
- Financial records
- Jewish community
- Jewish community records
- Finding aids:
- There are several unpublished inventories, for the most part imported in the database of the Provinciaal Archief. See also Beknopte inventaris van het archief van de provincie West-Vlaanderen 2de afdeling, T 165 (Rijksarchief te Brugge), Brussel, ARA-AGR, 1998.
- Yerusha Network member:
- State Archives of Belgium
