District commissariat Bruges-Ostend

Collection

Holding institution (official language):: Provinciale Archiefdienst West-Vlaanderen

Postal address:: Provinciaal Archiefgebouw, Gistelse Steenweg 528, 8200 Sint-Andries

Reference number:: PASWFl-SAndries-Arrondissementscommissariaat Brugge – Oostende

Creator/accumulator:: Arrondissementscommissariaten; Commissariats d’arrondissement

Scope and content:: In sub-fonds “Depot 1980” of this fonds, we note in bundle no. 6 the (sub)file no. 6162 titled “20/10/40 Jews” (related to the ordinance of 28 October 1940). Bundle no. 10 contains several relevant (sub)files from the period 1940-1942: no. 7052 concerns the “settlement of the Jewish question” and contains i.a. circulars of the Kreiskommandantur; no. 7077 (“Jewish matters”) relates to i.a. the implementation of the yellow badge (‘Jodenster’), and no. 7147 is titled “expulsion of the Jews”.

Administrative/biographical history:: The office and tasks of the arrondissementscommissaris (‘district commissioner’) were defined in the Provinciewet (1836). The commissaire de canton and later sous-préfet during the French period, as well as the arrondissementscommissaris/districtscommissaris from the Dutch period can be considered precursors. Originally there was a commissioner for each administrative arrondissement; he reported to the provincial authorities and was mainly responsible for rural communities and smaller towns. From 1987, the authority of a commissioner could extend to all municipalities over several districts. Since 2002 the arrondissementscommissaris is appointed by the regional government. Today, the tasks of the commissioner, supervised by the provincial governor, mainly include supervision on (the execution of) the law and general regulations. In addition, he had/has competences relating to public order, local police, public health, monitoring of ‘non-independent municipalities’, militia, elections etc. (P. van den Eeckhout, “De arrondissementscommissariaten”, 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. 99-104.)

Subject terms:: Antisemitism; Antisemitism--Antisemitic measures; Expulsion; Jewish badge (non-Holocaust era); Jewish Question

Access, restrictions:: Consultation of documents less than 30 years old, and of documents containing personal information older than 30 years requires the authorisation of the Arrondissementscommissaris.