Metadata: Record Centre
Collection
- Country:
- Belgium
- Holding institution:
- Institute of Jewish Studies (Martin Buber Institute)
- Holding institution (official language):
- Institut d’Études du Judaïsme (Institut Martin Buber)
- Postal address:
- Avenue Franklin Roosevelt 17 / Franklin Rooseveltlaan 17, 1050 Bruxelles (Ixelles)
- Phone number:
- +32 (0)2 650 33 48
- Web address:
- http://www.ulb.ac.be/facs/philo/judaisme/
- Email:
- iej@ulb.ac.be
- Reference number:
- BuberIns-Brussels-Record Centre
- Title:
- Record Centre
- Title (official language):
- Record Centre
- Creator/accumulator:
- Institut d’Études du Judaïsme
- Date(s):
- 1920/1987
- Language:
- French
- Dutch; Flemish
- Hebrew
- German
- Yiddish
- Russian
- Extent:
- ca. 24 linear metres
- Scope and content:
-
This fonds consists of documents originating from various Jewish organisations in Belgium. We also find files concerning the bibliography of the professors of the IEJ, such as lists of publications.
Anna Kempinska also collected documentation concerning Jewish associations in France, including Jewish youth movements such as Bne Akiva, Dror, Hashomer Hatzair, the Éclaireurs israélites de France and Ihud Habonim. These files consist of leaflets, publications of organisations, posters, correspondence and leaflets (1970s); we also note files concerning anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism (notably the daily bulletins published by the press agency Novosti in the 1970s, containing anti-Zionist and anti-Semitic articles), as well as documents concerning Soviet Jewry, press clippings, notes and reports.
The fonds also contains almost a decade of issues of the newspaper Folks Sztyme, organ towarzystwa spoleczno-kulturalnego zydow w Polsce, published in Warsaw (1979-1987)(totalling almost 2 linear metres).
Users should be aware of the provenance of this collection of archival material, publications and documentation. It contains documents produced by the organisations mentioned, as well as material collected by the researchers of the CNHEJ/IEJ – meaning it consists of archival material of the organisations, as well as material concerning the organisations (see for example the announcements and invitations for events, sent to the CNHEJ staff). For the sake of clarity, we divided the collection in several sub-fonds/sub-collections.
The sub-collection “Juifs d’URSS” (4 boxes in total) consists of press clippings, minutes of meetings (i.a. of the Belgische Nationale Raad ten voordele van de Joden in de Sovjetunie/Conseil national en faveur des Juifs d’URSS), lists of arrested Soviet Jews, resolutions, correspondence and reports of various commissions and committees in favour of Soviet Jewry, invitations, leaflets, Novosti bulletins, reports of press conferences, files concerning conferences (often including lists of participants, correspondence, adopted resolutions), press releases, documentation, etc. The material is dated ca. 1964-1981.
The sub-collection “La Centrale” (3 boxes in total) contains correspondence from the Centrale des Œuvres sociales juives de Bruxelles, minutes of meetings (i.a. of the general assembly), activity reports, publications (La Centrale), reports and notes, bookkeeping and accounting records, statutes, subject files, invitations, etc. from ca. 1952-1982.
The large sub-collection “Varia” (23 boxes in total) contains archival material and documentation from/regarding many political (left and right wing, Zionist, etc.) organisations, youth movements, women’s organisations, cultural associations, religious institutions, etc. We note correspondence, brochures, leaflets, activity reports, posters, publications, invitations and announcements, programs of activities, documentation (press clippings) as well as responses to the questionnaire of the sociological survey of the CNHEJ, biographical notes and documentation for the purpose of making a “Who’s Who” of Belgian Judaism. The material was produced by or concerns the following organisations: Fédération sioniste de Belgique, Fédération de la jeunesse juive de Belgique, fondation Bischoffsheim, fédération WIZO Belgique et Luxembourg, International Council of Jewish Women, Naamat, Foyer israélite, the Jewish (military) chaplaincy, Front antifasciste, Fondation Franz Philippson, Fonds Social Juif, the retirement home Heureux Séjour, Jewish Refugees Welfare Society, Les Amis du théâtre et de la Culture israélite Bruxelles, Hashomer Hatzair, Jewish Welfare Board, Foyer Israélite de Liège, Amis de la jeunesse juive de Belgique, Jewish Single Club, various international and European Jewish organisations and committees, Chambre de Commerce Belgique-Luxembourg-Israël, Centre des Jeunes, Centre d’Information et de Documentation, CCOJB, Comité pour la langue et la culture yiddish en Belgique, Amis de l’ensemble théâtral "Yikult" en Belgique, Kinder Fraynd, Arbeter-Ring Bruxelles, Cercle culturel Emmanuel Ringelblum, Caisse de Prêts et de Crédit, Mouvement des Étudiants juifs, Hanoar Hatzioni, Brit Irgounim Haloutsim, Dror, Bne Akiva, the central committee of the Mapam party in Belgium, Magen David Adom and les Amis belges du Magen David Adom, Maccabi, Union des Jeunes Gens Israélites du Luxembourg , Parti raciste et antisémite Paria, Ligue belge pour la défense des droits de l’homme , MRAP and MRAX, Mizrachi Vehapoel Hamizrachi, Histadrut Agudat Israël in Belgium, Institut Mutuelliste d’Assurance des Communautés juives de Belgique, Menorah, Rassemblement belge pour Israël, Rassemblement des Organisations Démocratiques Juives et Sionistes, Rassemblement juif pour une paix juste, Comité Sioniste Socialiste de Belgique, Mouvement Sioniste Socialiste de Belgique, Mouvement d’Action Sioniste socialiste, Entr’Aide Sioniste, Union des Sionistes Généraux de Bruxelles, Mouvement des Étudiants Sionistes Progressistes, the Department Organisation and Information of the World Zionist Organization based in Brussels, Rassemblement Unitaire Juif, Service Social Juif, Amis du Service Social Juif, Solidarité Juive, Cercle Culturel Sinaï, Union des Déportés juifs et Ayants Droit en Belgique, Union des Anciens Résistants Juifs de Belgique, Union régionale des Juifs Victimes de la Guerre à Bruxelles, Fédération Nationale des Anciens Combattants et Résistants Armés juifs de Belgique,Union des Progressistes Juifs de Belgique, Entre-Sol, Parents et Amis de l’Union des Jeunes Juifs Progressistes, Union des Anciens Étudiants Juifs de Belgique, Union des Étudiants Juifs de Belgique, the Maale synagogue, Romi Goldmuntz Centre, B’nai B’rith and others. The material dates from ca. 1920-1985, although mainly from the 1960s-1970s.
The sub-collection “Yad Vashem” (1 box) contains posters, reports, notes concerning the Righteous Among the Nations as well as transcriptions of interviews and information provided to Yad Vashem by survivors, Righteous Among the Nations, other witnesses, etc.
The sub-collection “CCOJB” (1 box) consists of publications of the CCOJB, correspondence, minutes of meetings, leaflets, activity reports, invitations and announcements of activities, for the years 1971-1981.
In the sub-fonds “Archives du CNHEJ-IEJ” we find notes, reports and documents concerning the bookkeeping, presented at a board meeting in March 1992.
The sub-fonds “Articles des professeurs” (12 boxes) consists of documentation, publications, notes, press clippings and correspondence of professors of the ULB, of writers and scientists, arranged alphabetically by author.
The sub-collection “Écoles juives” (2 boxes) contains correspondence, publications, post cards, subject files, statutes, curricula, bookkeeping records, minutes of meetings, press clippings, leaflets, invitations, documents concerning official inspection, etc. of the schools Beth-Aviv, Jesode Hatora, Beth Jacob, Athénée Maïmonide, Ganenou, Yeshiva Etz Hayi and the organisation Amis de l’École Ganenou. The material is dated 1963-1985 (mainly 1960s-1970s).
The sub-collection “Israël Varia” (2 boxes in total) consists of correspondence, invitations, reports, leaflets, posters, brochures, documentation, publications etc. i.a. concerning celebrations of the anniversary of the independence of the State of Israel, regarding Belgo-Israeli cooperation, States of Israel Bonds, the work of OSE in Israel, the Israeli tourist office, the Comité belge du 25e anniversaire de l’État d’Israël, etc. for the years 1952-1984.
The sub-collection “Mouvements de jeunesse” contains publications, invitations, leaflets, posters concerning i.a. Dror, Darkenou, the Union des Étudiants Juifs de Belgique, dated ca. 1968-1973.
In the sub-collection “Jewish Colonisation Association” (1 box) we find reports, circulars, correspondence from/to Max Gottschalk, minutes of meetings of the board, programs of activities planned in Israel, bookkeeping records, etc. The documents date from 1962-1971.
The sub-collection “Institutum Iudaicum” (1 box in total) contains financial reports and budgets, correspondence, minutes of meetings, reports of the general assembly, instructions, annual activity reports, overviews of classes, lists of professors, press clippings etc. concerning the Institutum Iudaicum, an inter-university centre for Jewish studies. The documents date from the years 1968-1989.
The sub-collection “12 heures pour Israel” (2 boxes and 1 oversize box) consists of activity programs, correspondence, documentation concerning this event, minutes of meetings (i.a. of the Comité belge pour l’organisation du 30ème anniversaire de l’État d’Israël), leaflets, posters, banners, pins and plastic bags made for this event, documents concerning the drawing competition for children (including lists of children, drawings), etc. from the years 1977-1978.
The sub-collection “KKL et Keren Hayesod” (2 boxes in total) contains statutes, publications, responses to the CNHEJ survey, invitations and announcements of activities, posters, correspondence, brochures, leaflets, minutes of meetings, reports etc. regarding the KKL and Keren Hayesod in Belgium, for the years 1953-1985 (primarily 1960s-1970s).
The sub-collection “Centre des Jeunes” (1 box) includes announcements of conferences, programs of activities, brochures, posters, correspondence, reports etc. i.a. of the Centre des Jeunes and the Maison de la Culture Juive. The documents are dated ca. 1963-1990.
In the sub-collection “Vie juive à Liège” we find material related to Jewish life in Liège, including correspondence, announcements, programs of activities, brochures from Jewish associations from Liège (i.a. the Société de Bienfaisance israélite de Liège, the Jewish community in Liège, Centre des Jeunes in Liège (1979-1983), the Foyer Israélite, Musée de la Communauté israélite de Liège, WIZO, Aide morale et Matérielle Israélite, the Comité des Dames Liège et environs), statutes, and a published speech by Chief Rabbi of Luxembourg Lehrmann. The documents mainly date from the years 1979-1985.
Lastly, we note the sub-fonds “Archives Max Gottschalk” (1 box in total), containing documents donated by Gottschalk to the Institut. We note personal correspondence, correspondence regarding his involvement in the Centrale (1958-1973), notes and texts written by Gottschalk, correspondence between the CNHEJ and the Institute of Contemporary Jewry (of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem)(1960-1977), a copy of a poem by Albert Einstein to Mr. and Mrs. Gottschalk (1941), etc.
- Archival history:
- These documents were collected in the framework of the activity of the Record Centre. This work was mainly carried out by W. Bok, E. Reichert, S. Brachfeld, D. Dratwa and A. Kempinska.
- Administrative/biographical history:
-
The Centre National des Hautes Études Juives (CNHEJ) was created in 1959 within the Institut de Sociologie of the ULB at the initiative of Max Gottschalk and Marcel Marinower, for the purpose of developing the study of Judaism. Gottschalk was its first president. Among its main objectives was the collection of sources, including oral sources, along the lines of the practices of the oral history department of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. As part of the project “Constitution d’archives orales relatives à la communauté juive de Belgique avant, pendant et après la guerre 1940-1945”, almost 35 interviews were collected from 1964 until 1973. A second interview campaign, titled “Campagne d’histoire orale sur l’immigration juive en Belgique au cours de l’entre-deux-guerres”, focused on communist and Zionist commitment; 45 interviews were recorded between 1980 and 1983. The CNHEJ also organised many scientific conferences, of which the proceedings were published.
Willy Bok, researcher and later director of the CNHEJ, was the creator of a Record Centre tasked with collecting (like the zamler of the YIVO) a maximum of archival material produced by Jewish organisations, such as minutes of meetings, publications, invitations, leaflets, posters, etc.
Certain organisations as well as individuals with responsibilities in these organisations have donated some of their archives to the CNHEJ (and later the IEJ). We note for example the archives of Paul Philippson regarding his activity within the Centrale d’Œuvres sociales juives and the Caisse de Prêts et de Crédit, as well as the archives of rabbi Israël David Berman.
The presence of archival material of the periodical Regards and minutes of meetings of its editorial board is explained by the fact that Eliyahou Reichert, librarian-documentalist of the CNHEJ since 1967, held important functions within this committee. Max Gottschalk, president of the CNHEJ and Consistory, had the archives of the Association des Juifs en Belgique stored in the Consistory buildings in the rue Joseph Dupont transferred to the CNHEJ, in order to have them ordered and used as the basis for a scientific study on the role of the AJB. The resulting publication by Betty Garfinkels, apologetic for the role of the AJB and the actions of the Belgian authorities, became highly controversial. It prevented further research on this still very sensitive question, and delayed the publication of the work titled Travail sur les archives de l’AJB written by Max Katzenelenbogen (also a CNHEJ researcher). In the early 2000s, the archives of the AJB owned by the Consistory were transferred to the Joods Museum van Verzet en Deportatie in Mechelen and were not open for research until 2002. A number of boxes nevertheless remained at the institute.
In 1970 professors of the universities of Brussels, Liège and Ghent teamed up to create the Institut Universitaire d’Études du Judaïsme Martin Buber. This institution was recognised as a public institution by royal decree of March 8, 1988 under the name of Institut d’Études du Judaïsme (IEJ). It succeeded the CNHEJ but was primarily devoted to academic education and not to the collection of sources. Today, the Institut d’Études du Judaïsme offers a specialised education in Jewish studies. It organises a two-year master’s program in Jewish history, Jewish thought and Jewish civilisation. Students can also take individual courses or obtain certificates for certain disciplines. The IEJ organises conferences, and its researchers and professors contribute to scientific research in their field of specialisation. The Institut furthermore publishes a collection of works related to Jewish studies, titled Mosaïque. The IEJ is supported by the Communauté française. It plays a key role in intercultural dialogue in French-speaking Belgium. The institute often invites leading experts as speakers on the occasion of the start or closing of the academic year, such as Emmanuel Lévinas, Robert Badinter and Ilya Prigogine. The IEJ manages a very rich library containing a mass of documentation relevant to Jewish studies. It consists of about twelve thousand works regarding Judaism, including many periodicals published in Belgium and abroad. (http://www.ulb.ac.be/facs/philo/judaisme/; Annexes au Moniteur belge of November 26, 1959, pp. 2170-2171 ; discussion with W. Bok and E. Reichert, June 2013 ; J.-P. Schreiber & R. van Doorslaer, "Introduction", in J.-P. Schreiber & R. van Doorslaer (dir.), Les curateurs du ghetto. L’Association des Juifs en Belgique sous l’occupation nazie, Bruxelles, éd. Labor, 2004, pp. 16-22 ; J.-P. Schreiber, "Le témoignage au service de l’histoire et de la mémoire : le cas du judaïsme belge de 1945 à nos jours", in Les Cahiers de la Mémoire contemporaine-Bijdragen tot de eigentijdse Herinnering, no. 1, 1999, pp. 16-17.)
- Access points: locations:
- Belgium
- France
- Israel
- Luxembourg
- Access points: persons/families:
- Gottschalk, Max
- Subject terms:
- Aid and relief
- Aid and relief--Philanthropy and charity
- Aliyah
- Antisemitism
- Antisemitism--Antisemitic publications
- Ashkenazi Jews
- Children
- Education
- Education--Schools and universities
- Education--Students
- Education--Yeshivot
- Historical research
- Holocaust
- Holocaust--Righteous Among the Nations
- Israel-Diaspora relations
- Jewish community
- Jewish languages
- Jewish languages--Yiddish
- Jewish press
- Jewish-Christian relations
- Professions
- Professions--Scholars (secular), scientists, and academics
- Secular Judaism
- Sports
- State of Israel
- Theatre
- World War I
- Zionism
- Zionism--Anti-Zionism
- Zionism--WIZO (Women's International Zionist Organization)
- Zionism--Zionist organisations and parties
- Zionism--Zionist youth movements
- Access, restrictions:
- Consultation requires the authorisation of the director of the IEJ.
- Finding aids:
- There is a transfer list for the Max Gottschalk archives.
- Yerusha Network member:
- State Archives of Belgium
