Metadata: Archives of the Tachkemoni school
Collection
- Country:
- Belgium
- Holding institution:
- Tachkemoni school
- Holding institution (official language):
- Tachkemoni school
- Postal address:
- Lange Leemstraat 313, 2018 Antwerpen
- Phone number:
- +32 (0)3 287 00 71
- Web address:
- http://www.tachkemoni.be/
- Email:
- admin@tachkemoni.be
- Reference number:
- Tachkemoni-Antwerp-Archief van de Tachkemoni school
- Title:
- Archives of the Tachkemoni school
- Title (official language):
- Archief van de Tachkemoni school
- Creator/accumulator:
- Tachkemoni school
- Date(s):
- 1944/2016
- Date note:
- Material continues to be added to this collection.
- Language:
- Dutch; Flemish
- English
- French
- Hebrew
- Extent:
- ca. 22 linear metres and 2 filing cabinets
- Scope and content:
-
Today, the Tachkemoni school mainly preserves recent archival and (semi-)current records, which are of particular interest for i.a. genealogical or sociological research.
We firstly note three stamboeken (inscription registers) for the years 1945-1960, 1961-1984 and 1984-1997. The Guldenboek (‘golden book’) contains autographs and messages (in Hebrew, English, French, Dutch) of members of the board, (former) students and prominent visitors, from November 1944 until the present. We also mention publications such as the series of year books (since 2000) and various booklets (dated ca. 1957, 1960, 1970, 1994-1995) published on the occasion of gala evenings or other events such as anniversaries or inaugurations of new buildings. Lastly, we find 4 boxes with recent photographs (1990s-2000s) of Jewish holidays, visits, various activities, etc.
The (semi-)current archives of the last 30 years, generally grouped in binders, are located in the basement of the building at Lange Leemstraat 313. We note several large series, related to the tasks and competences of the school: series of minutes of deliberations (ca. 1979- 2000s), reports concerning the courses of Hebrew (since 1984), school reports (1980s), completed exams and sample exams (1990s-2000s), lists regarding the salaries of the staff (1980s-1990s), personnel files (1980s), reports of inspections (doorlichtingsverslagen), lists of grades, invoices, a register of class councils (klassenraden)(1966-1976), student agendas, etc. We also find a number of binders containing general correspondence and subject files, i.a. about student counselling, medical inspections, lists of books, awarding of diplomas, year plans and subject matter, etc. and roughly dated 1970s-2000s.
Furthermore, we note two filing cabinets containing alphabetically arranged student files (generally related to orientation attestations [orïenteringsattesten]) from the 1970s-1980s, as well as personnel files. Lastly, in another room in the basement, we find a number of boxes containing video tapes (VHS) from the 1990s, related to various activities organised by the school (e.g. visits to Auschwitz titled March of the Living).
- Archival history:
- Part of the archives were likely lost as a result of various relocations and renovations in the last decades. Some of the archival material preserved in the basement has sustained water damage.
- Administrative/biographical history:
- The Tachkemoni school was founded in 1920 and ‘recognised’ (aangenomen) by the city of Antwerp the following year. Among the founders – primarily Mizrachi (religious Zionist) Jews – were rabbi M.A. Amiel of the Shomre Hadas community and E. Karlin. Chief Rabbi Ernest Wiener became one of its spiritual leaders. The choice for education in modern Hebrew was daring but ultimately proved successful. In religious terms, Tachkemoni was (and is) less orthodox than the Jesode-Hatora-Beth-Jacob (JHBJ) school. The primary school was complemented by a kindergarten in 1926 and a section for girls in 1937. From 1927 the school organised evening classes of Dutch, French and English to stimulate the integration of the parents of the many foreign students. Before the Second World War the Tachkemoni school had about 675 pupils. During the Occupation, the school was taken over by the Vereniging der Joden in België – Association des Juifs en Belgique and was called Joodse school van Antwerpen until its closure in 1943. The buildings were then used as a school for the Duits-Vlaamse Arbeidsgemeenschap, a collaborationist organisation supported by the SS. After the short-lived experiment as a unified Jewish school in Antwerp (with JHBJ)(5-25 October 1944), the Tachkemoni school resumed classes in early May 1945 as a separate institution, with 61 pupils. The infrastructure, damaged by bombings, was restored with funding from the Verenigde Israëlitische Gemeenten (and its hevra kadisha) and funds collected by Antwerp Jews exiled in New York. The lack of teachers for Jewish courses (and Hebrew) was solved by recruitment in Israel, which, however, often resulted in practical problems. The decision to organise mixed classes also dates from the immediate post-war period; initially a pragmatic choice due to the lack of students, the system remained in place until the present. The further expansion of the school was made possible by the financial support of the Shomre Hadas community and the Claims Conference. An athenaeum (high school) was created in 1949 and subsidised by the State from 1959. A new kindergarten opened in 1957; the school has had its own synagogue since 1966. Today, the Tachkemoni school offers pre-primary, primary and secondary education. Both secular and Jewish subjects are taught. The Hebrew courses in particular are meant to provide the pupils with the necessary preparation to study at Israeli universities. At present, the Tachkemoni school has about 570 pupils. (Tachkemoni. Enrico Macias 1 juni 1994, Antwerpen, 1994, p. 9; V. Vanden Daelen, Laten we hun lied verder zingen. De heropbouw van de joodse gemeenschap in Antwerpen na de Tweede Wereldoorlog (1944-1960), Amsterdam, Uitgeverij Aksant, 2008, pp. 317-345.)
- Access points: locations:
- Auschwitz
- Access, restrictions:
- Researchers are asked to contact Mrs. Nicole Spruyt prior to consultation.
- Yerusha Network member:
- State Archives of Belgium
