Metadata: Archives of the Vereniging van ex-politieke gevangenen van Auschwitz-Birkenau, kampen en gevangenissen van Silezië
Collection
- Country:
- Belgium
- Holding institution:
- Auschwitz Foundation – Remembrance of Auschwitz
- Holding institution (official language):
- Stichting Auschwitz - vzw Auschwitz in gedachtenis
- Postal address:
- Huidevettersstraat 65 / Rue des Tanneurs 65, 1000 Brussel
- Phone number:
- +32 (0) 2 512 79 98
- Web address:
- http://www.auschwitz.be/
- Email:
- info@auschwitz.be
- Reference number:
- AuschF-Brussels-Bestand van de Vereniging van ex-politieke gevangenen van Auschwitz-Birkenau, kampen en gevangenissen van Silezië
- Title:
- Archives of the Vereniging van ex-politieke gevangenen van Auschwitz-Birkenau, kampen en gevangenissen van Silezië
- Title (official language):
- Bestand van de Vereniging van ex-politieke gevangenen van Auschwitz-Birkenau, kampen en gevangenissen van Silezië
- Creator/accumulator:
- Vereniging van ex-politieke gevangenen van Auschwitz-Birkenau, kampen en gevangenissen van Silezië; Amicale des ex-prisonniers politiques d’Auschwitz-Birkenau, camps et prisons de Silésie
- Date(s):
- 1946/2016
- Date note:
- Material continues to be added to this collection.
- Language:
- French
- German
- Extent:
- ca. 15 boxes
- Scope and content:
- This fonds consists of archival material attesting to the internal operation and activities of the association. It mainly contains documents typically found in archives of associations, such as statutes, correspondence, circulars, bookkeeping records, various administrative documents, documentation, subject files, etc. There is also an almost complete series of minutes of meetings for the years 1957-1980. The material firstly relates to contacts with other organisations such as patriotic associations (e.g. Comité La Flamme), various committees of former prisoners (e.g. from France and the Netherlands, but also Belgian organisations), Jewish organisations (i.a. UPJB, CCLJ, CCOJB, Fédération de la Jeunesse juive de Belgique, Fédération Sioniste de Belgique, Union des Déportés Juifs et Ayants Droits de Belgique) and resistance organisations (i.a. Fédération Internationale des Résistants, Amicale de l’Armée Secrète, Front de l’Indépendance, Fédération Mondiale des Résistants). The fonds also contains information on the activities of the association, including remembrance ceremonies (e.g. the annual ceremony at Fort Breendonk, laying flowers at the tomb of the unknown soldier on 11 November), participation in pilgrimages to the Kazerne Dossin in Mechelen, the creation of the Mémorial des martyrs juifs, contact with and activity within the museum at Auschwitz, the actions of the association against the prescription of war crimes and the resurgence of racism, antisemitism and fascism, etc. Lastly we note the documents concerning specific events and controversies, such as the changing of the symbols on the graves of executed Jews at the Tir National (1968-1972), the divisions within the association on the occasion of the Six Day War (1967) and others.
- Archival history:
- The fonds was deposited by the Vereniging van ex-politieke gevangenen van Auschwitz-Birkenau, kampen en gevangenissen van Silezië / Amicale des ex-prisonniers politiques d’Auschwitz-Birkenau, camps et prisons de Silésie.
- Administrative/biographical history:
-
The Vereniging van ex-politieke gevangenen van Auschwitz-Birkenau, kampen en gevangenissen van Silezië / Amicale des ex-prisonniers politiques d’Auschwitz-Birkenau, camps et prisons de Silésie (‘Association of former political prisoners of Auschwitz-Birkenau, camps and prisons of Silesia’) was founded in 1946. Its relations with the International Auschwitz Committee (ICA), the umbrella organisation the association was affiliated with, were not without conflict. In the 1960s especially, major tensions developed (i.a. due to changing East-West relations), eventually resulting in a split that was only mended in the late 1970s when the Belgian Maurice Goldstein became president of the ICA.
Initially (until ca. 1967) the association primarily functioned as an organisation of former prisoners, which was reflected in its activities: organisation (since 1955) of study tours and pilgrimages to concentration camps (incl. Auschwitz-Birkenau, Gross-Rosen, Jauer, Nova-Huta, Gross-Strelitz), relations with other associations of deportees and former prisoners, participation in patriotic commemorations and remembrance ceremonies, etc. The association was also involved in the creation and development of the Belgian Room at the Auschwitz Museum (1957-1962) and its members participated in several post-war trials against war criminals (including the Höss and IG Farben trials). In addition, the association was very politically active from its inception – see its participation in various demonstrations (e.g. against nuclear weapons), protest campaigns (e.g. against neo-fascism), lectures, film screenings, etc.
From the 1970s and especially after 1976, its focus shifted to remembrance of the Shoah and the fight against the resurgence of extreme right-wing ideologies. The association started collecting historical heritage (archives and documentation), and recorded testimonies of dozens of survivors through interviews. In 1980 the Auschwitz Stichting – Fondation Auschwitz was created, its main objective being the remembrance and study of the Shoah. The non-profit association Auschwitz in Gedachtenis - Mémoire d’Auschwitz serves as a research and documentation centre. (J. Gregoire, “Auschwitz-Birkenau, Camps et prisons de Silésie”, in Bulletin trimestriel de la Fondation Auschwitz, 34, October-December 1992, Brussel, pp. 113-142.)
- Access, restrictions:
- Consultation is reserved for researchers. They are required to fill out a research declaration prior to consultation.
- Finding aids:
- There is an (unpublished) inventory: J. Gregoire, Le fonds d’archives de l’amicale des ex-prisonniers politiques d’Auschwitz-Birkenau, camps et prisons de Silésie, 1992.
- Yerusha Network member:
- State Archives of Belgium
