Edward Anseele sr.

Collection

Holding institution (official language):: Amsab - Instituut voor Sociale Geschiedenis

Scope and content:: In the collection of Edward Anseele we find two documentation files (nos. 533 and 732) concerning Judaism (1898-1914) and Palestine (1897-1936). These files mainly contain press clippings, extracts from the Belgian and foreign press on subjects such as antisemitism, the ‘Jewish question’ (in Belgium and elsewhere), migration to Palestine, etc. Nr. 732 is especially interesting, because it contains, apart from documentation, other documents addressed to Anseele or produced by himself. We note i.a. a circular of Poale Zion-Zeire Zion (1934), a letter of the Comité d’Aide et Protection des Travailleurs Juifs immigrés en Belgique with a note by Marc Somerhausen ‘Memorendum sur la main d’œuvre étrangère’ (1937), hand written notes by Anseele on Palestine and the ‘Jewish question’ and documents concerning the Conference internationale socialiste pour la Palestine ouvrière (held in Brussels on 10 August 1928, at the initiative of Poale Zion) with i.a. a speech by Émile Vandervelde.

Administrative/biographical history:: Edward Anseele was one of the pioneers of the socialist movement in Belgium. He joined the Internationale in 1874 and soon became secretary of the section in Ghent. In the following years he would figure among the founders of i.a. the Vooruit cooperative (1880) and the Belgian Worker’s Party (1885). In 1894 he was the first Flemish socialist member of parliament; Anseele would stay elected until 1936. In 1895 he was elected to the city council of Ghent. He married Marie de Coster in 1897; she was responsible for the sewing workshop of Vooruit. Their son Edward (jr.) would also play an important role in Belgian social democracy. During the years 1909-1918, 1922-1926 and 1932-1933 Anseele sr. was alderman in Ghent. During the First World War he refused any cooperation with the city council installed by the Germans. In the interwar period Anseele was minister of Public Works (1918-1921), Railroads, Mail and Telegraphy (1925-1927). He was appointed Minister of State in 1930. Anseele was the founder of the Bank van de Arbeid (1913), of which he remained the president until 1934. Anseele stepped down from politics, partly because of the scandals surrounding the bankruptcy of this bank – he left the city council (1932) and parliament (1936). Anseele died in 1938. (L. Peiren & S. Vrielynck, “Edward Sr. Anseele (1856-1938)”, in ODIS - Database Intermediary Structures Flanders (accessible on http://www.odis.be))

Subject terms:: Aliyah; Antisemitism; Correspondence; Jewish political activity; Jewish Question; Mandatory Palestine; Migration; Socialism; Zionism; Zionism--Zionist organisations and parties

Finding aids:: M. Vandenbroucke, Inventaris van het archief van Edward Anseele sr., Gent, Amsab-ISG, 2011.