Metadata: Hertz and Yvonne Jospa archives
Collection
- Country:
- Belgium
- Holding institution:
- Jewish Museum of Belgium
- Holding institution (official language):
- Musée Juif de Belgique
- Postal address:
- Miniemenstraat 21 / Rue des Minimes 21, 1000 Bruxelles
- Phone number:
- +32 (0)2 512 19 63
- Web address:
- http://www.new.mjb-jmb.org
- Email:
- info@mjb-jmb.org
- Reference number:
- JM-Brussels-Fonds Hertz et Yvonne Jospa
- Title:
- Hertz and Yvonne Jospa archives
- Title (official language):
- Fonds Hertz et Yvonne Jospa
- Creator/accumulator:
- Jospa, Hertz; Jospa, Yvonne
- Date(s):
- 1905/2000
- Language:
- French
- Yiddish
- Russian
- Extent:
- 21 boxes
- Scope and content:
- This fonds contain notes, correspondence and numerous subject files produced by Hertz and Yvonne Jospa. We notably find handwritten and typed notes, correspondence, internal documents of the Mouvement contre le Racisme, l’Antisémitisme et la Xénophobie (MRAX) and documents of the Comité “Hommage des Juifs de Belgique à leurs Héros et Sauveurs”. (See box 210, and the 20 boxes in deposit)
- Administrative/biographical history:
- Hertz or Ghert Jospa (1905-1966), alias Joseph Jaspar, and his wife Howe or Hava (1910-2000), alias Yvonne (née Groisman), were born in Bessarabia. They migrated to Belgium to pursue their university studies. Already communists in their native country, they continued their involvement in Belgium and became active in the communist party. They were ardent anti-fascists and committed themselves to the support of the International Brigades. At the beginning of the Second World War, they were ready to ally themselves with politicians of other political currents and were well aware of the antisemitic nature of Nazism. Hertz Jospa became one of the principal actors of the Comité de Défense des Juifs (CDJ); he succeeded in including the right wing Zionists in the CDJ, and also represented the CDJ in the national committee of the Front de l’Indépendance. He was arrested on 21 June 1943, interned in Breendonk and afterwards deported to Buchenwald. After his return to Belgium in May 1945 he once again took up his engagement in the communist party, as a member of its central committee. He created the Mouvement contre le Racisme et l’Antisémitisme et pour la Paix (MRAP) which later became the Mouvement contre le Racisme, l’Antisémitisme et la Xénophobie (MRAX), with his wife, who would be the driving force behind the movement for all her life. Hertz Jospa also played an important role inside the Jewish community – he was notably an administrator for the AIVG between 1945 and 1960. Jospa left the communist party in 1964. (P. Falek-Alhadeff, "Les Jospa", in Tsafon. Revue d’études juives du Nord, no. 64, automne 2012 – hiver 2013, pp. 87-106 ; J.-M. FAUX, Hertz Jospa, une vie pour les autres, Bruxelles, Fondation Hertz et Hava Jospa, 1991 ; J.-P. Schreiber, Hertz Jospa, juif, résistant, communiste, Bruxelles, Éditions Vie Ouvrière - MRAX, 1997; J.-P. Schreiber, "Jospa, Hertz ou Ghert, dit Joseph Jaspar", in J.-P. Schreiber, Dictionnaire biographique des Juifs de Belgique. Figures du judaïsme belge, XIXe-XXe siècles, Bruxelles, De Boeck, 2002, pp. 181-183.)
- Access points: persons/families:
- Jospa, Hertz
- Jospa, Yvonne
- Access, restrictions:
- Access requires the authorisation of the archivist of the Jewish Museum of Belgium.
- Finding aids:
- There is a preliminary inventory of the Jewish Museum of Belgium. There is also an inventory made by Jean-Philippe Schreiber for the 20 boxes in deposit.
- Yerusha Network member:
- State Archives of Belgium
