Metadata: Albert Wolf archives
Collection
- Country:
- Belgium
- Holding institution:
- Institute for labour, economic and social history
- Holding institution (official language):
- Institut d’histoire ouvrière, économique et sociale
- Postal address:
- Av. Montesquieu 3, 4101 Seraing
- Phone number:
- +32 (0)4 224 60 70
- Web address:
- www.ihoes.be
- Email:
- info@ihoes.be
- Reference number:
- ILabour-Seraing-H 77
- Title:
- Albert Wolf archives
- Title (official language):
- Fonds Albert Wolf
- Creator/accumulator:
- Wolf, Albert
- Date(s):
- 1935/2000
- Extent:
- 1 box
- Scope and content:
- This fonds firstly contains biographical documents, personal records concerning the Wolf family, a file related to obtaining the status of resistance fighter, files concerning Albert Wolf’s efforts to be acknowledged as such, documents concerning the clandestine press in the Liège region, publicity of the établissements Herman Wolf, etc. We also note a number of documents concerning the Jewish community in Liège before the war, including songs in Yiddish and material related to the Société Davor Tov and the Cercle d’histoire et de literature juive. We also find leaflets printed by Wolf for the Comité de Vigilance des Intellectuels antifascistes. The material dating from the Second World War consists of leaflets of the FI and the communist party, German circulars, notes and analyses on the German occupation, files related to the épuration, press releases of the AIVG, various notes, individual files of resistance fighters, material related to the situation of the Jews including reports of the CDJ (September 1944), documents from the AJB, material concerning antisemitic propaganda (including the screening of an antisemitic film) and press cuttings. Among the documents covering the years after the war, we find material from Jewish organisations (such as a copy of the statutes of the AIVG), activity reports and balances of the Société israélite de Bienfaisance of the Jewish community of Liège, a memo to members of the board of the AIVG, documents concerning commemorations and material related to publications and polemics regarding the racial persecutions in Belgium and the resistance (notably documents on the polemic following the publication of Les Belges face à la persecution raciale 1940-1944 by Betty Garfinkels and the polemic related to the research of Adeline Liebman on the history of the CDJ, as well as correspondence between Wolf and Pierre Broder with regard to the work of Liebman). Lastly, we also point out notes concerning the work of V. Braibant on the ‘Jewish question’ in the press in Liège, as well as press cuttings on the ‘Jewish question’ (1960-1982).
- Archival history:
- This material was deposited by Lily Rochette-Russe.
- Administrative/biographical history:
- Albert Wolf was born in Liège on 21 February 1915. He came from a Jewish family and was a communist and militant of the Comité de Vigilance des Intellectuels antifascists (CVIA). He published leaflets and circulars. Wolf fought in the ‘18 Days’ campaign’ as a sous-officier (non-commissioned officer), was arrested but escaped the prisoner convoy. He returned to Liège in June 1940 and participated in the creation of the Front de l’Indépendance (FI), for which he edited, transported and distributed newspapers. As a member of the organisation les Amis de l’Union Soviétique, he edited almost 25 clandestine issues of the periodical Voici l’URSS and almost 150 issues of the weekly Radio Moscou. He was the secretary of the Liège federation of the FI in 1940 and was responsible for writing and distributing clandestine press, coordinating with various groups concerning the aid, accommodation and supply of escaped Russian prisoners of war, maintaining contact with the intelligence networks Zero and Groupe G, the distribution of fake identity documents, etc. He wrote for and edited various newspapers such as Le Flambeau, L’Espoir and La Meuse. He took part in the creation of the Solidarité committee, and was involved in this organisation until July 1942. He was one of the founders (and the regional secretary) of the Liège section of the Comité de Défense des Juifs. In danger because he was a Jew, anti-fascist and printer, he went underground from 10 July 1941 until 8 September 1944. Wolf was recognised as an armed resistance fighter on 1 June 1949, and as a resistant par la press clandestine on 7 July 1954. Albert Wolf died on 4 November 1987. (Biographical note, in Fonds Albert Wolf (BE / IHOES / H 77))
- Access points: locations:
- Liege
- Access points: persons/families:
- Broder, Pierre
- Wolf family
- Wolf, Albert
- Subject terms:
- Antisemitism
- Antisemitism--Antisemitic propaganda
- Communism
- Communism--Communist parties and organisations
- Historical research
- Jewish community
- Jewish languages
- Jewish languages--Yiddish
- Jewish press
- Jewish Question
- Jewish self-defence and resistance
- Music
- Occupation (military)
- Personal records
- Finding aids:
- There is an unpublished inventory, accessible via the Pallas database of the IHOES.
- Yerusha Network member:
- State Archives of Belgium
