Photo collection

Collection

Holding institution:: Centre for Historical Research and Documentation on War and Contemporary Society

Holding institution (official language):: Centre d’Études et de Documentation Guerre et Sociétés Contemporaines

Postal address:: Luchtvaartsquare 29 / Square de l’Aviation 29, 1070 Bruxelles (Anderlecht)

Creator/accumulator:: Studie- en Documentatiecentrum Oorlog en Hedendaagse Maatschappij; Centre d’Études et de Documentation Guerre et Sociétés Contemporaines

Scope and content:: The photo collection of the CEGESOMA holds many pictures and sub-collections relevant for our subject. The “Collectie Spronk” for example contains pictures taken by Otto Kropf, a German war photographer, including 46 photos of Jews imprisoned in the concentration camp Breendonk (1941). The “Fonds André Cauvin” consists of pictures by this Belgian cinematographer and documentary filmmaker. We notably find general pictures of his travels to Palestine in 1947-1948 (103 photos), and photos concerning i.a. the kibbutzim (80 photos), Bethlehem (70 photos), Jerusalem (42 photos), the Dead Sea (38 photos), the Jordan river (15 photos) and other cities and place in Palestine/Israel. The same collection also contains a photo report on Jews crossing the French and Austrian border on their way to Palestine (1949; 78 photos). Furthermore we note the “Fonds UPJB”, related to the exhibition Herbes Amères (1995); the photos depict the panels, texts and images used in this exhibition. The photo collection of the CEGESOMA also contains many smaller sub-collections and individual photographs about various relevant topics such as antisemitic incidents in Germany and Eastern Europe, antisemitism in interwar Belgium, Jewish refugees (i.a. pictures of the ship MS St. Louis), the persecution of the Jews during the Occupation, the Kazerne Dossin and Fort Breendonk, forced labour of Jews in Belgium, hidden Jewish children, Jewish resistance fighters, etc.

Subject terms:: Antisemitism; Children; Exhibitions; Forced labour (of Jews); Holocaust; Holocaust--Concentration camps; Holocaust--Hiding; Jewish self-defence and resistance; Kibbutzim and moshavim; Mandatory Palestine; Photographs; Refugees; State of Israel

Access, restrictions:: Consultation and reproduction is dependent on the copyrights on these images. Some images are therefore included in the CEGESOMA database, but not accessible on the Internet.

Finding aids:: Around 250,000 of the 300,000 images have already been described in the database (section fototheek) of the CEGESOMA. A detailed overview of the various subdivisions of the photo collection can also be found.