The Jewish Museum of Deportation and Resistance

In the middle of 2003 the archives of the JMDR were recognised as one of the Flemish ‘theme archives’. The Documentation Center has received a statutory mandate to collect and centralise all information regarding the persecution of Jews and Gypsies in Belgium and Northern France. This comprises the digitizing of documents and archives which are in both public and private hands and the safe keeping of original documents and archives.

1. Collection of archive material from the JMDR

Copies of these documents are available from the JMDR. At present the collection consists of 9.807 records and 25.910 pictures.

2. Collection of printed material from the JMDR

Copies of these documents are available from the JMDR. At present the collection consists of 424 records and 1.253 pictures.

3. Collection of video material from the JMDR

4. Collection of photographs from the JMDR

5. Collection of interviews from the JMDR

- Regine Beer
- Fanny Birkenwald
- Charles Brusselairs
- Philip Claes
- Herschel Finck
- Maurice Finck
- Jozef Hautman
- Samuel Hejblum
- Maryla Michalowski
- Nathan Ramet
- Tobias Schiff
- Willem Sel
- JanVanCalsteren
- Nina Van Kerckhoven
- Emile Vos

This video collection has not been subjected to transcripts or other editing. The JMDR is familiar with the backgrounds of the witnesses and is able to open the collection for those who are interested. Owing to the restrictions of both time and money preference has been given to the digitizing of the pictures taken by just one of the cameras.

The 'last witnesses'

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5.3 The collection "Abramowicz"

The collection "Abramowicz" consists of rushes of interviews with children who were hidden during the occupation. Myriam Abramowicz gave the JMDR a copy of the final product entitled “Comme si c’était hier” (“As if it were Yesterday”)as well as the originals of the complete interviews. It is made up of about 10 hours of 16mm film which in the past was transcribed onto VHS.

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5.4 The collection of Laurence Schram

The collection of Laurence Schram consists on the one hand, of interviews that she made whilst in the course of writing her treatise “La mémoire des rescapés juifs d’Auschwitz”(*) (“The Recollections of Jewish Survivors from Auschwitz”) between 1992 and 1993, and on the other hand interviews that she undertook as a member of the staff of the JMDR since 1996. These interviews, recorded on audio tape, were made with the help of a standard questionnaire. Post interview transcriptions were made of most of the interviews. Many of the witnesses filled in an identification card.

Senja Antman, 7th October 1992, audio,completely transcribed (*)
Tauba Ehrenberg, 4th December 1992, audio, completely transcribed (*)
Schaja Cige, 7th December 1992, audio, completely transcribed (*)
Henri Sonnenbluck, 7th December 1992, audio, completely transcribed (*)
Marie Pinhas, 17th December 1992, audio, completely transcribed (*)
Izak Gliksman, 24th December 1992, audio, completely transcribed (*)
Bertha Koch, 19th February 1993, audio, completely transcribed (*)
Jakob Cukierblum, 22nd February 1993, audio, completely transcribed (*)
Anonym, 20th May 1993, audio, not transcribed
Mozes Sendyk, 2nd July 1993, audio, completely transcribed
Martha Bindiger, 16th August 1993, audio, partially transcribed
Nathan Ramet, Autumn 1996, audio, not transcribed
A.Borges, 5th March 1997, audio, not transcribed
Michael Dagan, audio, partially transcribed
Félix Rozenberg, 6th and 11th November 1997, audio, not transcribed
Mariette Hermans, 24th May1998, audio, not transcribed
David Lachman, 19th June 1998, audio, Not transcribed
Félix Nejman, 8th and 15th March 1999, audio, not transcribed
Leon Raszkin, 28th April 1999, audio, not transcribed (corrective work ongoing)
Anonym, 20th January 2000, audio, transcribed
Abraham Karolinsky, 27th February and 10th September 2001, audio, not transcribed
Fanny Biber, 3rd December 2002,audio, not transcribed
Alice Bonheim, 6th March 2003, audio, not transcribed

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5.5 Interviews made by the staff of the JMDR

Ilya Prigogine, July 1995, on video tape, not transcribed
Robert Maistriau, August 1995, on video tape, not transcribed
Simon Gronowski, August 1995, on video tape, not transcribed
Eva Fastag, 23rd November 1995, on video tape, not transcribed
Irène Spicker, 23rd November 1995, on video tape, not transcribed
Joseph Blitz, 11th December 1995, on video tape, not transcribed
Isy Beck, 11th December 1995, on video tape, not transcribed
Henri Apfelbaum, 12th December 1995, on video tape, not transcribed
Félicie Gruszow, 12th December 1995, on video tape, not transcribed
Henri Sonnenbluk,19th December 1995, on video tape, not transcribed
Marie Pinhas, 19th December 1995, on video tape, not transcribed
Rosie Mandel recta Kwadrat, 15th August 1997, audio, not transcribed

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5.6 Interviews made by Frédéric Molle whilst in the course of writing his treatise “Le SS-Sammellager de Malines: la vie dans la caserne Dossin” (“The SS Collection Camp in Mechelen – Life in the Dossin Barracks”):

Benita Hirschfeld, Summer 1997, audio, transcription ongoing
Ketti Birnbaum, Summer 1997, audio, not transcribed
Eva Fastag, Summer 1997, audio, not transcribed
Henriette Heller-Edersheim, Summer 1997, audio, not transcribed
M. Rosenfein, 23rd June 1997, audio, not transcribed
Jo Kirchenstein, 30th June 1997, audio, not transcribed
Maurice Swarc, 29th July 1997, audio, not transcribed
Benjamin Gutfeld, 4th August 1997, audio, not transcribed

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5.7 Interviews made by Sylvain Brachfeld.

This archive contains a collection of interviews made in the Jewish community within the framework of, “The Righteous Among The Nations” from Yad Vashem, Jerusalem. Copies of these interviews are held in the Antwerp City Archives.

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5.8 Interviews taken by "The Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation"

On the initiative of the film director Steven Spielberg, numerous witnesses were questioned about their experiences during the Shoah. The JMDR is holding a CD-Rom with an index of all the interviewees and copies of all the Belgian interviews.

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6. Collections of relics held in safe custody by the JMDR, 1942-1944

At present the ‘relics’ are stored in 3.048 envelopes. The contents are documents that the prisoners were forced to surrender to the camp officials upon arrival at the Kazerne Dossin, e.g. photographs, letters, ID cards, diplomas etc.
This collection consists primarily of documents from deportees of ‘Convoy XX’ and subsequent transportations.

From the ‘relics’ an index of the contents has been drawn up. They are also digitized.
Survivors, or their next of kin, may reclaim their documents at any time. Requests to release ‘relics’ should be made in writing to the JMDR.

7. The Register of Jews from Antwerp

A German decree dating from 28th October 1940 made it compulsory for all local and city councils from Greater Antwerp to institute a standardised card index system for the registration of all Jews living in their administrative zone who were older than 15 years of age. Some councils carried out this German directive with great enthusiasm whilst others were less cooperative.

The cards contained the following information: surname, given names, date of birth, place of birth, nationality, profession, religion, name, date and place of birth of one’s husband / wife, names of grandparents from both the father’s and the mother’s side, names of parents, names and dates of birth of the children, date of arrival in Belgium and successive addresses.

The copyright for this data base is held by ‘Het Centraal Beheer voor Joodse Weldadigheid en Maatschappelijk Hulpbetoon v.z.w.’ commonly known as the ‘Centrale’ (‘The Center’). This organisation now retains the archive data base for 10.012 filing cards which forms the Register of Jews from Antwerp.

In August 1999 an agreement was reached between representatives from the Centrale and the JMDR whereby the museum undertook to clean, restore, digitize, pack and index all the cards. The treatment of the 10.012 cards was completed in May 2003. They were then ceremoniously handed over to their rightful owners.

In order that the disclosure of information held on the cards is optimally preserved and presented it was decided to opt for an index system that, to a certain extent, restricted the capacity of the information contained on each individual card.

A German decree dating from 28th October 1940 made it compulsory for all local and city councils in Belgium to institute a standardised card index system for the registration of all Jews living in their administrative zone who were older than 15 years of age. Some councils carried out this directive with great enthusiasm whilst others were less cooperative.

The collection consists of 217 ring binders containing the registration cards of Belgian Jews named in the Register. Sometimes additional administrative documents are attached to the cards. The Register is classified in alphabetical order per borough.

Bilingual forms were used viz. French and Dutch. Each form included the following fields: surname, given names, date of birth, place of birth, nationality, profession, religion, name, date and place of birth of one’s husband / wife, names of grandparents from both the father’s and the mother’s side, names of the parents, names and dates of birth of the children, date of arrival in Belgium and successive addresses. Only very occasionally were the forms completely filled in.

The Register of Jews in Belgium is owned by the Joodse Sociale Dienst (Jewish Social Services), in Brussels. It is being held in safe custody by the Joods Museum van België (Jewish Museum of Belgium). The first contacts between the JMDR the Joodse Sociale Dienst and the Joods Museum van België concerning the restoration and conservation of the Register dates from 1998. Only in 2003 was a procedual agreement reached.

The filing cards from the SIPO – SD, provided information about 56.000 people and formed the basis of racial persecution. It consists of 16 German, French and Belgian archives.

The index cards are owned by the Dienst Oorlogsslachtoffers (DOS) (Department of War Victims).

For a number of years the JMDR has devoted itself to tidying up the cards e.g. removing the numerous staples and pins and noting the wear and tear of the items with a view to their restoration, packing in acid free paper and the placing of all the information in a databank at some date in the future.

During WW II the occupying forces set up the Jodenvereeniging in België (JVB) (Association of Jews in Belgium) commonly known as the Jodenraad. A similar organisation was to be found in all the countries of Europe occupied by the Axis Powers. In the beginning the lists were drawn up in the offices of the local Jodenraad. Later the lists were transferred to the Anti-Jewish center run by Pierre Beeckmans. After the War they were given to the SOMA (Studie- en Documentatiecentrum Oorlog en Hedendaagse Maatschappij).

This registration of Jewish families was classified per borough and per street by the administration department of the Jodenraad.

These archives contain documents from the Jodenvereeniging in België (JVB) (Association of Jews in Belgium), an organisation set up by the occupying forces during WW II. Similar organisations were to be found throughout occupied Europe.

In this case we are dealing with the original archives of the Vereeniging van Joden in Belgie (JVB) (Association of Jews in Belgium). They formed the basis of the material evidence in the judicial enquiry into the responsibility of the JVB. As the verdict of this investigation resulted in a total discharge of the claims against the JVB Max Gottschalk was able to lay claim to the archives and their contents. In 1959 he set about constituting the Centre National des Hautes Etudes Juives (CNEHJ) (National Centre for Higher Jewish Studies). This was later to become the Institut Buber ( Buber Institute). Here he deposited these archives.

In this archive one finds orders and 199 dossiers, which form the most important part of the contents of the collection, 13 files in connection with membership fees, 19 files about interventions and 32 files dealing with the bookkeeping. The 18 files covering the registration cards of the members of the JVB, are missing. This archive was first made available for examination and research in 2003 after the first classification in the CNHEJ, during the early 1960’s, by Alexandre Fried, and after the archive work carried out by the JMDR between 2001 and 2003. 315 files remain to be catalogued.

12. Archive of the Association of Jews in Belgium (Independence Front)

These archives also contain documents from the JVB, the organisation set up by the Germans. Similar organisations were to be found throughout occupied Europe.

These archives were taken from the offices of the Jodenraad (JVB) by the Resistance Fighters from the Independence Front, after the War. They were kept in the Nationaal Verzetsmuseum (National Resistance Movement Museum) in Anderlecht, Brussels for many years. In 2003 these archives were placed in safe custody with the JMDR.

13. Department of Alien Affairs “Give them a Face”

The Home Office has kept all the files pertaining to foreigners who had immigrated to Belgium. In 2004 the JMDR obtained authority from the Home Office to digitize the records from the Vreemdelingenpolitie – persoonlijke dossiers (Alien Police – personal files) of deported Jews and Gypsies. It was confirmed that many of those deported were in fact immigrants.

These files are an exceptionally rich source of information. It has now been possible, for the first time, thanks to these files, to place a photograph next to a name.

For this ambitious project offices in the ‘World Trade Center 2’ (an office building in Brussels), have been made available and successful discussions with the Brussels Regional Council, have led to them making available government paid staff.

14. Archive from Louis Van Brussel

These archives have been collected and put together by the resistance fighter Louis van Brussel himself. They are the result of what he has collected during his lifetime. In 2001 they were placed in safe custody with the JMDR.

15. Cooperation with other exhibitions

The JMDR is regularly asked to lend part of its archive collection to organisations and museums for temporary expositions.

The high quality of presentation of pieces from the JMDR has made them an important partner for such expositions. The JMDR always insists that their documents be made available for public viewing free of charge.

16. The Belgian display in The State Museum Auschwitz – Birkenau

At the request of H. M. King Albert II, King of the Belgians, and his Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt the JMDR undertook the coordination of the project to renovate the Belgian display in The State Museum Auschwitz – Birkenau. On 14th February 2005 Ward Adriaens took charge of a work group of ad hoc historians charged with shaping the plans for the project.

On 7th May 2006, after more than a year of sustained effort from all the parties involved in the project, the display was finally officially opened in the presence of the Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice, Laurette Onkelinx, the Secretary of State for Defence, André Flahaut and the Secretary of Public Works, Bruno Tuybens. Also present were numerous representatives from various Jewish and historical organisations accompanied by about 100 children from Dutch and French speaking schools in Belgium.

The display has a very sober concept, consisting of three light and spacious rooms each dealing with a particular aspect of the Jewish persecution during World War II. Room I deals with the occupation of Belgium and the reactions of the the local population. Room II gives an explanation of the 17 Anti-Jewish decrees. Room III tells the story of the 28 convoys which left Mechelen, Belgium with deportees bound for State Museum Auschwitz – Birkenau.

A catalogue will be published on 26th January 2007. Copies will be distributed to schools and embassies.