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On May 10, 1940 the Nazis occupation of the entire country began. Some months later, the Nazis launched their anti-Jewish campaign and fifty-three thousand Jews were deported out of 100,000 residing in the country. Jews were able to hide in an area of Belgium that the Germans, during WW 1, also did not occupy. The majority of the Jews living in Belgium at this time, were foreign nationals, including many stateless ones. Many tried to flee the country; some returned and others fled to the US, Latin America, Portugal, Britain, etc. Today, Belgium has the fourth largest Jewish community in Europe - a country that is the size of Maryland.
"Belgium Jewish Heritage" - available from the Belgian Tourist Office, 780 Third Avenue, Suite 1501, New York, NY 10017. This booklet has information about Jewish museums, kosher restaurants and Jewish organizations. "Index of Jewish Family Names and Family Search Indicators to Provide Quicker and Easier Searches in Brussels' Archives" - authored by Claude Geudevertt, this index is a genealogical tool which provides useful information for those interested in finding their Jewish roots and their possible connections with Belgium. An alphabetical list of family names, based on available archival sources in Brussels, along with the first location where an individual or family is known or proved to have lived prior to coming to Brussels. This index is one of a series of helpful publications available from GenAmi at a nominal charge. "Memorial to the Jews Deported from Belgium 1942-44" (Memorial de la Deportation des Juifs de Belgique") authored by Beate Klarsfeld, was published after 1978 in English and should be available from F.F.D.J.F 32, rue la Boetie, 75008 Paris, France or from The Beate Klarsfeld Foundation 515 Madison Avenue New York, NY 10022 General Belgium Synagoog van de Portugese ritus Hoveniersstraat 3 Antwerp Antwerp was one of the main transit ports in Europe. The Flemish port city encompasses one of the last remaining shtetls in the world. Diamonds and Orthodoxy are the two forces of this community. There are six large Ashkenazi Shuls and one small Sephardi one located across from the diamond exchange. On the front of the synagogue is a memorial plaque to the victims of a Palestinian terrorist bomb placed there in 1981. The primary language is Yiddish, French or Hebrew. Useful addresses in Antwerp can be found listed Antwerp Census of 1913 - Names and addresses may be obtained by writing to Micheline Guttmann, GenAmi, Paris, France michelinegutmann@free.fr In French Antwerp Passenger Lists - are available via the internet. Make your request by posting a message in the soc.genealogy.benelux Emigrants leaving from Antwerp to the US and Canada, in the period from 1872 until 1935, were in general, transported by the Red Star Line. Unfortunately, it is said that nothing has survived of the Red Star Line archives. The only source of information for emigrants who were not residents of Belgium are the registers of hotels and boarding houses. Emigrants did not usually stay in hotels, but in boarding houses. Some, but not all, registers of boarding houses are kept at the Stadsarchief in Antwerp and can be viewed there. The periods available are: 1811-1821 Jan Bousse of Oostende, Belgium boussejan@pandora.be may be contacted for additional information according to a posting to JewishGen on March 27, 2000. Archives - General State Archives - in Brussels. Lewis Baratz, in a posting to JewishGen of Feb 10, 1999, stated that "as a Fulbright Scholar, Belgium has remarkable archives, probably second only to the UK, and the documents are highly accessible." Liege is in the Francophone community which is a bit less likely to prioritize a foreign request - language reasons, primarily. Stadsarchief Antwerpen (City Archive of Antwerp, Belgium) Arlon - a monument has been placed in the new Jewish cemetery to the memory of the Jews of Arlon who were deported and massacred by the Nazis. There is a synagogue at rue St. Jean. Contact: Sec: J. C. Jacob rue des Martyrs 11 Phone: 063 21 79 85 Belgium Web Sites - Belgium and Dutch Jews were sometimes called Black Dutch in America because they spoke Dutch or Flemish and were darker than the other Dutch and Flemish. They had only recently moved to the Netherlands and Belgium (then Spanish Netherlands) from Iberia (Portugal and Spain). When Spain annexed Portugal for a while, many Portuguese Jews fled to Spanish Flanders to escape the Inquisition or Flanders as part of Spanish Netherlands). Most, like the famous philosopher Baruch Spinoza, crossed into Protestant Netherlands for greater freedom of expression and religion Belgium-Roots Project - created for the purpose of assisting the descendants of Belgian emigrants/immigrants living abroad in tracing their Belgian roots and exploring their Belgian heritage Belgian Society for Jewish Genealogy - Genealogy and Family History in the Benelux Jewish - Museum of Belgium - On-line Archives in Flanders, Belgium - City Archives of Antwerp in Belgium - City Records of Mechelen in Belgium - Shoah Museum in Belgium - GeneaNet - Daniel Dratwa is the President and is also the Conservator of the Jewish Museum of Belgium. Bruge (Brocha) - should you ever plan on visiting Belgium, may I suggest you consider this wonderful and delightful town. In all of our travels, Shirley and I have never found a more tranquil setting as this town displays. You will be able to see how people lived from the 14th century on as this town has preserved this delightful atmosphere very carefully. There are no modern buildings around. Nothing has been remodeled to look like the 21st century. The town looks the same today as it did in yesteryear. And if you are lucky, once every four years, I believe, the town has a celebration and the townspeople dress up like in the old days. We happened to visit there when it happened and remember it now often as one of life's wonderful travel experiences. Brussels - there is a substantial and diverse Jewish community and the city is also the seat of the Consistoire Central Israelite de Belgique, the official representative body of Belgian Jewry that is composed of representatives of both Orthodoxy and the secular Jewish organizations. Beth Hillel, the synagogue of the Communaute Israelite Liberale de Belgique rue Josepah Dupont. It is the largest synagogues in Belgium and is traditional Ashkenazim. Rabbi is Albert Guigui. E-Mail 512 43.34 & 512 92 37 has about 400 families as members. The Central Synagogue was established in 1878 and is next door to the Royal Conservatory and near the Palais de Justice. Behind its nondescript front, is a stunningly beautiful interior. The congregation is 'traditional' and shares the synagogue with Orthodox members who hold their own parallel services in a shtibl on the second floor. There is about 1,300 families who attend the High Holiday services. Charleoi - there is a synagogue and a Kehila at 56 rue Pige au Croly. Contact: Sec: M. Weinberg 65 rue van der Velde, 6300 Marchiennes List of 100,000 names from Brussels - containing all the names of Jews and others, deported from Belgium, including some with their families. Many families lived in Brussels since the 18th century. Names from Eastern Europe, as well as from France, Germany and the Netherlands are also available at Also there is a database containing documents, names and pictures from Jews deported from Belgium on the site: Machsike Hadass (Communaute Israelite Orthodoxe de Bruxelles is located at 67a rue de la Clinique. Rabbi Chaikin. There is the synagogue, Beth Ha'Midrash, a mikva'ot'oth and the Beth Din on the premises. Much more general information about the Jewish community, including the addresses and phone numbers of the many synagogues and Jewish organizations in Brussels can be found at Central Jewish Welfare Organization Digital Resources for Belgium contains a huge amount of resources including passenger lists The Emigrants from Belgium to the United States and Canada | |||
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