Files of the municipality of Sint-Jans-Molenbeek on the anti-Jewish measures. Collection

Digital copy available as collection KD_00015 at Kazerne Dossin Contact Kazerne Dossin Documentation Centre: archives@kazernedossin.eu The municipality of Sint-Jans-Molenbeek - digitised by Kazerne Dossin This collection consists of six files regarding the implementation of anti-Jewish measures in Sint-Jans-Molenbeek: KD_00015_0001: Circulars addressed to the municipality of Sint-Jans-Molenbeek regarding the creation of a Jewish Register, the addition of a stamp ‘Jood-Juif’ on the ID cards of Jewish inhabitants, the elimination of the German nationality for Jews, the wearing of the yellow badge and the Arbeitseinsatz (convocations for forced labour) in August 1942 KD_00015_0002: The Jewish Register of Sint-Jans-Molenbeek, which consists of 553 forms. Each form lists the following information: surname, first names, date and place of birth, profession, nationality, religion, date of arrival in Belgium, the country of migration, successive addresses, date and place of registration, and the person’s signature, but also name, date and place of birth and religion of the spouse, the parents, the grandparents and the children. Children younger than 15 were registered on their parents’ entry. KD_00015_0003: An alphabetical list of all Jews living in Sint-Jans-Molenbeek, mentioning their full name, date and place of birth, profession and address. KD_00015_0004: A handwritten repertory of 140 Jews from Sint-Jans-Molenbeek, mentioning their name and the number of their form in the Jewish Register of the municipality. KD_00015_0005: Copy of Le Moniteur belge – Belgisch Staatsblad (Belgian official journal) of 21 March 1942, containing the statutes of the Association of Jews in Belgium. KD_00015_0006: Photos of the original binder containing the Jewish Register of Sint-Jans-Molenbeek A name index for the Jewish Register of Sint-Jans-Molenbeek (KD_00015_0002) is available at the Kazerne Dossin documentation centre. The German Verordnung (Anti-Jewish measure) of 28 October 1940, published in the Verordnungsblatt on 5 November 1940, ordered the registration of Jews from the age of 15 by the Belgian municipalities. The heads of the Belgian civil service willingly placed the country’s administrative apparatus at the occupier’s disposal to allow the registration of Jews, from Arlon to Ostend. In so doing, civil servants violated both the Belgian constitution and the The Hague Convention no. IV of 1907. Henceforward, anyone with three Jewish grandparents was considered a Jew. Since the Nazis were unable to define the concept of ‘Jewishness’ racially, they turned instead to a religious criterion. A person’s grandparent was Jewish if he or she (had) practiced the Jewish religion. Severe penalties were introduced for those who failed to register at the municipalities. Exact numbers are unavailable, since the size of the Jewish community in Belgium before 1940 is unknown, but it is estimated that 5% to 10% of the community did not register. However, the Belgian municipalities actively urged children turning 15 to visit the town hall. This resulted in the registration of Jews in Belgium up until 1943, long after deportations from the Dossin barracks had started. The Verordnung of 28 October 1940 was followed by 16 other anti-Jewish measures including the marking of ID cards of Jewish inhabitants with the stamp ‘Jood-Juif’ as of 29 July 1941, the obligatory membership of the Association of Jews in Belgium as of Spring 1942, wearing the yellow badge as of 27 May 1942, the loss of German nationality and the convocations for forced labour.