Zeire Ha'am. Collection

Kazerne Dossin Research Centre The photographs show different members of the Zeire Ha’am posing for group pictures, among other things. Among these members are Eric Beckmann and Rosa Ringer. Zeire Ha'am ("the youth of the people"), a Zionist youth organisation, was especially active in Antwerp in the 1930's. This Antwerp youth association drew inspiration from another Jewish youth organisation, Ness Ziona, which was active in Scheveningen in The Netherlands. After young people had joined the organisation, they founded Zeire Ha'am in Antwerp around 1927. Antwerp had a flourishing Jewish community at the time. Zionist associations, among others, ensured a lively Jewish club life in the city. This life was largely disrupted after the Germans had occupied Belgium. Fortunately, the majority of the members of Zeire Ha'am had already emigrated by then. Zeire Ha'am was Zionist in a general manner: the organisation was not affiliated to any party and could not vote at Zionist congresses. The leaders chose this as they felt that this served the purpose of emigration better. It saved a lot of squabbling between different Zionist ideologies. The purpose of the association was to learn about Palestine, Zionism, to do scouting and to prepare for emigration. The association ceased to exist before 1940 and the start of The Second World War. This collection contains thirty-six pictures showing different members of the Antwerp based youth association Zeire Ha’am. Most pictures feature the youths posing, including Eric Beckmann and Rosa Ringer, between 1932 and 1933. The locations where the pictures are taken, are mostly camp locations of Zeire Ha'am. These include Heide, Bouwel, Genval, Kapellenbosch and Peerdsbosch. One picture in this collection also shows a class of a Jewish school in Scheveningen, The Netherlands, during The First World War. Contact Kazerne Dossin Research Centre: archives@kazernedossin.eu An identification document of the photographed people and a membership list of Zeire Ha'am are available in the reading room of the Kazerne Dossin Research Centre.