Note on the Registers of Aliens in Belgium

(written by Jan Bousse, from Oostende)

As it has been pointed out in various discussion groups recently, the registers of Aliens held in various administrations, local and national, are a very useful source of information for Jewish families who resided in Belgium as aliens (vreemdelingen, etrangers) for a certain period. Where they were recorded and being held and what their origin and scope was is perhaps best described in the introduction of the relevant website of the archives of the city of Antwerp. I quote, in translation:

"Every alien who intends to stay in Belgium for a certain time has to report to the administration authority in the "gemeente" (commune) of his chosen residence. He will further be required to fulfil certain formalities during his stay, also regarding his professional activities".

As far as I have been able to ascertain such registers were made in most cities and towns, usually by the police. I have certainly seen them in those towns where Jewish families often moved to, like Antwerp, Brussels, Liege. From the same introduction referred to above it appears that copies of these registers had to be sent to the relevant national authorities, namely the Ministry of Justice and later the Ministry of the Interior. They were subsequently sent to the National Archives in Brussels. The local authorities were not obliged to keep the copies of the registers once they were sent to the ministry. It is clear however that at least Antwerp and Brussels kept the registers they created. These can now be consulted in their own archives. Public access to the registers that have been transferred to the National Archives is limited to the files older than 100 years.

In fact some archives can be consulted for a much more recent period, like the registers for the city of Antwerp and also the records of the "Vreemdelingendienst - Office des Etrangers" in Brussels. The Aliens registers of the city of Antwerp present a very interesting opportunity, since the files cover a period from 1840 till 1930 (in some cases the data stretch well into the years of the war and thereafter) and, more importantly, the indexes of the files have been put on the internet, the only digital source that I am aware of. It is necessary to know that they are concerned with the registration of aliens in Antwerp itself, not with the adjacent communes like Borgerhout, where also many Jewish families wereresiding. But as these persons often moved from Antwerp to another commune
and back these movements may also have been recorded in the registers of the city of Antwerp.

These indexes can be found online at http://tinyurl.com/2cgzw5. If you have problems opening thus you can try
http://stadsarchief.antwerpen.be/eLoket/Loket.aspx, find in the upper right corner "Zoek", then you will see "Zoeken in index vreemdelingendosssiers" and the relevant periods from 1840 to 1930. If the names you are looking for are there you will see the file number(s). The files themselves of course have to be consulted on microfilms at the archives in Antwerp.

A special mention has been made in various discussion groups of the records held up till now at the Office des Etrangers in Brussels. They cover a period well into the 1940s, if I am right. I believe they reflect the copies the national authority received from the various local administrations. A correspondent told me that they are not only the copies but sometimes more complete files. It has been mentioned that these records will also be transferred to the National Archives in the near future.

I hope this overview may help you in your search for relatives who lived in Belgium for a certain time till perhaps during the last war.