Jews first arrived in what is now Belgium in the early 13th century. By the end of the 14th century, most of the Jews had left as a result of religious persecution. In the early 15th century, Jews again appeared in the southern Netherlands. Many of these were Marranos settling primarily in the Antwerp area. At the end of the 19th century, there was a large influx of immigration from Central and Eastern Europe, which resulted in a bipolarization of Belgian Jewry. Brussels was a center of French influences, whereas Antwerp was strongly Yiddish.
When the Germans invaded on May 10, 1940, there were about 100,000 Jews in Belgium, with about 33,000 living in Brussels. A majority of the Jews fled the country, primarily to France. It is estimated that at least 30,000 Jews were ultimately deported to German death camps. In 1941, an organization, Association de Juifs en Belgique, was created to administer Jewish affairs. Beginning in July 1942, the Germans began to round up Jews for transfer to the labor camp at Mechlin and from there to the extermination camps in the east.
Below is a thumbnail of a letter dated March 5, 1943, on the letterhead of Synagogue Tifereth Israel in Brussels. The letter contains a certification that "Aron Waldman is serving as Chief Cantor of the Synagogue community and is an active member of the Board of Religious Schools, and he is irreplaceable." The letter is signed by the president of the synagogue community and contains a photo tied by a double circle handstamp of the Synagogue Community Bruxelles. An additional 7-line handwritten ratification is signed by Marcel Blum, President of the Association de Juifs en Belgique. The ratification note is dated July 3, 1943 with an official "Communaute Israelite De Bruxelles handstamp. This is obviously an attempt to prevent the expulsion of the Cantor to the concentration camps. Please click on the thumbnail to see the full image, and then click your back key or "Document" in the left frame to return.
Encyclopedia Judaica, CD-Rom Edition, Keter Publishing
Spector, The Encyclopedia of Jewish Life Before and During the Holocaust (2001), P. 204-5
Copyright © 2003 Edward Victor