Editorial Office of the Magazine"Hatikwa" of the Zionist Federation of Belgium, Brussels (Fond 145)

Rossiĭskiĭ gosudarstvennyĭ voennyĭ arkhiv 

Jews likely first settled in modern Belgium during the early-13th century, although the exact date of their settlement there cannot be ascertained. Today, the Jewish population of Belgium numbers approximately 30,000 - the 15th largest Jewish community in the world. In 1370, after Black Death, the brutal Brussel's Massacre wiped out the Belgian Jewish community. Jewish life did not flourish until the beginning of the 18th century, when Belgium became a part of Austria, subsequently of France and the Netherlands. In 1830, when Belgium was granted independence, religious equality was established, and for first time Jews were able to have their own communal organization with a chief rabbinate in Brussels. When the Allied armies entered Belgium in late 1944, they found 19,000 Jewish survivors. These were the remnants of a community numbering 100,000 before the German occupation. Another 30,000 survived by escaping, being hidden by Belgian neighbors, or by having false documents. In 2006, there were about 31,000 Jews living in Belgium, mainly in Brussels and Antwerp. The majority of Antwerp Jews work in the diamond industry. It is the center of Orthodox Jewry, while Brussels Jewry is mostly non-Orthodox. The Zionist Federation of Belgium is the only organized Jewish body conducting cultural, educational, and social programs on nationwide basis. The federation's biweekly paper is the"Tribune Sionist", the only Jewish publication in Belgium. 

Editorial Office of the Magazine"Hatikwa" of the Zionist Federation of Belgium, Brussels (Fond 145) 

1 microfilm reel (partial), 16 mm 846 digital images, JPEG 

Correspondence with Jewish newspapers and Zionist and other international organizations. Note: USHMM Archives holds only selected records. 

Copyright Holder: Rossiĭskiĭ gosudarstvennyĭ voennyĭ arkhiv 

Fond 145 (1920-1940), Opis 1; Delo 1-4. Arranged in one series: Correspondence of the editorial office of the"Hatikwa" magazine. Note: Location of digital images; Partial microfilm reels: #221 and 222: Reel 221: Image 2149-Reel end; Reel 222: Reel start-Image #714.