State Archives in Belgium

Section 5

Administration of the collections (archives acquisition, management of the depository, making the archives accessible for research): contemporary period

Rue de Ruysbroeck 2, B – 1000 Brussels, + 32 (0)2 513 76 80

Head of Service: Pierre-Alain Tallier
Archivists: Lien Ceûppens, Guy Coppieters, Luc Vandeweyer, Michaël Amara, Filip Strubbe.

The Service and its duties

Section 5 is entrusted with acquiring, preserving and making accessible (for research) the so‑called contemporary archives (public archives, private archives and archives of companies and associations) at the National Archives in Brussels. It is one of the largest sections in terms of space: 41,000 linear metres are administrated here, that are subdivided as follows.

23,000 linear metres of contemporary public archives
14,000 linear metres of archives of companies and associations
4,000 linear metres of private archives (of politicians, officials, diplomats, scientists, journalists, etc.)

These rich archives bear a core importance for the historiography of politics, economy and social, cultural and environmental issues of our regions in the 19th and 20th centuries. A series of parliamentary and governmental investigations have already made use of these archives in order to shed light on certain shadow zones of our national history (Parliamentary investigating committee on the assassination of Patrice Lumumba, Study committee on the whereabouts of the possessions of the Jew community in Belgium that were stolen or left behind during the war of 1940-1945, research project on “The Belgian authorities, persecution and deportation of the Jews”). In some cases, due to the closing of certain services or the harsh conservation conditions prior to the hand-over to the State Archives, some archive fonds are integrated into the National Archives as a bulk transfer. Additionally, in compliance with the decisions taken by the donors, some private archives – particularly the recent ones – are currently not free for consultation. Despite our efforts to hand out most of the consultable but not inventoried archives, some of them, predominantly the most voluminous ones, are not yet accessible to the public due to their material state or the absence of an initial inventory or exhaustive search instrument. Of course we deplore this situation and will undertake every possible effort in the years to come in order to make these precious archives accessible for research. These archives are indeed indispensable to a better understanding of our history, in particular regarding World War II and the immediate post-war period (for instance, concerning winter aid, reconstruction, war damages, etc.). In this context, a partnership with the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) in Washington allowed us to already make some archive fonds accessible to research earlier than planned.

Search instruments

Different guides, leads and overviews on the state of advancement regarding the accessibility to research as well as many search instruments give access to these crucial archives.

Main guides:

VANDEN BOSCH H., AMARA M. et D’HOOGHE V., sous la direction de TALLIER P.-A., « Guide des sources de la Première Guerre mondiale en Belgique - Archievenoverzicht betreffende de Eerste Wereldoorlog in België », Brussel, National Archives of Belgium , 2010, 1057 p. [Publ. 4921 / 54 €]

The sources guide Guide des sources de la Première Guerre Mondiale en Belgique/Archievenoverzicht betreffende de Eerste Wereldoorlog in België contains all information about archival fonds and collections about the First World War in Belgium preserved at the major public and private institutions in Belgium and abroad: federal, provincial and communal administrations, universities, businesses, nonprofit organisations, private individuals etc. Read more...
To download the sources guide: Click here
M. D'HOORE M., Archives de particuliers relatives à l'histoire de la Belgique contemporaine (de 1830 à nos jours), Brussels, 1998 (Series: Gidsen – Guides, no. 40).

Leads:

Archives de particuliers relatives à l'histoire de la Belgique contemporaine conservées aux Archives générales du Royaume. Deuxième édition revue et augmentée dans Jalons de recherche, Brussels, [2005], 12 p.

Progress overviews on access for research:

G. Marechal, Staat van de ontsluiting. VII. Departement I. Ministerie van Binnenlandse Zaken, Brussels, 1999 (Miscellanea Archivistica. Studia no. 122).
R. Depoortere, État d’ouverture à la recherche. VIII. Département I. Conseil d’État. Ministère de la Justice. Établissements pénitentiaires des arrondissements de Bruxelles et de Nivelles, Brussels, 2000 (Miscellanea Archivistica. Studia no. 125).
P.-A. Tallier, État d’ouverture à la recherche. VIII. Département I. Ministère des Classes moyennes et de l’Agriculture, Brussels, 2000 (Miscellanea Archivistica. Studia no. 129).
État de l'ouverture à la recherche. XII. Département I. Archives de la Première Guerre mondiale et fonds associés, 2nd edition revised and updated, Brussels, Generalstaatsarchiv, 2002 (Miscellanea Archivistica. Studia,no. 148).
L.A. BERNARDO, État de l’ouverture à la recherche. XIII. Département I. Archives de particuliers relatives à l’histoire de la Belgique contemporaine (de 1830 à nos jours). 2nd edition revised and extended, Brussels, 2004 (Miscellanea Archivistica. Studia no. 161).

Search instruments

Donations and deposits of archive documents to the National Archives

Feel free to contact us for any question regarding archives donations. Below you will find general information about the declaration of donations and advice concerning selection, description and preservation of records within the framework applicable for the archives of the strategic offices and the secretariats of the federal government (so-called “cabinet archives”).
- Brochure “Versement des archives de particuliers”
- Brochure “Archives des cellules stratégiques et des secrétariats de du gouvernement fédéral”

As for the deposit of fonds from public archives, we invite you to contact our inspection service ( This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ).

Research projects

Two research projects are currently being carried out within the framework of incentives encouraging research in the federal scientific institutions. These projects will provide a better understanding of the Belgian institutions and the archive fonds produced. The aim of the first one is to write a Guide sur les parastataux (Guide to the Parastatal Institutions), while the second project aims at drawing up a Guide des sources relatives aux archives de la Première Guerre mondialeen Belgique et au Congo (Guide of the Sources regarding the Archives of the Second World War in Belgium and in former Belgian Congo).

For further information about the “Archives of the War (1914-1918)” and related fonds preserved at the National Archives, read here.

Last Updated ( Tuesday, 06 December 2011 )

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