Files of the Comité Juif d'Epuration. Collection

After the liberation of Belgium the Jewish community was confronted with accusations against a number of community members suspected of collaboration with the Nazis. The Comité de Défense des Juifs (Jewish Defence Committee or CDJ) and its successor, the Aide aux Israélites Victimes de la Guerre (AIVG), established an unofficial Comité Juif d’Epuration. This team – which included members such as Paul Halter and Max Wulfowicz – collected testimonies which shed light on the actions of (supposed) Jewish collaborators. In some cases the committee also collected evidence to rehabilitate an accused. The Comité Juif d'Epuration compiled a file during every investigation. If consistent evidence of collaboration was found, the committee transferred the complete file to the Belgian Judiciary, leaving only some remnant documents in their own archives. By the end of 1946 political disagreements with left Zionist movements led to the abolition of the committee.

The Comité Juif d'Epuration was housed by the Front de l'Indépendance (Independence Front), a resistance movement which during the war had also included the Comité de Défense des Juifs (Jewish Defence Committee or CDJ). The files of the Comité Juif d'Epuration, which were not transferred to the Belgian Judiciary, remained with the Independence Front until they were handed over to Kazerne Dossin.

Front de l'Indépendance (Independence Front), 2014