History of the institution

The creation of the Belgian state in 1830 is accompanied by the establishment of a civil intelligence service : Public Security. This depends directly on the Ministry of Justice., but will on several occasions be the subject of transfers between this Ministry, Interior and Defense. From its beginnings, the Sûreté is responsible for ensuring internal security and thus ensures the surveillance of suspicious associations, industries and foreigners((The Foreigners Police is a service directly dependent on Public Security.)). It also deals with prisons and the issuance of passports((Libert R., « De geschiedenis van 175 jaar veiligheid van de staat », in Cools M. (e.a.), La Sûreté. Essais sur les 175 ans de la Sûreté de l’Etat, Brussels, Politeia, 2005, p. 26.)). Its organization and its missions will follow the evolution of the country and will depend on the socio-political context..

The Orangemen constitute the first disturbing movement which holds the attention of the Public Security until 1840. After calm is restored with the Netherlands, it is the French refugees who flock to Belgian territory. In 1848, republican movements are likely to threaten public order and lead to a revolution. Years 1870 with in particular the Franco-Prussian war, lead to a reinforcement of the repressive apparatus. Moreover, the anarchist and socialist movements constitute a great preoccupation at the end of the 19th until the dawn of the First World War. Foreigners but also Belgians are watched like the Flemish Jacob Kats, pioneer of socialism in Belgium. The Public Security then collaborates closely at the national level with the municipal police forces of the various Belgian provinces., but also with other intelligence services of foreign countries such as France, Britain and Russia((Rousseaux X. and Somer D., « Pour une histoire de la Sûreté de l’Etat en Belgique. Essai autour des 175 années de pénombre », in Cools M. (e.a.), op.cit., p. 53, 54.)).

The First World War is a period characterized by the absence of information regarding the activities of the Sûreté. After the war, it pays attention to Belgians who have worked with the enemy and to foreign soldiers who have been arrested. From the years 1920, it exchanges information on the Communists with the French services, British and German. This sharing of information with Germany is applicable until 1937. A March 1940, Public Security is reorganized into State Security, which depends on the Ministry of Defense. During the German invasion in May 1940, the Ministry of Justice and Defense orders the Sûreté to set fire to the archives. However, the files of the Aliens Police are given to the occupier. This explains why there are few archives dating from the interwar period.. When the Belgian government left for London at the start of the Occupation, a State Security is specially created. In Belgium, there remains only the service of the Foreigners Police which is subject to the Germans. At the end of the war, the Public Security is reorganized again and must at that time take care of the uncivil. Afterwards, the end of the 1940s marked the beginning of the Cold War with a new struggle against the Communists((Ibid., p. 54-57 ; Debruyne E., La Maison de verre, agents et réseaux de renseignement en Belgique occupée. 1940-1944, Louvain-la-Neuve, 2005-2006, p.108-109; Van Doorslaer R. (dir.), Debruyne E. (it's at), La Belgique docile : les autorités belges et la persécution des Juifs en Belgique durant la Seconde Guerre mondiale, Brussels, Pire, 2007, p. 349.)).

The direction of this intelligence service is ensured by a general administrator. These are succeeded to this function :

Isidore Plaisant (1830-1831) Robert de Foy (1933-1940 and 1947 to 1958)
Alexis Hody (1833-1840) Fernand Lepage (1940-1944)
Alexis Hody (1840-1852) Paul Bihin (1945-1947)
Joseph Verheyen (1852-1869) Ludovic Caeymaex (1958-1977)
Victor Berden (1869-1882) Albert Raes (1977-1990)
Adolphe Gauthier de Rasse (1882-1890) Stéphane Schewebach (1990-1993)
Francois de Latour (1890-1903) Bart Van Lijsebeth (1994-1999)
Jean de Rode (1903-1906) Godelieve Timmermans (2000-2002)
Louis Gonne (1906-1917) Koenraad Dassen (2002-2005)
Alfred Rémy (1927-1929) Alain Winants (2006-2014)
René Beltjens (1929-1933) Jaak Raes (2014-)

Archive status

Part of the archives of the Sûreté was transferred to the Archives générales du Royaume (AGR). These are more particularly the archives of the Aliens Police Service. This collection is made up of general files and individual files. Firstly, general files are divided into two installments : the first covering the period 1830 to 1914 and the second, the period 1918 to 1960. There are also some archives dating from the French regime (1794-1814/15) and dutch (1814/15-1830)((Libert R., « Archieven van de ‘Veiligheid van de Staat’ in depot », in Cahier du BISC, n°9, p. 204. However, the archives dating from the French and Dutch regime are not numerous and the majority are municipal regulations.)). Despite a certain purification in the files, these documents make it possible to observe the functioning of the service and its general policy in relation to the various crises throughout the history of Belgium. On the other hand, the IGAs keep individual files relating to foreigners who have traveled to Belgium from 1835 to 1943. Many files of 19th century were destroyed, but the fund is practically complete from 1889. It should be noted that some more recent files containing personal data can be consulted after having declared your research motivations and obtained the agreement of the archivist.. These individual files make it possible to know various personal information on the foreigner and also to see the elements which held the attention of the Foreigners Police. Moreover, individual files subsequent to 1943 are kept at the Immigration Office and can only be consulted by providing proof of family relationship with the person sought((Archives générales du Royaume, Les dossiers individuels des étrangers produits par la Sûreté publique (Police des étrangers), 1835-1943, Research Milestones #19.)).

Security records can be viewed at Centre d’Études et de documentation Guerre et Sociétés contemporaines (CEGESOMA). These archives mainly concern the period of the Second World War and more particularly the activities of the State Security in London and the Intelligence and Action Services((« Les archives de la Sûreté de l’Etat », in Sureté de l’Etat, Rapport annuel 2011, Brussels, 2012, p. 106.)). The first set consists of 413 files on general Security activity in London and on networks in the field. The second includes 50 000 personal folders on each network agent((Debruyne E., op.cit., p.23-25.)). The files can be consulted after having obtained the authorization of Mr Robin Libert((Written request by email via robin.libert@vsse.be)).

In addition to these funds, other Sûreté archives can be found in the correspondence of several institutions. This is the case for the relations between the general administrator and the General Staff which are observed in the archives of the gendarmerie., kept at Federal Police Documentation Center (CDC) and at Historic Center of the Federal Police((Note that the archives are no longer available for consultation due to work. A majority of the archives will be transferred to the AGR in the course of 2019.)). The "Notes" and "Orders" of the body provide information concerning, for example, the surveillance missions entrusted by the administrator to the police, especially for the period of 1919 to 1950. What's more, archives of the general commissariat of the judicial police near the public prosecutor's offices dating from 1930 to 1950 are available at the State Archives (AE) in Anderlecht. This documentation relates to the collaboration between the two services such as the requisition of judicial police officers by the Sûreté, the pursuit of incivics and the recovery of judicial files from the Sûreté by the police. At the State Archives in Brussels, the files kept by the municipal police also provide information on the relationship between the police and the Sûreté, particularly at the level of the surveillance of socialists and anarchists in the 19th century. Moreover, the court records also include documents produced by the Public Security. This is the case of the public prosecutor's offices, of boroughs, Courts and Tribunals, but also the military courts. Finally, the archives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs possess on the one hand files on the Congolese Security contained in the African archives((Rousseaux X. and Somer D., op.cit., p. 61-66.)). And on the other hand, the diplomatic archives in which are present some files relating to the Security during the XXth century. Other archives can also be found in the correspondence between the Sûreté and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, but they are very often discovered by carrying out a search thanks to a theme, for example the surveillance of communists.

Regarding the period of the post-war repression of collaboration, there are files compiled by the Auditor General. We find personal files formed for the administrative purge like that of the administrator Robert de Foy, kept at the AGR depot Joseph Cuvelier((AGR, Archives de l’auditorat militaire, Dossier Robert de Foy, n°6392/45.)). Moreover, an index of the Auditorat lists all the people prosecuted and convicted for "crimes and offenses against State Security"((« Les archives de la Sûreté de l’Etat », in Sureté de l’Etat, op.cit., p. 106.)).

The State Security also keeps archives, but which are unfortunately difficult to access for researchers((Also contact Mr Robin Libert by email.)). The institution has two sets of documents : individual files and documentation files. The number of individual files is more than 570 000 dont 400 000 are on paper, the others being on microfilm or microfiche((« Les archives de la Sûreté de l’Etat », in op.cit.)).

We have made a description of the main collections in which the archives produced by the Public Security are found.. But during a study on the activities of the Sûreté or on the actors of this service, other sources are possible. Let us cite a few examples such as private papers, municipal administration archives, archives des provinces, the press, the interviews, etc. These sources can therefore fill in the gaps in the archives produced by the Sûreté which are caused by fires, purge or inaccessibility of certain files.

References for research

  • Archiven van de Hoog Commissariaat voor’s Lands Veiligheid-Archives du Haut commissariat à la Sûreté de l’Etat, Brussels, CEGESOMA, s.d., n°AA 1311.
  • « Les archives de la Sûreté de l’Etat », in Sureté de l’Etat, Rapport annuel 2011, Brussels, 2012, p. 105-107.
  • Archives générales du Royaume, Les dossiers individuels des étrangers produits par la Sûreté publique (Police des étrangers), 1835-1943, Jalons de recherche n°19.
  • Archives de la Ville de Bruxelles, Inventaire de la Police, No. 24/1 at 24/5, Brussels, AE, s.d.
  • Boone and Depoortere R., Ministère de la Justice. Service de la police des étrangers. Inventaire des microfilms du fichier des dossiers individuels, Brussels, 1996 (Instrument de recherche à tirage limité- Archives générales du Royaume 413).
  • Cosemans, Inventaire des archives du parquet général de Bruxelles. Versement de 1945 (An III-1922), Brussels, AE, 1995.
  • Debruyne E., La Maison de verre, agents et réseaux de renseignement en Belgique occupée. 1940-1944, Louvain-la-Neuve, 2005-2006.
  • Depoortere R., Inventaire des archives du Commissariat général de la police judiciaire : dossiers du service de la Documentation. Versement 2000, Brussels, AGR, 2001.
  • Libert R., « De geschiedenis van 175 jaar veiligheid van de staat », in Cools M. (e.a.), La Sûreté. Essais sur les 175 ans de la Sûreté de l’Etat, Brussels, Politeia, 2005, p. 23-48.
  • « Archieven van de ‘Veiligheid van de Staat’ in depot », in Cahier du BISC, n°9, p. 203-212.
  • Linotte, Les manifestations et les grèves dans la province de Liège de 1831 to 1914 : inventaire sommaire des archives de la Sûreté publique de la province de Liège, Louvain, Nauwelaerts, 1964.
  • Plisnier, Inventaire des archives du Ministère de la justice, administration de la sûreté publique, police des étrangers, dossiers généraux, deuxième versement (1930-1960), Brussels, AGR, 2008.
  • Rousseaux X. and Somer D., « Pour une histoire de la Sûreté de l’Etat en Belgique. Essai autour des 175 années de pénombre », in Cools M. (e.a.), op.cit., p. 49-74.
  • Vervaeck, Inventaire des archives du Ministère de la justice, administration de la sûreté publique, police des étrangers, dossiers généraux, (Régime français-1914), Brussels, AGR, 1968.

Page produced by Marie Bouvry as part of an internship in communication of history (UCL, 2nd master in history).