Inventory of the archives of the Public Prosecutor's Office attached to the Military Court

The archives of the General Instructions Department (Service des Instructions Générales/Dienst voor Algemene Onderrichtingen) of the Public Prosecutor's Office attached to the Military Court (auditoraat-generaal bij het Militair Gerechtshof/ Auditorat général près la Cour militaire) were formerly known as the fonds 'AA1882', which was originally held by CegeSoma. They can now be consulted in the National Archives 2 -  Joseph Cuvelier Repository (ARA2).

The importance of this department’s files for research into, among other things, the prosecution of collaboration after World War II (what is commonly referred to as ‘the Repression’) cannot be overstated. After all, the General Instructions Department was tasked with providing magistrates with a body of decision-making documentation regarding "all questions of interpretation of laws, decrees, etc., as well as all questions of principle". Efficiency and uniformity in prosecution policy and jurisprudence were the watchwords. Throughout the course of its existence, the department produced thousands of thematic files on a range of subjects, which were classified according to a series of categories, including an extensive "varia" section.

The General Instructions Department was disbanded at the end of 1953. Its strictly documentary tasks were assigned to a new Documentation Department, which remained in place until the military courts were abolished in peacetime (2003). The Documentation Department set about systematically analysing the files of its predecessor to enrich its own files, which included documents related to a variety of topics relevant to the military courts even after the Repression.

The inventory (pdf version) can be downloaded here.

Would you prefer a paper version? Then head to the National Archives or the National Archives 2 - Joseph Cuvelier Repository (ARA2), or place your order at publicat@arch.be.

DESMET Gertjan, Inventaris van het archief van het auditoraat-generaal bij het Militair Gerechtshof: Dienst voor Algemene Onderrichtingen: Reeks documentatiedossiers ((vnl.) 1944-1953), series Inventarissen Algemeen Rijksarchief 2 - depot Joseph Cuvelier no. 69, publication no. 6474, Algemeen Rijksarchief, Brussels, 2024, €20.00 (+ shipping).