Research project P4S/251/SEQUOIAS (Research action P4S)
This research project investigates the sequestration measures (“dwangbeheer”) of enemy property (predominantly German) carried out by the Belgian state between October 1944 and 1960. By managing, preserving, and later liquidating these assets, the Belgian state - like the Netherlands and France - hoped to secure reparations in the years following World War II. In implementing this policy, the Belgian government drew on experience from the post-World War I sequestration practices. As early as 1945, the scope of the competent Office of Sequestration (Ministry of Finance) was significantly expanded. From that point on, assets involved in cases of people suspected of crimes against the external security of the state (commonly referred to as ‘incivism’ or ‘collaboration’) also fell under sequestration. The annual reports of the Sequestration Office and budget allocations reveal not only the immense workload but also the considerable economic significance of the Sequestration Office. Nevertheless, operations proceeded with difficulty, partly due to an inadequate legal framework. In 1951, the matter even led to a parliamentary inquiry commission in the Senate.
The goal of this two year interdisciplinary research project is to shed light - for the first time since the events - on this “Vae victis-operation” of the Belgian state. Central to this effort is the opening up and analysis of the exceptionally rich and historically underexplored archives of the Sequestration Office. These hold great promise for advancing new scholarship from both a legal-historical and political-economy perspective on this remarkable chapter of Belgium’s postwar history.
