Return to search

Archief Sal Santen

(1912) 1932-1998 (-2020) 1932-1998 Reference: ARCH01236

View context

The Netherlands
Internationaal Instituut voor Sociale Geschiedenis

Finding aid sub-groups

Internationaal Instituut voor Sociale Geschiedenis
( Cruquiusweg 31 , 1019 AT Amsterdam , Nederland )
Finding aid is in Dutch
Overzicht collectie

Scope and content

Inhoud

Persoonlijke documenten 1930-1998; correspondentie 1930-1997; stukken betreffende de RCP 1945-1948, de Vierde Internationale 1946-1963, de rechtszaak Santen-Raptis, w.o. de door Justitie in beslag genomen stukken 1950-1963, de rechtszaak tegen L'Humanité en De Waarheid 1961-1968; overige stukken 1940-1998; documentatie 1958-2020.

Annex: stukken afkomstig van Bep Santen-Blaauw 1940, 1985, 1993; overige familieleden 1912-1960.

Record creators history

Biografie

Santen, Sal (1915-1998), revolutionair en schrijver, groeide op in een joods arbeidersgezin in Amsterdam; was actief in de socialistische jeugdbeweging, o.a. als secretaris van de Leninistische Jeugd Garde, de jongerenorganisatie van Henk Sneevliet, die ook zijn schoonvader werd, toen hij met diens dochter Bep trouwde; na afloop van de Tweede Wereldoorlog, waarin een groot deel van zijn familie was omgekomen, werd Santen beroepsrevolutionair; hij reisde in 1952 als lid van de Vierde Internationale naar Latijns-Amerika; in 1960 werd Santen samen met Michel Raptis gearresteerd op verdenking van hulp aan de Algerijnse onafhankelijkheidsbeweging en werd veroordeeld tot een gevangenisstraf van een jaar en drie maanden; in zijn 'revolutionaire' tijd werkte hij als stenograaf bij Het Vrije Volk en De Arbeiderspers; na een conflict met Raptis verliet Santen in 1967 de revoltionaire beweging en ging hij boeken schrijven; in 1969 debuteerde hij met 'Jullie is Jodenvolk', een boek over zijn jeugd in een Amsterdams schoenmakersgezin; daarna volgden meer sterk autobiografisch getinte boeken, waaronder in 1994 'Dapper zijn omdat het moet' over zijn betrokkenheid bij de Algerijnse vrijheidsstrijd.

Processing information

Bewerking

Plaatsingslijst gemaakt door Marja Musson in 2001-2002.

Aanvullingen door Sabine Aarts in 2012.

Aanvulling door Bouwe Hijma in 2018.

Aanvulling door Marja Musson in 2020.

System of arrangement

Ordening

De aanvullingen op het eerste deel van dit archief, dat in 1969 in bewaargeving is gegeven heeft in de loop der jaren meerdere aanvullingen gekregen. Het is raadzaam om bij raadpleging van dit archief ook naar deze aanvullingen te kijken, daar die vaak betrekking hebben op gebeurtenissen waarvan stukken in een eerder stadium zijn overgedragen. De fotokopieën die oorspronkelijk zijn beschreven in inv.nr. 131 zijn vervangen door de originele brieven, die in 2020 zijn overgedragen. Eén originele brief ontbreekt (5 feberuari 1961) en is in bezit gekomen van de toemalige advocaat van Santen.

Conditions governing access

Raadpleging

Vrij

Toestemming vragen vervallen op basis van e-mail d.d. 23 januari 2013 van Ellen Santen aan Frank de Jong

Existence and location of copies

Andere fysieke vorm

1 veiligheidsfilm.

Preferred citation

Aanbevolen citeerwijze

Archief Sal Santen, inventory number ..., International Institute of Social History, Amsterdam

Extent

6.12 m. meter

Other descriptive information

INLEIDING

Sal Santen , Nederlands revolutionair en schrijver, werd in 1915 te Amsterdam geboren. Hij groeide op in een joods arbeidersgezin. Op 17-jarige leeftijd werd hij lid van de Onafhankelijke Socialistische Partij . Hij speelde een belangrijke rol in de Vierde Internationale , die door Trotsky in 1938 was opgericht. Als lid van het internationaal secretariaat van de Vierde Internationale steunde hij de verzetsbewegingen in de Derde Wereld, vooral in Latijns-Amerika en Algerije . Wegens zijn activiteiten tijdens de Algerijnse bevrijdingsoorlog werd hij in 1961 tot 15 maanden gevangenisstraf veroordeeld. Na 1967, toen hij gedesillusioneerd afscheid nam van de Vierde Internationale, concentreerde hij zich voornamelijk op het schrijven. In 1969 verscheen zijn eerste boek Jullie is jodenvolk . Naast romans over het vooroorlogse joods Amsterdam schreef hij ook politiek-historische werken, o.a. een biografie van zijn schoonvader Henk Sneevliet onder de titel Sneevliet, rebel (1971) en zijn herinneringen over zijn verzetsactiviteiten in Adios Compañeros (1974). Hij was gastredacteur van Propria Cures en publiceerde onder meer in Maatstaf en Het Parool .

Het archief is in 1969 aan het IISG overgedragen en bevond zich o.a. in twee verzegelde koffers waarop Santen had geschreven "Mag niet worden geopend. Eigendom van S. Santen. Amsterdam 25 juli 1973" en "door mij geopend op 30 juli 1973". Het archief moest tot 1-1- 2000 gesloten blijven. In 1994 is er een aanvulling gekomen. Deze aanvulling bestond voornamelijk uit correspondentie uit de periode 1962 tot 1992 en is chronologisch geordend. Dit deel mocht na de dood van Santen in 1998 openbaar gemaakt worden.

Het gesloten deel betrof voornamelijk Santen's activiteiten voor de Vierde Internationale, de rechtszaak die tegen hem en Michel Raptis (1911-1996) was aangespannen wegens hulp aan het Algerijnse verzet en de rechtszaak die Santen voerde tegen de dagbladen L'Humanité en De Waarheid . Het merendeel van dit gesloten archief betrof de in beslag genomen stukken bij Santen en Raptis. Deze stukken zaten in enveloppen van het Ministerie van Justitie, De Officier in het Arrondissement Amsterdam . Vier enveloppen waren voorzien van een S (= Santen). Twaalf enveloppen waren voorzien van een R (= Raptis). De twaalf enveloppen waren genummerd 6 t/m 17. Op deze enveloppen staat exact geschreven wat de inhoud is geweest. In de bijlagen worden deze inhoudsopgaven opgenoemd met een verwijzing naar de mappen waarin de inhoud is terug te vinden. Zie verder de nummers 38- 90. Sommige van deze stukken zijn voorzien van een R (= Raptis) of van een S (= Santen) gevolgd door een nummer. Die stukken zijn gebruikt als bewijsstukken in de rechtszaak. Justitie heeft een getypte lijst van de in beslag genomen stukken op microfilm gezet. Deze film is in het archief bewaard gebleven.

In het archief van Sal Santen bevonden zich twee identieke foto's van de verhoorwagen, waarin Santen en Raptis o.a. geconfronteerd werden met in Duitsland gearresteerde medeverdachten. De foto werd genomen op 4 oktober 1960 op de grens van Nederland en Duitsland . Eén van de twee foto's is overgedragen aan de afdeling Beeld en Geluid. Bij de in beslag genomen stukken bij Michel Raptis (zijn pseudoniemen waren Michel Pablo en Gabe of Gabriel ) bevonden zich een stoffen boekomslag en 23 foto's uit zijn privé-leven. Deze zijn ook overgedragen aan de afdeling Beeld en Geluid.

Ook werden in het archief stukken aangetroffen die behoren tot het archief van Henk Sneevliet en de Revolutionair Socialistische Arbeiders Partij (RSAP) . Deze stukken waren opgeborgen in hangmappen en dateren uit de periode 1929-1941. Ze zijn toegevoegd aan het archief van Sneevliet en de RSAP.

Tot slot bevond zich in het archief een typoscript van Andries Dolleman met herinneringen aan o.a. zijn vader Willem Frederik Dolleman (1894-1942). Het typoscript is opgeborgen in het archief van W.F. Dolleman.

INLEIDING AANVULLING 2004

In 2004 schonk Ellen Santen, de dochter van Sal Santen, een aanvulling op het archief van haar vader. Naast de stukken van Sal Santen bevonden zich in deze aanvulling ook stukken afkomstig van Bep Santen-Blaauw, de vrouw van Sal Santen, stukken van Barend Santen (1886-1942), de vader van Sal Santen, van Sientje Santen-Menko (1886-1942), de moeder van Sal Santen, van Maurits Santen (1916-1942) de broer van Sal Santen en van Saartje Santen (1913-1929), de zus van Santen. Deze stukken zijn in het archief van Sal Santen gebleven. Foto's, geluidscassettes, filmbanden, een affiche, een speelplaat en een vaantje zijn overgebracht naar de afdeling Beeld & Geluid.

De omvang van de aanvulling bedraagt na de ordening 0.62 meter.

INLEIDING EERSTE AANVULLING 2012

Aanvulling op het archief van Sal Santen, het literaire deel. 5 boeken van Sal Santen zijn overgebracht naar de bibliotheek en 1 DVD versie van film Sal Santen, rebel van Rudolf van den Berg, foto's en geluidscassettes zijn verwerkt door de afdeling Beeld & Geluid. Gebracht door Bart en Ellen Santen.

De omvang van de aanvulling bedraagt na de ordening 2 meter.

INLEIDING TWEEDE AANVULLING 2012

Een tweede aanvulling op de collectie in 2012 met gevarieerd materiaal; was ondergebracht bij een kleinzoon. Met 4 romans en enkele foto's.

De omvang van de aanvulling bedraagt na de ordening 0.37meter.

INLEIDING AANVULLING 2020

Deze aanvulling was aanvankelijk achtergebleven bij de familie en behoorde eignelijk bij de aanvulling van 2012. Bevat correspondentie van en aan Sal Santen tijdens zijn detentie en bij zijn vrijlating, waaronder de originele brieven van Santen aan zijn vrouw en kinderen (ter vervanging van de fotokopieën in inv. 131, agenda's van Bep Santen-Draaijer, Sinterklaasgedichtjes van Bep Santen-Draaijer, brieven en kaarten n.a.v. het overlijden van Bep Santen-Draaijer en overige correspondentie o.a. van M. Raptis, brieven van Henk Sneevliet en Mien Sneevliet.

De omvang van de aanvulling bedraagt na de ordening 0.24 m..

BIJLAGE I

Inhoud van de mappen 71-79 zoals door het Ministerie van Justitie, De Officier van Justitie in het Arrondissement Amsterdam op bijbehorende enveloppen is geschreven.

71.

1 exemplaar Défense Politique (afkomstig van Mr. J.H. Smeets)

1 aantekenboekje gemerkt S6

1 brief gemerkt S2

1 brief gemerkt S12

1 brief gemerkt 1

1 brief gemerkt S4a

1 brief gemerkt S4b

1 brief gemerkt S4c

1 brief gemerkt S4d

1 brief gemerkt S en A24

1 brief gemerkt S en A21

-----------------------------------

11 stuks

72-75.

N.B. de met een * gemerkte stukken zaten in een aparte enveloppe.

1 exemplaar de Arabische Revolutie

3 blz.(getypt) over staking in België

2 bladz. met adressen

1 Informatie Bulletin v. October 1959

21 getypte brieven of afschriften

8 handgeschreven brieven*

18 met de hand geschreven papieren en papiertjes*

4 visitekaartjes*

1 gelukstelegram*

1 stuk karton*

6 papieren met financiële gegevens*

13 gebruikte enveloppen

3 gebruikte postzegels

1 reis- en bagagebiljet

1 zakagenda 1960

1 telegram uit Rome

1 kasboek

4 notitieboekjes

5 giroboekjes

----------------------------------

95 stuks

76-79.

366 giro af of bijschrijvingen in bundel

166 giro af of bijschrijvingen in bundel

34 girovouchés in bundel

250 rekeningen, quitanties, vouchés in bundel

229 ,, ,, ,, ,, ,,

----------------------------------------------------------

1045 stuks

BIJLAGE II

Inhoud van de mappen 80-123 zoals door het Ministerie van Justitie, De Officier van Justitie in het Arrondissement Amsterdam op bijbehorende enveloppen is geschreven.

80-82.

Enveloppe genummerd 6.

Inhoud niet nader omschreven.

83-85.

Enveloppe genummerd 7

1 exemplaar Economie document 1960 (11 bladz.)

1 schrift met handgeschreven tekst in de franse taal

3 getypte bladz. over Chili

10 getypte bladz. over Japan

4 getypte bladz. over Bolivia

20 getypte bladz. over Bolivia

16 getypte bladz. over Indonesië

13 getypte bladz. over het 11de jaar van de Chinese Revolutie

52 getypte bladz. o.m. over Zuid-Afrika

12 getypte bladz. met als hoofd "European Perspectives"

2 exemplaren Réunion du S1 [sic]

35 getypte bladzijden over de koloniale revolutie

5 exemplaren "Zurueck zu Lenin "

20 getypte bladzijden over de Arabische Revolutie

8 getypte bladzijden over de koloniale revolutie

11 bladzijden over "Einführung in die Nationalökonomie"

8 getypte bladzijden in de Spaanse taal

1 stencil in de deense taal (6 bladz.)

1 international bulletin v. Januari 1960 (3 bladz.)

5 getypte bladzijden over "Our stand on Tibet "

1 stencil van 2 bladz. gedateerd Ceylon 22 Maart 1960

1 Stock list v. Januari 1960

18 getypte bladzijden met ondertekening Brian Brehan

1 exemplaar Economic Document (19 bladz.)

2 bladz. "nota politicus"

2 bladz. over de politieke situatie

5 bladz. over de tweede jaarlijkse conferentie

18 gestencilde bladz. over verschillende onderwerpen

11 getypte bladz. over verschillende onderwerpen

--------------------------------------------------------------

287 stuks

86-88.

Enveloppe genummerd 8.

1 kaartje met adres gemerkt R11

6 bladzijden met overzicht benodigde machine's e.d. gemerkt R17

1 papiertje met adres gemerkt R19

4 bladzijden met overzicht van maten gemerkt R21

1 overzicht van uitgaven gemerkt R22a

1 lijst met namen gemerkt R24

2 papiertjes met adres gemerkt R25 en R26

1 overzicht van gelden gemerkt R27

1 papiertje met adressen gemerkt R28

2 papiertjes met adressen gemerkt R29 en R30

5 bladzijden met technische en financiële gegevens gemerkt R31

1 papiertje met aantekeningen gemerkt R39

1 overzicht van uitgaven, gemerkt R44

1 quitantie gemerkt R47

1 overzicht van uitgaven gemerkt R53

3 adreslijsten

47 getypte bladzijden in Spaanse taal op geel papier

36 bladzijden (getypt) betreffende de Italiaanse Communistische Partij

8 bladzijden (getypt) betreffende Inventaris 4e Internationale

5 handgeschreven bladzijden over de Arabische Revolutie

4 getypte bladzijden over interne moeilijkheden in de J.C.P.

6 getypte bladzijden over The struggle for Unilateal Disarmament

12 handgeschreven bladzijden over le desarmament unilateral

2 handgeschreven bladzijden over Ceylon

8 gestencilde bladz. over de crisis v.d. S.L.L.

16 getypte bladzijden over de europese revolutie

16 handgeschreven bladzijden in de franse taal

14 handgeschreven bladzijden betreffende The Plan of Organizing Action

1 stencil van 7 bladz. over Indonesië

44 bladzijden in de Spaanse taal (in map)

---------------------------------------------------

251 stuks

89-91.

Enveloppe genummerd 9.

74 meest gebruikte enveloppen

7 delen van oude dagbladen

5 krantenknipsels

5 vellen carbonpapier

1 zak met papiersnippers

--------------------------------

92 stuks

92-94.

Enveloppe genummerd 10.

1 Maandstatistiek Januari-September 1957

1 legitimatiebewijs Mirador

1 exemplaar L'evolution Economique 1956-1957

4 exemplaren Socialistisch Perspektief

1 exemplaar Endeavour

1 Boekenlijst 1957

1 Letterproef van E. Zwart

1 catalogus nr.27

1 brochure no.151

1 tijdschriftenlijst 1957

1 geschrift in de griekse taal

1 conferentieverslag

1 exemplaar " Statistisch Amt " 1960-no.1

---------------------------------------------------

16 stuks

95-99.

Enveloppe genummerd 11.

158 handgeschreven brieven en bescheiden

18 quitanties, facturen en andere betalingsbewijzen

1 handgeschreven financieel overzicht in griekse taal

1 ,, ,, ,, betreffende aankoop machine

3 ,, ,, ,, -en ,, reiskosten

1 ,, ,, ,, betreffende reiskosten en aanschaf machine's

7 ,, ,, ,, -en ,, salarissen e.d.

1 ,, ,, ,, ,, aanschaf machine's

8 ,, ,, ,, (onderwerp onbekend)

1 ,, ,, ,, betreffende chemicaliën

4 bedrukte bescheiden

5 exemplaren E.C. minutes

3 gestencilde bescheiden

4 communiqué's van de F.L.N.

55 handgeschreven bladzijden in de Griekse taal in map

1 gestencilde verhandeling over de koloniale revolutie

1 ,, ,, ,, ,, Arabische revolutie

1 memorie (handgeschreven) over de repression en Belgique

16 getypte bladzijden over de Algerijnse revolutie

30 getypte bladzijden over de Europese revolutie

6 getypte bladzijden over de Zuid-Afrikaanse revolutie

1 brief J. Daniels (afschrift) met 20 bladzijden bijlagen

30 getypte bladzijden over de Chinese revolutie

22 getypte bladzijden betreffende "Fourth International"

----------------------------------------------------------------------

379 stuks

100-103.

Enveloppe genummerd 12.

255 getypte brieven of afschriften

12 gebruikte enveloppen [verpakkingsenveloppen zijn weggegooid]

3 delen van oude dagbladen

4 stencils

12 mappen [weggegooid]

-------------------------------

286 stuks

104.

Onderstaande stukken zaten in een enveloppe met daarop een "R". Deze enveloppe zat in enveloppe genummerd 13

74 Griekse brieven

1 foto

1 nieuwjaarswens

1 avis d'arrivée

104-109.

Enveloppe genummerd 13.

N.B. de met een * gemerkte stukken zaten in een aparte enveloppe. Zie ook bij 104.

5 franse belastingbescheiden in enveloppe

152 brieven in de griekse taal, in enveloppe en per jaar gebundeld

74 brieven*

1 foto*

1 nieuwjaarswens*

89 gedrukte of getypte bescheiden en brieven in map

1 verhandeling over Joliot-Curie

1 verhandeling voer de Broglie

---------------------------------------

324 stuks

110-116.

Enveloppe genummerd 14.

N.B. het met een * gemerkt stuk is overgebracht naar de afdeling Beeld en Geluid.

14 bladzijden getypt papier

12 afrekeningen Twentsche Bank

5 afrekeningen Duitse Bank

3 (reis)cheque's

2 Braziliaanse persoonskaarten t.n.v. M. Raptis

1 toegangsbewijs t.n.v. M. Raptis voor de Nationale Bibliotheek

1 carte de séjour t.n.v. M. Raptis

19 visitekaartjes

1 enveloppe met 20 kaartjes

21 rekeningen en andere betalingsbewijzen

1 exemplaar Hsinhua News Agency

1 programma van de "Communistes de Yugoslavie" van maart 1958

1 exemplaar van "Historias de la fabrica"

3 exemplaren van "International"resp. zomer 1958, lente 1959 en herfst 1959

1 boekomslag*

------------------

86 stuks

117-120.

Enveloppe genummerd 15.

N.B. de met een * gemerkt stukken zijn overgebracht naar de afdeling Beeld en Geluid

36 reclamedrukwerken

50 prentenbriefkaarten en andere afbeeldingen

22 foto's*

2 reis- en bagagebiljetten

3 blocknote's

4 aantekenboekjes

-----------------------

117 stuks

121-122.

Enveloppe genummerd 16.

1 exemplaar " la revolution algérienne et le droit " (afkomstig van Mr. Cammelbeek )

1 exemplaar " Le Front " (afkomstig van mevr. H. Raptis)

1 beschreven papier genummerd R59

1 brief genummerd R33

1 brief aanvangende met B.S. en genummerd R65

1 brief genummerd R37

6 bladzijden financieel overzicht genummerd R35 en 70

1 quitantie genummerd R68

1 brief genummerd R41 en 72

39 quitanties in bundel

1 financieel overzicht genummerd R20

1 overzicht betreffende wapens en munitie genummerd R16

8 bladzijden financieel overzicht genummerd R92

2 afrekeningen van de Duitse Bank genummerd R4

1 lijst chemische stoffen genummerd R6

1 brief genummerd R6

1 brief genummerd R34 en 87

1 overzicht v. wapens en munitie genummerd R36 en 88

1 brief genummerd R38

1 lijst chemische stoffen genummerd R38 en 89

1 brief genummerd R42 en 90

8 bladzijden financieel overzicht genummerd R66

10 bladzijden financieel overzicht genummerd 92

1 brief van 6-8-59 beginnende met cher amis en genummerd R

1 brief genummerd R3A

1 visitekaartje genummerd R10

1 papiertje genummerd R13

1 brief genummerd R7

1 brief genummerd R15

1 financieel overzicht genummerd R22

1 papier met aantekeningen genummerd R23

1 drukwerk genummerd R40

1 brief genummerd R43

1 quitantie genummerd R45

1 visitekaartje genummerd R59-3

1 girostrook genummerd R67

1 financieel overzicht genummerd R55

2 quitanties genummerd R51

------------------------------------

108 stuks

123.

Enveloppe genummerd 17.

1 brief Deutsche Bank gemerkt R4

1 handgeschreven brief 19-4 (2 bladen)

4 (afschriften van) brieven gemerkt R66

1 (afschrift) van brief gedateerd 31-5-196.[sic]

2 afschriften van 6 bladen gedateerd 15-4-1960 en geadresseerd aan de redactie van "International Socialista [sic] Review"

2 brieven gedateerd 7-5-1960 en 30-5-1960

1 afschrift v.e. brief van 20-4-1960

1 afschrift v.e. brief van 24-2-1960

2 adreslijsten

----------------

15 stuks

Keywords

Onderwerpen

Subjects:
Colonial question/Anti-colonialist movements
Culture, media and arts
Communist movements and parties
Occupation/ Resistance movements
Press/Journalism
Socialist and social democrat parties/Socialist International
Geographic names:
Netherlands
Algeria
Personal names:Raptis, Michel Santen-Blaauw, Bep Sneevliet, Henk Sneevliet-Draaijer, Mien
Genre of the material:

Archival material
Geographic names:
Amsterdam
Latijns-Amerika
Algerije
Personal names: Sal Santen Trotsky Henk Sneevliet
Corporate names: Onafhankelijke Socialistische Partij Vierde Internationale
Titles of related works:
Jullie is jodenvolk
Sneevliet, rebel
Adios Compañeros
Propria Cures
Maatstaf
Het Parool
Geographic names:
Amsterdam
Personal names: Michel Raptis
Titles of related works:
L'Humanité
De Waarheid
Geographic names:
Nederland
Duitsland
Personal names: Michel Pablo Gabe Gabriel
Corporate names: Revolutionair Socialistische Arbeiders Partij (RSAP)
Personal names: Andries Dolleman Willem Frederik Dolleman
Titles of related works:
Défense Politique
Titles of related works:
Arabische Revolutie
Geographic names:
België
Geographic names:
Rome
Geographic names:
Chili
Geographic names:
Japan
Geographic names:
Bolivia
Geographic names:
Bolivia
Geographic names:
Indonesië
Geographic names:
Zuid-Afrika
Personal names: Lenin
Geographic names:
Tibet
Geographic names:
Ceylon
Personal names: Brian Brehan
Geographic names:
Ceylon
Geographic names:
Indonesië
Titles of related works:
Mirador
Titles of related works:
L'evolution Economique
Titles of related works:
Socialistisch Perspektief
Titles of related works:
Endeavour
Personal names: E. Zwart
Titles of related works:
Statistisch Amt
Corporate names: F.L.N.
Personal names: J. Daniels
Personal names: Joliot-Curie
Personal names: Broglie
Personal names: Cammelbeek
Titles of related works:
la revolution algérienne et le droit
Titles of related works:
Le Front

Language of the material

Dutch

Record creator


Creator:

Santen, Sal

Content provider

Internationaal Instituut voor Sociale Geschiedenis

( Cruquiusweg 31 , 1019 AT Amsterdam , Nederland )

Rate this content

Was this content helpful? Let Archives Portal Europe and the archival institution know what you think.

Add feedback

Contact this institution

Feedback is sent directly to the institution holding this material and should preferably be submitted in English or in the language of the institution, if possible. The institution will aim at getting back to you as soon as possible to help you with your request, though you might need to allow between two and four weeks for this depending on the current workload at the institution.

Not all required fields have been filled in.

Full name*

Your full name is required

Email address*

Your email address is required

Your message*

A message is required

Archives Portal Europe help guide

Please select amongst the relevant tips we can help with. If you still have questions, please do not hesitate to contact us, and we will be in touch as soon as possible.

Starting your search here will include all content available in Archives Portal Europe. Simply enter your keyword(s) and hit the search button. Wrap fixed expressions in quotation marks, e.g. “French Revolution”. Check the box to “Search each term separately” in case you are looking for documents containing at least one word, but not necessarily all keywords; this will also allow you to search for the same term in multiple languages at the same time (e.g. “French Revolution” “Révolution Française”). You can also use wildcards - find more about Research Tools here. If you would like to use more specific settings, try our Advanced search

The additional advanced search options give you the possibility to focus your search in:

  • archival documents (Search in archives),
  • names of person and organisations that created, worked with and maintained these documents (Search in names),
  • Institutions currently holding the documents (Search in institutions).

When searching with multiple terms at the same time, wrap fixed expressions in quotation marks (e.g. "French Revolution"), or check the box "Search each term separately" in case you are looking for either one term of the other. This will also allow you to search for the same term in multiple languages (e.g. "French Revolution" "Révolution française"). You can also choose one of the suggestions matching your search term once you start typing.

This will only show results that include documents that have been digitised and are available online

Use this option to search only one or more keywords, rather than all of them

Select where your search terms should appear specifically inside the archival description:

  • Title: search terms will appear in the title, or name, of the description
  • Content Summary: search terms will appear in the main description of the document or of the collection
  • Reference code: it is the identifier of the archival material as provided by the institution. Use this option if you know the exact reference code of the material you are looking for

You can filter results by selecting where your search terms appears specifically inside the archival description:

  • The name can be the full name of a person, family or organisation as well as only parts of it, e.g. only the last name.
  • The identifier is used internally by the institution or refers to (inter)national vocabularies such as the Virtual International Authority File (VIAF).
  • The place can be the place of birth (or foundation), the place of death (or closing), the place of work or any other place of importance.
  • The occupation is the profession or job of a person.
  • The mandate is a law, directive or charter that establishes and defines an organisation's powers, functions, responsibilities or sphere of activities.
  • The function is an activity, role, or purpose performed or manifested by a person, family or organisation.

You can filter results by selecting where your search terms appears specifically inside the description of the archive:

  • Name: search term appears in the name of the institution. It can be the full name of an archival institution or only parts of it.
  • Place: search term appears in the address or area of the institution. It can be the city or town, where the archival institution is located or any other place of importance (e.g. previous locations)

  • A finding aid is a structured description of archival materials per collection or fonds, up to item level.
  • A holdings guide is an overview of the collections and fonds of one archival institution.
  • A source guide is a topic-oriented overview of collections and fonds of one or several institutions.
    You can filter by one or more entity types:
  • A person (e.g. John Locke, or Jean Jaques Rousseau);
  • A family (e.g. Bonaparte, or Helgason);
  • A corporate body, i.e. the name of an institution, organisation, or company (e.g. Ministerie van Justitie, or Electro Mecánica Antonio Armentano)

Please note that this filter will only include institutions, for which a type has been provided as part of their descriptions:

  • A business archive holds the records of (often) commercial organisations.
  • A church or religious archive holds the records of church parishes or religious organisations, e.g. birth or death registers.
  • A county or local authority archive holds the records of the county's administrative bodies.
  • A media archive holds audiovisual or sound records, e.g. a film archive or the archive of a broadcasting company.
  • A municipal archive holds the records of a town or city administration.
  • A national archive holds the records of a country's administrative bodies, i.e. from ministries and other public bodies, sometimes also private papers of former ministers, chancellors, or presidents.
  • A private person or family archive holds the records forming the legacy of a prominent person or family.
  • A regional archive holds the records of a region's administrative bodies.
  • A specialised governmental archive holds records of public bodies, often operating on a national level, that are not part of the national archives' holdings.
  • A specialised non-governmental archive or archive of another cultural heritage institution hold collections from various cultural heritage institutions, eg. museum archives, libraries archives, etc
  • A university archive or archive of another research organisation holds the records pertaining to the administration of the according educational or research body.
  • Political parties, popular/labour movements and other non-governmental organisations, associations, agencies and foundations hold the archival collections of these institutions, outside of governmental records and outside of business archives (e.g., NGOs)

Enter a start and/or end date in the format DD-MM-YYYY, i.e. 01-01-1900 for 1 January 1900. This will allow you to focus your search on a specific period of time. You can use the calendar function or type directly in the text field. The checkbox "Exact date search" concentrates the search on one specific date.

Check "View in context" to view the results in the hierarchical structure of archives.

  • Choose "List view" to view the results in a simple list, ordered according to relevance or date
  • Choose "Context view" to view the results in the hierarchical structure of the holding archives.

For more details see Research Tools

Please sign in to save your searches.

A holdings guide is an overview of the collections and fonds of one archival institution.

A finding aid is a structured description of archival materials per collection or fonds up to item level.

You can filter results by selecting one or more countries of interest. You can also combine this filter with other filters. Your filter selection will appear above. Click "Clear filters" to see all results matching your initial search request again.

You can filter results by one or more holding archival institutions. You can also combine this filter with other filters. Your filter selection will appear above. Click "Clear filters" to see all results matching your initial search request again.

You can select to view results from a specific Finding Aid, i.e., a structured description of archival materials per collection or fonds up to item level. You can also combine this filter with other filters. Your filter selection will appear above. Click "Clear filters" to see all results matching your initial search request again.

You can filter by type of descriptive document:

  • "Holdings Guide": an overview of the collections and fonds of one archival institution.
  • "Source guide": a topic-oriented overview of collections and fonds of one or several institutions. a description of the archival collections available. Similar to Holdings guides
  • "Finding aid" provides more detailed descriptions of the archival materials of specific collections or fonds

You can also combine this filter with other filters. Your filter selection will appear above. Click "Clear filters" to see all results matching your initial search request again.

You can filter results by selecting "Fonds description" for a general overview or "Other descriptions" for item level. You can also combine this filter with other filters. Your filter selection will appear above. Click "Clear filters" to see all results matching your initial search request again.

You can filter results by selecting only those containing digital objects, i.e. the link to the digitised version of the archival material you are looking for. You can also combine this filter with other filters. Your filter selection will appear above. Click "Clear filters" to see all results matching your initial search request again.

You can filter results by type of digital object you are interested in:

  • Text: most documental material, such as administrative records, letters, manuscripts etc.
  • Image: includes photographs, posters, maps.
  • Sound: sound recording with no images
  • Video: moving images with or without sound
  • Unspecified: indicates that the holding institution has not specified the type of digital object
  • 3D: 3-d digital objects

You can also combine this filter with other filters. Your filter selection will appear above. Click "Clear filters" to see all results matching your initial search request again.

You can filter results based on the date of creation of the archival material (which may differ from the time period you are interested in - e.g., philosophers from the Enlightenment period reflecting on classic thinkers)

  • Full dates includes normalised date information available for date-based searches. It is recommended to combine this selection with the filters "Start timespan" and "End timespan" for more details.
  • Only descriptive dates provides the date information in human-readable format.
  • No date either includes documents where the creation date is unknown, or where date information is not in a machine-readable format

Please note that not all documents contain a machine-readable date. More information here

You can filter results based on the date of creation of the archival material (which may differ from the time period you are interested in - e.g., philosophers from the Enlightenment period reflecting on classic thinkers). This filter will only include materials with "Full dates", i.e. those that include date information available for date-based searches. You can either search for a specific date of interest or focus step by step on the time span of a century, decade, year or month. When searching for a specific date, enter the date in the format DD-MM-YYYY, i.e. 01/01/1900 for 1 January 1900, via the calendar function or by typing directly in the text field.
This filter concentrates on the earliest dates mentioned in the materials.

You can filter results based on the date of creation of the archival material (which may differ from the time period you are interested in - e.g., philosophers from the Enlightenment period reflecting on classic thinkers). This filter will only include materials with "Full dates", i.e. those that include date information available for date-based searches. You can either search for a specific date of interest or focus step by step on the time span of a century, decade, year or month. When searching for a specific date, enter the date in the format DD-MM-YYYY, i.e. 01/01/1900 for 1 January 1900, via the calendar function or by typing directly in the text field.
This filter concentrates on the latest dates mentioned in the materials.

You can filter results based on the language in which the material is written. Please note that this filter will only include materials where specific language information has been provided by the institution and is therefore in a machine-readable format. You can also combine this filter with other filters. Your selection will then be displayed above the search results (see "Search filters"). Clicking "Clear filters" will remove your selection and you will see all results matching your initial search request again.



You can filter results by selecting one or more topics of interest. Please note that this filter will only include materials where the topic has been assigned and is therefore in a machine-readable format. Read how to assign a topic to documents on the Topics page. You can also combine this filter with other filters. Your selection will then be displayed above the search results (see "Search filters"). Clicking "Clear filters" will remove your selection and you will see all results matching your initial search request again.



You can filter results by selecting where your search terms appears specifically inside the archival description:

  • The name can be the full name of a person, family or organisation as well as only parts of it, e.g. only the last name.
  • The identifier is used internally by the institution or refers to (inter)national vocabularies such as the Virtual International Authority File (VIAF).
  • The place can be the place of birth (or foundation), the place of death (or closing), the place of work or any other place of importance.
  • The occupation is the profession or job of a person
  • The mandate is a law, directive or charter that establishes and defines an organisation's powers, functions, responsibilities or sphere of activities.
  • The function is an activity, role, or purpose performed or manifested by a person, family or organisation

You can also combine this filter with other filters. Your selection will then be displayed above the search results (see "Search filters"). Clicking "Clear filters" will remove your selection and you will see all results matching your initial search request again.

You can filter results by type of entities:

  • Person (e.g., John Locke or Jean Jaques Rousseau)
  • Family (e.g., the family Bonaparte)
  • Corporate body (an institution, organisation, or company, e.g. the "Ministerie van Justitie")
You can also combine this filter with other filters. Your selection will then be displayed above the search results (see "Search filters"). Clicking "Clear filters" will remove your selection and you will see all results matching your initial search request again.

You can filter results based on the language in which the material is written. Please note that this filter will only include materials where specific language information has been provided by the institution and is therefore in a machine-readable format. You can also combine this filter with other filters. Your selection will then be displayed above the search results (see "Search filters"). Clicking "Clear filters" will remove your selection and you will see all results matching your initial search request again.

You can filter results based on the type of holding institution. Please note that this filter will only include institutions, for which a type has been provided as part of their descriptions.

  • A business archive holds the records of (often) commercial organisations.
  • A church or religious archive holds the records of church parishes or religious organisations, e.g. birth or death registers.
  • A county or local authority archive holds the records of the county's administrative bodies.
  • A media archive holds audiovisual or sound records, e.g. a film archive or the archive of a broadcasting company.
  • A municipal archive holds the records of a town or city administration.
  • A national archive holds the records of a country's administrative bodies, i.e. from ministries and other public bodies, sometimes also private papers of former ministers, chancellors, or presidents.
  • A private person or family archive holds the records forming the legacy of a prominent person or family.
  • A regional archive holds the records of a region's administrative bodies.
  • A specialised governmental archive holds records of public bodies, often operating on a national level, that are not part of the national archives' holdings.
  • A specialised non-governmental archive or archive of another cultural heritage institution hold collections from various cultural heritage institutions, eg. museum archives, libraries archives, etc
  • A university archive or archive of another research organisation holds the records pertaining to the administration of the according educational or research body.
  • Political parties, popular/labour movements and other non-governmental organisations, associations, agencies and foundations hold the archival collections of these institutions, outside of governmental records and outside of business archives (e.g., NGOs)

Write your message in your own language and use this drop-down menu to have your message translated into English or in the language of the institution for a swifter response. By checking this box and selecting a language you will send your original message along with the translated version

What kind of suggestion would you like to make?

  • Assign to topic: assign this record to one of our Topics. Topics are created following the Unesco Thesaurus
  • Suggest translation: If you have translated this archival description or the documents themselves, please send it to us as a .doc or .pdf file
  • Connect to another resource: If this object relates to another resource in Archives Portal Europe, or anywhere else on the web (e.g., an article on Wikipedia), you can suggest it to be linked to this resource
  • Other: If you have any other relevant material, such as a transcription of the document, please upload it and let us know here

This is a test area to fill out all the copyright details for Attribution Creative Commons Licence

This object is not or no longer protected by copyright and has been labelled with the Public Domain Mark. It can be used by anyone without any restrictions.

This object is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Public Domain Dedication. All possible existing rights in the content are waived, and the object can be used by anyone without any restrictions.

This object is made available under the terms of the Creative Commons - Attribution (BY) licence. You can copy, redistribute, remix, tweak, and build upon the licensed object, even commercially, as long as you attribute the rights holder as described in the licence.

This is a test area to fill out all the copyright details for Attribution Creative Commons Share Alike Licence

This is a test area to fill out all the copyright details for NoDerivs

This is a test area to fill out all the copyright details for NonCommercial

This object is in the public domain, but has been digitised as the outcome of a public-private partnership, where the terms of the contractual agreement limit commercial use for a certain period of time. You can copy, redistribute, remix, tweak, and build upon the object for non-commercial use only.

This object has been identified as an Orphan Work in the country of first publication and in line with the requirements of the national law implementing Directive 2012/28/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 on certain permitted uses of orphan works.

You are free to use this object in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. Please note that you are responsible for your own use, including the need to obtain other permissions e.g. with regard to publicity, privacy or moral rights.

This object is in the public domain, but is subject to known legal restrictions other than copyright which prevent its free re-use. Please contact the providing institution for more information.

This object is currently in copyright. Please contact the providing institution for more information and in order to acquire additional permissions for re-use.

The copyright status of this object has not been evaluated yet. Please contact the providing institution for more information.

You are free to use this object in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. Please note that you are responsible for your own use, including the need to obtain other permissions e.g. with regard to publicity, privacy, or moral rights.

This object is currently in copyright and the rights holder(s) have allowed re-use for educational purposes only. You are free to use this object in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. Please note that you are responsible for your own use, including the need to obtain other permissions e.g. with regard to publicity, privacy or moral rights.

Please contact the providing institution for more information and in order to acquire additional permissions for any other uses.

This object is made available under the terms of the Creative Commons - Attribution, ShareAlike (BY-SA) licence. You can copy, redistribute, remix, tweak and build upon the licensed object, even for commercial purposes, as long as you attribute the rights holder as described in the licence, and you license your adaptations of the object under the same terms.

This object is made available under the terms of the Creative Commons - Attribution, ShareAlike (BY-SA) licence. You can copy, redistribute, remix, tweak and build upon the licensed object, even for commercial purposes, as long as you attribute the rights holder as described in the licence, and you license your adaptations of the object under the same terms.

This object is made available under the terms of the Creative Commons - Attribution, No Derivates (BY-ND) licence. You can copy and redistribute the object, even commercially, as long as no alteration is made to the object and you attribute the rights holder as described in the licence.

If you remix, transform or build upon the object, you may not distribute the modified material.

This object is made available under the terms of the Creative Commons - Attribution, Non-Commercial (BY-NC) licence. You can copy, redistribute, remix, tweak, and build upon the licensed object for non-commercial use only and as long as you attribute the rights holder as described in the licence.

This object is made available under the terms of the Creative Commons - Attribution, Non-Commercial, ShareAlike (BY-NC-SA) licence. You can copy, redistribute, remix, tweak, and build upon the licensed object for non-commercial use only, as long as you attribute the rights holder as described in the licence, and as long as you license your adaptations of the object under the same terms.

This object is made available under the terms of the Creative Commons - Attribution, Non-Commercial, No Derivates (BY-NC-ND) licence. You can copy and redistribute the object for non-commercial use only, as long as no alteration is made to the object and as long as you attribute the rights holder as described in the licence.

If you remix, transform or build upon the object, you may not distribute the modified material.

This object is in the public domain, but has been digitised as the outcome of a public-private partnership, where the terms of the contractual agreement limit commercial use for a certain period of time. You can copy, redistribute, remix, tweak, and build upon the object for non-commercial use only.

This object has been identified as an Orphan Work in the country of first publication and in line with the requirements of the national law implementing Directive 2012/28/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 on certain permitted uses of orphan works.

You are free to use this object in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. Please note that you are responsible for your own use, including the need to obtain other permissions e.g. with regard to publicity, privacy or moral rights.

This object is in the public domain, but is subject to known legal restrictions other than copyright which prevent its free re-use. Please contact the providing institution for more information.

This object is currently in copyright. Please contact the providing institution for more information and in order to acquire additional permissions for re-use.

The copyright status of this object has not been evaluated yet. Please contact the providing institution for more information.

You are free to use this object in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. Please note that you are responsible for your own use, including the need to obtain other permissions e.g. with regard to publicity, privacy, or moral rights.

This object is currently in copyright and the rights holder(s) have allowed re-use for educational purposes only. You are free to use this object in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. Please note that you are responsible for your own use, including the need to obtain other permissions e.g. with regard to publicity, privacy or moral rights.

Please contact the providing institution for more information and in order to acquire additional permissions for any other uses.

Return to search Make a suggestion Contact this institution