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On August 24th and 27th, 1940 a total of 82 crates
of books, works of art and masonic ritualia were gathered by the
German occupiers in the masonic lodges of Brussels. Not less than
97 crates were assembled in other masonic lodges of Belgium, which
makes a total of at least 179 crates. Thanks to the German administrative
accuracy the transports to Berlin on November 26th, 1940 and January
17th, 1941 can be traced. The masonic lodges were the first institutions
to be spoiled systematically in Belgium: first by the Sicherheitsdienst
(Security Service), closely followed by the Einsatzst
Reichsleiter Rosenberg. The Belgian interest in masonic
material was underlined by the fact that Reinhard Heydrich und
Alfred Rosenberg personally visited the lodges in Brussels in
July 1940. The lodges, especially of Brussels and Antwerp were
used during the Second World War as depots of spoiled cultural
objects or as national socialist administrative centres.
In 1946 nine crates, containing Belgian mostly
freemason materials and Jewish libraries from Antwerp and Brussels
returned from the American Collecting Point Offenbach in Germany.
On February 25th, 1949 another four were restituted to Belgium,
containing among other things masonic books. At least 170 crates
of the masonic cultural goods never returned to Belgium. Only
during the last years concrete evidence and locations of lost
freemason's material of Belgian origin turned up: in Wurzburg
(Germany), in the Osobyi Archives in Moscow (Russian Federation)
and in the library of the University of Poznan (Poland). The discoveries
in Moscow were confirmed by Belgian historians, who did active
research there. 2,265 freemason dossiers of the years 1784-1940
were found. The archives contain documents of the Grand Orient
of Belgium, the Higher Council of Belgian lodges and the working
places Les amis philantropes and Les amis du
progrés, even of daughter lodges in London. Besides,
regulations, circulars, protocols of the working of the lodges,
also the publications and bulletins were found in Moscow. The
text of speeches, publications of members of Belgian freemasonry
on political and social issues and the history of freemasonry
of Belgium are also kept in the same archives. Important international
correspondence with lodges in Europe and America completes the
discovery.
The period of the Cold War made every possibility
of restitution between Western and Eastern European countries
impossible. The officials, experts and researchers agree how much
the attitude of the Russian authorities on this subject remains
uncertain. Even the law proposal of the Duma concerning restitution
of works of art and archives differentiates between 'legal' and
'illegal' spoils of war.
In Belgium the Ministry of Economic Affairs is coordinating
the research about cultural losses of Belgian origin. A close
cooperation and working relationship was established between the
Belgian freemasonry and the Ministry of Economic Affairs. In the
meantime the Belgian freemason's lodges are documenting and investigating
the cultural losses they suffered and are providing evidence of
ownership of these lost cultural objects.
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