Ministère des Affaires économiques. Direction de l'organisation professionnelle

There are no consultation restrictions Biographical history: The Law of 10 May 1940 delegated the authority of the ministers, who had sought refuge abroad, to the secretaries-general. From this moment onwards, it was the latter, forming a college of secretaries-general, who ensured the continuity of authority in occupied Belgium. Jean-Charles Snoy et d'Oppuers was in charge of the Ministry of Economic Affairs. A person of integrity who was unaccommodating towards the occupier, Snoy et d’Oppuers was dismissed by General Eggert Reeder, head of the Militärverwaltung, and replaced by Victor Leemans on 12 August 1940. Victor Leemans, a teacher and sociologist, was a member of the Vlaams Nationaal Verbond (VNV) and one of the founders of the Vlaams Arbeidsfront. Before being promoted to the head of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, he briefly held a position at the Reconstruction Commission. As Secretary General, he participated in the corporate reorganisation of the economy. The reorganisation of the economy was carried out in three stages. R. De Vleeschauwer has described this system as a triptych, the aim of which was to "abolish the liberal system in favour of a corporatist state system": the creation of the National Corporation for Agriculture and Food (Royal Decree of 27 August 1940); the creation of the Central Commodities Offices (Royal Decree of 2 September 1940); and finally, the establishment of a Directorate of Professional Organisation with the creation of the principal, professional and autonomous Groups (Decrees of 10 February, 5 March and 28 April 1941). The objectives of the Directorate of Professional Organisation envisaged by Victor Leemans were, to borrow the terms of the Royal Decree, to ensure the fair distribution of raw materials and an efficient coordination of means of production, to ensure unity in the representation of professional interests and to subject all those concerned to the same discipline. To this end, the Head of the Ministry of Economic Affairs (in this case the Secretary General) could "establish economic bodies (...) and designate them as the sole representatives of their field of economic activity" or "transform existing professional groups which had a public character into public organisations or incorporate them into such public organisations (...)". All companies, whether industrial, commercial or artisanal, were obliged to join these bodies and pay a membership fee. The head of these Groups was appointed, not by the affiliates, but by the head of the Ministry of Economic Affairs. As we can see, this was clearly a corporatist type of organisation, the existence of which ran contrary to Belgium's liberalist traditions. The terminology used, starting with the term leader (leider), referred directly to the German model. There were 20 main Groups, subdivided into more specialised Professional Groups. To this number we can add the seven autonomous professional Groups, whose sectors of activity could not be integrated into the main groups; and three other organisations: the Order of Chartered Accountants, the Thread Guild (*gilde du fil*) and the Trade Secretariat. The following table shows all existing Groups (and others). We have presented them in the order in which they were classified by the management of the Directorate of Professional Organisation (in alphabetical order based on the Groups’ Dutch titles). We refer the researcher to files 2, 3 and 4, which outline the structure of the Groups at the beginning of their existence in detail. - Order of Chartered Accountants (*Ordre des experts comptables; Order der Accountants*) - Principal Group of the Craft Industry (*GP de l'artisanat; HG Ambachtswezen*) - Autonomous Professional Group of Cement and Related Industries (*GPA du ciment et des industries connexes; ZBG Cement- en aanverwante nijverheden*) - Autonomous Professional Group of the Diamond Industry (*GPA du diamant; ZBG Diamant*) - Principal Group of the Energy Industry (*GP de l'énergie; HG Energie*) - Film Guild (*Gilde du film; Filmgilde*) - Principal Group of the Glass Industry (*GP du de l'industrie du verre; HG Glasnijverheid*) - Autonomous Professional Group of Quarries (*GPA de l'industrie des carrières; ZBG Groeven*) - Principal Group of the Forestry Industry (*GP de l'industrie du bois; HG Houtnijverheid*) - Principal Group of Iron Metallurgy (*GP de la métallurgie du fer; HG ijzer- en staalvoort-brengende nijverheid*) - Autonomous Professional Group of the Lime Industry (*GPA de l'industrie de la chaux; ZBG Kalknijverheid*) - Autonomous Professional Group of the Ceramic Industry (*GPA de l'industrie céramique; ZBG Keramische nijverheid*) - Autonomous Professional Group of the Terracotta Industry (*GPA de l'industrie des produits en terre cuite commune; ZBG Kleinijverheid en aanverwante*) - Principal Group of the Retail Industry (*GP du commerce de détail; HG Kleinhandel*) - Principal Group of the Coal Industry (*GP de l'industrie charbonnière; HG Kolennijverheid*) - Principal Group of the Leather Industry (*GP de l'industrie du cuir; HG Ledernijverheid*) - Principal Group of Metalworking (*GP des fabrications métalliques; HG Metaalwerkende nijverheid*) - Principal Group of Non-ferrous Metals (*GP des métaux non ferreux; HG Non ferro metalen*) - Principal Group of Waste and Recovered Materials (*GP des déchets et des matières de récupération; HG Oudafval nijverheid*) - Principal Group of the Paper and Printing Industry (*GP de l'industrie du papier et de l'imprimerie; HG Papiernijverheid en grafische bedrijven*) - Principal Group of the Chemical Industry (*GP de l'industrie chimique; HG Scheikundige nijverheid*) - Trade Secretariat (*Secrétariat du commerce; Secretariaat voor den handel*) - Autonomous Professional Group of the Tobacco Industry (*GPA de l'industrie du tabac; ZBG Tabaknijverheid*) - Principal Group of the Textiles Industry (*GP de l'industrie textile; HG Textielnijverheid*) - Principal Group of the Tourism Industry (*GP du tourisme; HG Toerisme*) - Principal Group of Brokers (*GP des intermédiaires; HG Tussenhandel*) - Principal Group of Transport (*GP du transport; HG Verkeer*) - Principle Group of the Insurance Industry (*GP des assurances; HG Verzekeringen*) - Principal Group of the Food Industry (*GP des industries alimentaires; HG Voedingsnijverheid*) Abbreviations in French and Dutch: GP: Principal Group (*Groupement principal*); GPA: Autonomous Professional Group (*Groupement professionnel autonome*); HG: Principal Group (*hoofdgroepering*); ZBG: Autonomous Professional Group (*zelfstandige bedrijfsgroepering*) The directorate was therefore a hierarchical organisation that also had to have a flat, geographical structure: the economy needed to be coordinated by regions, each of which needed a chamber of economy. This aspect of the new Directorate of Professional Organisation was never implemented. The Decree-Law of 16 September 1944 put an end to the Group regime and replaced it with professional boards. The archives inventoried here constitute a mine of information for anyone interested in the organisation and operations of the Belgian economy under German occupation, economic collaboration, or the persecution of Jews.