Migration & refuge · Belgium · 1830–1939
Migrants found work and community, while Europe’s nationalist movements recast them as a threat.
Explore BelgiumPublished by WTJPublication updated
1830–1939
Migration & refuge · Brussels and Antwerp become places to rebuild
Migrants found work and community, while Europe’s nationalist movements recast them as a threat.
Different journeys into Belgium
Jewish migrants reached Belgium from different parts of Europe. Some sought work; others escaped persecution. Their languages, political commitments and religious practices differed. In Brussels and Antwerp they built networks that helped newcomers establish lives. Migration did not produce a single uniform community.
The refugee crisis deepens
As Nazi persecution intensified in Germany, Jewish refugees also sought safety in Belgium. Their presence was a consequence of exclusion elsewhere. By 1940, many Jews living in Belgium were foreign nationals. That status would make them especially vulnerable under German occupation.
Foreignness becomes an accusation
Fascist and nationalist movements treated Jews as an alien influence within the nation. Such claims changed refuge into suspicion: people fleeing persecution could be portrayed as the danger themselves. This accusation connected inherited prejudice to modern arguments about borders and national identity.