Le pillage dans le secteur diamantaire en Belgique
When German troops invaded Belgium in 1940, they gained control over Antwerp’s leading diamond trading and manufacturing centre, which was dominated by members of the local Jewish community. But both jewellery diamonds and lower quality industrial diamonds were considered strategic commodities in wa...
Salvato in:
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| Natura: | Article ou chapitre numérique |
| Lingua: | Français |
| Pubblicazione: |
2007
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| Accesso online: | Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM |
| Riassunto: | When German troops invaded Belgium in 1940, they gained control over Antwerp’s leading diamond trading and manufacturing centre, which was dominated by members of the local Jewish community. But both jewellery diamonds and lower quality industrial diamonds were considered strategic commodities in wartime. The former could be considered as international currency, which could be used to purchase rare ores on the international markets, and the later allowed mass production of hard metal products such as weaponry and engines. Needless to say, the Germans had a keen interest in keeping the diamond industry up and running to supply their own war industry. In order not to scare this Belgian and dominantly Jewish industry into hiding, those who had been assigned to the task of reviving it had to turn to cloacked practices to exploit and plunder the diamond sector. They deceived the Antwerp diamond traders and workers with bogus legal measures and the mobilisation of trusted Belgian institutions to locate, block and eventually expropriate the diamonds. This is an attempt to measure the plundering that took place and unravel the techniques used to this purpose by Nazi Germany. |
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