Frequently asked questions

Click on the Collections tab in the dark grey column on the left. An overview of all available collections appears in the image bank. You can organise the collections in various ways. To do this, click on the Sort by drop-down menu at the top right.

If necessary, type an additional search term in the Additional search termfield, and press Enter or click on the search icon at the back of the search field (black button with a magnifying glass). You can also further refine your search by selecting the desired filters in the column under the header Filter on the left of the main page.

The number of results will decrease depending on your added search terms. Click on the photo accompanying a collection to view an enlarged image. Click on the title of a collection to see the description of that collection. 

Always remember to clear your filters before entering a new search. This is because the image bank will remember your previous assignment and will combine it with the new one.

Click Collections  in the yellow bar at the top. The overview of all available collections in the image bank appears. You can organize these in different ways: by relevance, by date modified, by file name, alphabetically by title, or by archive date.

By clicking on the title, the image or Open this collection  under the image of a collection, you open the description and you can click through to the items  in this collection.

You may always download a working copy of an image from the image bank for your own use. Click on the down arrow below the desired image. You can now save this image to your computer. In case of a collection, you can manually save the cover photo to your computer.

Note: Downloading a working copy does not automatically imply that you have permission to reproduce or publish a piece. This requires permission from the copyright holder.

Click on the image you want to view in more detail. A view will appear in which you can zoom in, with no attached description. Close the enlarged view by clicking the grey X at the top right of the page.

The search term you entered is displayed as a dark grey label in the Additional search term  search bar at the top of your screen. Click on the X next to your search term to delete it. You can uncheck filters in the column under the Filtering  header on the left of the main page.

It depends on which archival collection you want to access. You can consult the Dossin Barracks deportation lists and portraits of deportees on any computer (including at home). The contents of the other collections can only be consulted in the Kazerne Dossin reading room and at affiliated partner institutions. A complete list of these organisations can be found here. You must complete a research declaration for each consultation in each of these reading rooms.

The column titled Filtering  on the left side of the main page contains a number of filters. You can select certain categories and keywords/match words as search terms. Combining certain keywords can lead to different results. For example, combining the “Anti-Jewish measures” category and the “Identification measures” keyword will lead to results on the registration of Jews in Belgium during the occupation. Combining the “Pre-war Jewish life” category and the “Identification measures” keyword produces results on pre-war passports and migration documents.

You can also combine filters related to categories and keywords with a free search or with filters about the type of piece. 

Always remember to clear your filters before entering a new search. This is because the image bank will remember your previous assignment and will combine it with the new one.

Both in the overview with all your results and in the screen with the complete description of a collection, file or item  you will find at the bottom right the button with a heart Add to favorites. Click this to save the items that you want to re-view later. Then click on Favorites in the yellow bar at the top. You can view all your saved favorites in  detail from here.

To browse through your results

Click on the title of one of your search results. At the top right of your screen you will find the buttons previous result and next result. These allow you to navigate between your results. The image and the full description appear for each of the results. Click on the image to see the enlarged view. 

Returning to the overview

You will find the Back to search button at the top left of your screen. You can use this button to return to your overview with all the results. From the enlarged view of an image, you can return to the full description of that image by clicking on the X at the top right. 

You can change the language in the Language menu at the top right. After doing this, the titles of the description fields will appear in the selected language. The descriptions themselves are not translated, and always only remain available in English.

Click on the title of a search result. This could be a collection or an item. The full description then opens. 

If the number of results is too high, type an additional search term into the Additional search term search bar at the top of your screen, and then press enter or click the black button with the magnifying glass at the end of the search bar. The image bank will then combine all the terms entered, so that your search will be refined. 

Always remember to clear your filters before entering a new search. This is because the image bank will remember your previous assignment and will combine it with the new one.

The image bank compares your search term to words in the title and content description of a collection, file or piece. The results that appear are thereby collections and pieces in which your search term appears in the title or the content description. You can scroll through the results to see the results in more detail. 

Always remember to clear your filters before entering a new search. This is because the image bank will remember your previous assignment, and will combine it with the new one.

A search can yield hundreds of results. These are sorted depending on the option chosen in the Sort by drop-down menu at the top right. You can organise them in various ways: by relevance (most relevant), by date modified  (ascending or descending), by file name, by last archived (date of addition to the image bank, ascending or descending), by date of content  (ascending or descending) and by recently published (ascending or descending).

Tip: The easiest way to sort is by the file name option. The relevant collections thereby appear first, followed by the relevant files and, finally, items such as photographs.  

If there is any reason to doubt about the spelling, add an * in your search term. For example, do you doubt between Horowicz or Horowitz? Then type Horowi*. Then you then get all the search results that start with Horowi. This also works in the beginning or middle of a word. Horo * itz, for example, produces both Horowitz and Horovitz as results. You can use as many asterisks in your search term as you want, but the more asterisks, the more results.

The reproduction of images from the image bank requires the prior written permission of the copyright holder. When you open a collection or a piece by clicking on the title, the full description will appear. The copyright holder is listed in the Reproduction rights field. For more information on how to contact the copyright holder, please email archives@kazernedossin.eu. If an image belongs to the Kazerne Dossin collection, you can contact us at this same e-mail address to request the reproduction rights. 

Such as first and last name

The image bank is set up to search in increasing detail. Are you looking for a person (a combination of a first and last name), or a description or title that has two or more words scattered throughout? Type the first term into the Additional search term search bar at the top of your screen, and then press enter or click the black button with the magnifying glass at the end of the search bar. Then add a second, third, fourth… search term in the same way. 

For example, if you are searching for “Michel Goldberg’. You type in “Goldberg” as a search term and find hundreds of results. Add “Michel” as a search term. All the documents about “Michel Goldberg” appear. 

Note: There could be more than one person with the same name. You should therefore always check the date of birth on the documents.

Specific combination of words

You are searching for a specific combination of terms, such as “Association of Jews in Belgium’. Type the search query in full and at one go into the Additional search term search bar at the top of your screen, and then press enter or click the black button with the magnifying glass at the end of the search bar. Only results with this specific word combination will then appear.