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Economic
measures against the Jews were introduced in late 1940. No such
measures had been taken in the first few months of the occupation,
and for a while it even seemed that the Jews might be allowed to
pursue a reasonable level of economic activity. Some Jews who had
fled to France (mainly to the southern zone) when Belgium was
occupied actually returned to Belgium and resumed their economic
activities there, especially in the diamond industry in Antwerp. In
November 1940, however, Hermann Goering ordered the Belgian economy
to be “Aryanized,” thus prompting interest by various German
enterprises in acquiring Jewish businesses. In practice,
“Aryanization” was launched only in late 1941, its “legal”
basis being decrees of October 28, 1940, and May 21, 1941.
Aryanization gathered momentum in March and April 1942, when the
systematic liquidation of Jewish businesses in the textile, leather,
and diamond industries was set in motion. However, the Aryanization
process was never completed; according to a comprehensive survey
conducted by the Germans, the large Jewish enterprises stayed in
existence and kept their assets intact. The situation in
Jewish-owned real estate was similar.
Several
economic decrees were enacted in 1942: confiscation of property
owned by German Jews (April 22 and August 1); severe restrictions on
the practice of medicine (June 1); and, forbidding the sale of real
estate without special permission (September 29) during the period
when Jews were being deported to camps.
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