Verklikkers in Duitse dienst in Antwerpen en hun gerechtelijke vervolging na de Eerste Wereldoorlog

This article examines the activities of denouncers in German service during the First World War in the Antwerp judicial district and their prosecution by the Belgian judiciary in the wake of the Armistice. The judicial files of suspected denouncers, originating from the archives of the Public Prosecutor's Office and Correctional Tribunal of Antwerp, and the Court of Appeal of Brussels, were the primary sources for this research. With these sources, a diverse corpus was composed, containing both cases dismissed or exonerated by the Public Prosecutor or the Investigating Magistrate, and cases that ended in a sentence, either in first instance or in higher appeal. The files of these denouncers were scrutinized in order to analyse their activities, social profile and post-war judicial prosecution. Firstly, this article shows that these denouncers were charged with very specific tasks: counteracting smuggling and usury, intercepting so-called passeurs, who tried to cross the border with the Netherlands, and interrogating prisoners to extract a confession. Secondly, the social profile of denouncers in German serviceis analysed. The final part of the article focuses on the post-war prosecution of denouncers in German service, which deals with the prosecution policy of the Belgian judiciary, the concerns of social groups within the Belgian population and the means of defence of suspected denouncers.This article examines the activities of denouncers in German service during the First World War in the Antwerp judicial district and their prosecution by the Belgian judiciary in the wake of the Armistice. The judicial files of suspected denouncers, originating from the archives of the Public Prosecutor's Office and Correctional Tribunal of Antwerp, and the Court of Appeal of Brussels, were the primary sources for this research. With these sources, a diverse corpus was composed, containing both cases dismissed or exonerated by the Public Prosecutor or the Investigating Magistrate, and cases that ended in a sentence, either in first instance or in higher appeal. The files of these denouncers were scrutinized in order to analyse their activities, social profile and post-war judicial prosecution. Firstly, this article shows that these denouncers were charged with very specific tasks: counteracting smuggling and usury, intercepting so-called passeurs, who tried to cross the border with the Netherlands, and interrogating prisoners to extract a confession. Secondly, the social profile of denouncers in German serviceis analysed. The final part of the article focuses on the post-war prosecution of denouncers in German service, which deals with the prosecution policy of the Belgian judiciary, the concerns of social groups within the Belgian population and the means of defence of suspected denouncers.A