Frequently asked questions

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.

Enter your additional search term in the Additional search term  in the  search term field, in the dark gray box at the top. 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.

Note: Do not use the Start new search . This way you will end up in the general overview again. When searching in collections, you can also use the tips for the general search field (see above).

Alternative: You can also enter your search term in the general search window and then enable the filter for collections in the column Refine your search  on the far left.

How to look for a collection and elements concerning one specific theme?

The far left column called Refine your search contains a number of filters. You can select certain categories and key words as search terms by clicking on the plus next to this category or keyword in the list. The combination of certain keywords leads to different results. For example, the category Anti-Jewish measures and the keyword Identification measures lead to results on the registration of Jews in Belgium during the occupation. The combination of the category Pre-war Jewish life and keyword Identification measures leads to results about prewar passports and migration documents.

You can perfectly combine filters with categories and key words with a free search or filters on the type of item).

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.

Downloading a work copy is always possible. Both in the overview with all your results and on the screen with the complete description of a collection,  you will find a file right at the bottom the button with an arrow Download Preview. Click on it to download a work copy of the item.

Note: Downloading a work copy does not automatically imply permission to reproduce or publish a part. This requires the permission of the copyright holder.

Your results contain images that you want to view in more detail. Open the description of the collection, file or item. Then click on the image of the collection, file or item that you want to view in detail. A view appears on which you can zoom in, without any description. Close the enlarged view by clicking the gray cross at the top right of the page.

The dark gray area Search terms  at the top left shows all your search terms and filters. When you move your cursor over a search term/filter, a deletion appears. Click on the search term/filter you want to delete. The search term/filter will disappear from your list of used search terms and your results will be adjusted.

This depends on which archive collection you want to consult. You can consult the deportation lists of the Dossinkazerne and the portraits of deportees on any PC (including at home). The other collections can only be consulted in the reading room, where you fill in a research statement. You can consult it in the reading room of Kazerne Dossin, but you can also visit the reading room of affiliated partner institutions.

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.

Browse your results

Click on one of your search results. Right above the image you will find an arrow with which you can navigate to the left (backward) and right (forward) between your results. The complete description appears under each new result.

Return to the overview of your results

Right above the image you will find the Back to search . With this button you return to your overview with all the results.

You can change the language in the language menu at the top right. The titles of the description fields appear in the selected language. The descriptions themselves are not translated and are always  available but in English only.

Open a search result by clicking on the title or on the image. An enlarged image appears with a short description of the collection, folder or item  on the Description tab below. More detailed information can be found under the tab Additional meta info .

If the number of results is still too large, enter an additional search term via the Additional search term field (dark gray search terms field – top left). The image bank combines all entered terms so that your search is refined. This gives the same result as the use of AND.

The image bank searches for keywords that appear in the title and description of a collection, a file or an subjct. The standard overview with small versions of the results does not immediately show the context of a result and the reason why the result appears. It is easier and user-friendly to switch from Show results in grid  to Show results in list.  This option can be found just below the yellow bar at the top. Together with the reduced reproduction of your result, you will see the title and the first part of the description.

A search can produce hundreds of results. These are sorted according to the option chosen under Sort by  just below the bright yellow bar at the top. You can organize in various ways: by relevance, by date modified, by file name,  alphabetically by title, or by archive date.

The image bank contains descriptions on three levels: collections, files and documents. An icon on the right below an image with your search results shows the type of this hit. A folder refers to a collection, a paper clip to a file and a square with a mountain to an individual piece. In addition, you can also add filters using the filters in the far left column Refine your search for the type of items including collection, folder and photos or other types of items.

Tip: The easiest way to sort is the file name option.  This is how the relevant collections first appear, followed by the relevant files and finally by the 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.

To reproduce images from the image bank you need a preceding written permission from the copyright holder. When you open a collection or a part of it by clicking on it, a number of details appear to the right of the image. The copyright is indicated under Rights owner . If items belong to the collection of Kazerne Dossin, the employees can immediately help you. In other cases, the staff will provide you with the contact information of the copyright holder. You can also request more information about the rights via the button Request more information  (marked with the symbol i) or via mail.

For example: a first name and a second name

If you are looking for a description or a title in which two or more words appear scattered, use AND to combine the keywords. You are looking for Michel Goldberg but you will find hundreds of Goldbergs when you search by surname. Then type Michel AND Goldberg. All documents about Michel Goldberg appear.

Specific combination of words

When searching for a specific combination of terms, such as Association of Jews in Belgium, but getting all the descriptions in which the words Jews, Belgium and Association appear? Put your search between quotation marks: “Association of Jews in Belgium”. Only results with this specific word combination appear.