Eric Laureys | Belgian Federal Science Policy Office (original) (raw)

Papers by Eric Laureys

Revue dHistoire de la Shoah, 2007

When German troops invaded Belgium in 1940, they gained control over Antwerp’s leading diamond tr... more 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.

Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research), Nov 13, 2018

In order to consider the effects of online publishing on the career of researchers, as well as to... more In order to consider the effects of online publishing on the career of researchers, as well as to encourage both its recognition and its improved positioning within the field and beyond, the CETAF Membership organized two workshops during which specific questions about scientific publishing in taxonomy were addressed: authorship citation and Open Access. The present opinion paper is the result of those workshops held on 19 October 2016 in Madrid and on 4 October 2017 in Heraklion. The discussions were aimed at reconciling the requirements of the relevant nomenclatural codes with recommendations for best practices that are adapted to the evolving landscape of e-publishing. By evaluating the different policies of a range of journals regarding authorship citation, we were able to recognise the conflicting and incoherent practices related to the citation of taxon authorships; an issue that is important to clarify for scientific (explicit source), practical (findability of source) and reputational (citation index) reasons. A collective policy on authorship citation also fits into the wider challenge faced by researchers and institutions, whereby interoperability and traceability become key priorities, both for facilitating access to scientific resources and for generating metrics that accurately represent the activities and output of the community. Publications resulting from publicly-funded research should be considered as an essential part of the research process and there has been a strong move towards Open Access, which increases visibility, citability, innovation and impact. Diverse models of Open Access have appeared in scientific publishing but while they each promote free access to the end user, they are not always equitable for the authors and funders of the original research. Herein we formulate recommendations for the relevant research communities and outline the advantages behind adopting a collective strategy towards the issues of authorship citation and Open Access.

Met opvallende zelfgenoegzaamheid maanden De Verenigde Staten vanaf 1997 de Europese regeringen a... more Met opvallende zelfgenoegzaamheid maanden De Verenigde Staten vanaf 1997 de Europese regeringen aan om snel werk te maken van het opsporen van door nazi-Duitsland ontvreemde joodse goederen of zgn. Holocaust Assets. Ook de naoorlogse Amerikaanse regeringen ondernamen reeds lovenswaardige pogingen tot restitutie. Toch moet de ethische grondslag die deze operatie toegeschreven wordt enigszins gerelativeerd worden. In andere domeinen, zoals de ruimtevaart of de kernwetenschappen (waar nazi-misdadigers in het kader van de Koude Oorlog zonder verwijl in dienst genomen werden), keken zij niet zo nauw op ethische beschouwingen. Zo stond ook het rechtsherstel voor de slachtoffers van de nazi-roof in zekere mate in functie van de Amerikaanse belangen in Europa. Hierdoor werden de rechten van de slachtoffers, of het nu om joden, niet-joden of nationale staten ging, lang niet altijd met evenveel ijver behartigd.

The main purpose of this paper is to show that Jewish diamond dealers in Belgium were kept active... more The main purpose of this paper is to show that Jewish diamond dealers in Belgium were kept active and alive longer than they otherwise would have been in order to provide the German war industry with vital raw materials. In doing so, the German military administration in Belgium, in its struggle for power against National Socialist institutions (the military rulers in Brussels were less eager to “Aryanize” the Belgian economy than to exploit it efficiently), actively supported a prolonged Jewish presence in the German-controlled Belgian diamond industry.

Emerging Clusters

... Bridging ruptures: the re-emergence of the Antwerp diamond district after World War II and th... more ... Bridging ruptures: the re-emergence of the Antwerp diamond district after World War II and the role of strategic action Sebastian Henn and ... 750 Puerto Rico– 1, 5 Palestine/Israel (since 1948) 200 3800 Source: Antwerp City Archive (MA-KAB 1723, letter from Romi Goldmuntz to ...

Presentation given at the PASTEUR4OA conference - Green Light for Open Access: Aligning Europe&#3... more Presentation given at the PASTEUR4OA conference - Green Light for Open Access: Aligning Europe's OA Policies, Amsterdam, 17th-18th May 2016.

Confiscation of Jewish Property in Europe, 1933–1945 New Sources and Perspectives Symposium Pr... more Confiscation of Jewish Property in Europe,
1933–1945
New Sources and Perspectives
Symposium Proceedings
CENTER FOR ADVANCED HOLOCAUST STUDIES
UNITED STATES HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL MUSEUM
2003

This are chapters of the July 2001 Final Report of the Belgian Study Commission on Assets of the ... more This are chapters of the July 2001 Final Report of the Belgian Study Commission on Assets of the Jewish Community of Belgium, looted or abandoned during the 1940-1945 War, titled : "Property of the Victims of Anti Jewish Persecution in Belgium. Spoliation - Recovery of Rights - Results of the Study Commission", of which Eric Laureys is the author.
Part 1 covers the looting of diamonds and the persecution of their owners
Part 2 covers the destination and the recuperation of looted diamonds and the compensation of their owners