Belgian Helper Files by Box Number

MIS-X Files, Belgium, 1945-1947, Case Files of Belgian Helpers

At the beginning of 2023, I learned that the Belgian Helper files had been scanned, at least in part, by the National Archives and are available at https://catalog.archives.gov/id/5701226.  For further information, see the following.

To determine if there is a World War II helper file on a particular Belgian, there are several resources available at the Textual Research Room at the National Archives II in College Park, Maryland.  The following descriptions will help you in identifying if there is a file on a Belgian and then ordering it.

1. Index to Belgian Helper List.  In August 2012, I posted the complete index to Belgian Helpers on this website.  Click here to go to it.  In addition to the individual’s name and address, the index gives the “Award Grade,” which will help you determine where to look in the records listed below.

1. UD 164: Lists of Belgian Helpers, 1946.  Boxes 627-628.  Record Group 498, Stack location: 290/55/22/3.  These consist of separate slips of paper, one per person, giving the address, grade, and a serial number.  They are very clumsy to work with.

2. UD 165: Lists of Belgian Helpers, 1946. Box 629.  Record Group 498, Stack location 290/55/22/3.

3. UD 166: Master List of MIS-X Awards for Belgium, 1945-1948. Box 630.  Record Group 498, Stack location: 290/55/22/3.  As I recall, these are long typed lists in more or less alphabetical order.  They may be your best resource for determining if there is a helper file and what the person’s grade was.

Once you have determined that there is a file and the person’s grade, you will want to order the box.  The boxes are numbered 636-728 and are organized by type of award and then alphabetically by name.  The description you will put on the order form will be UD 171: Case Files of Belgian Helpers, 1945-1947.  Record Group 498, stack location 290/55/21-23/4-3.  Below is a list I compiled from the labels on the boxes.

The box numbers are listed below in the column at the left.  The column to the right identifies the contents of each box.  Grades 1 and 2 were reserved for those helpers who received the highest awards for their help to Allied airmen, and so on.  When I visited the Textual Research Room in June 2011, I found that there had been a major renumbering of all the boxes containing  Dutch and Belgian helper files.  The numbers below are what I found on inspection of each box of the Belgian files.  (To view the official list instead of mine, click on the following: ARC – Archival Descriptions Search – Print Results – Belgian Helpers by Box Number.)