The Holocaust in Belgium the country before World War I. The interwar period saw substantial Jewish immigration to Belgium. By 1930, the population rose to 50,000, and by 1940 it was between 70,000–75,000. Most of the new Jewish immigrants came from Eastern Europe and Nazi Germany, escaping anti-Semitism and poverty in their native countries. The Roma population of Belgium at the same time was approximately 530. Few of the Jewish migrants claimed Belgian citizenship, and many did not speak French or Dutch. Jewish communities developed in Charleroi, Liège, Brussels and, above all, Antwerp, where more than half of the Jews in Belgium lived. The
Saint-Gilles, Belgium Partenaire business centre at Rue Théodore Verhaegen 150. Saint Gilles has a legendary football club called Royal Union Saint Gilloise, which was successful until the 1930s. Saint-Gilles, Belgium Saint-Gilles () or Sint-Gillis () is one of the nineteen municipalities located in the Brussels-Capital Region of Belgium. It is bordered by the City of Brussels, Anderlecht, Forest and Ixelles. Saint-Gilles has a multicultural identity stemming from its diverse population. For example, the central square (French: "Place Van Meenen", Dutch: "Van Meenenplein") hosts the annual festival of Brussels' Portuguese community. The housing stock varies from semi-derelict tenements near the Brussels-South railway station