The Central Archives for the History
of the Jewish People
Contents
See also: The
Central Archives for the History of the Jewish People web site
Records of the Jewish Community of Lodz held in the CAHJP
(per 1988 CAHJP
catalog)
Key:
1. = original manuscript
2. = microfilm, followed by location
where microfilmed, in parentheses
[R] = in Russian
[P] = in Polish
[H] = in Hebrew
1. The account books of two Jewish
merchants [G.P], 1905, 1933; account books and minutes of the Hebrew Language
Society [H.R], 1911-12
2. Community minutes and reports;
records of community elections; community correspondence; files on personal
matters and on civil records; population records; community budgets and
financial reports; records of income and expenditure; records of communal
taxes; requests for financial aid during World War One; records of transactions
concerning real estate in the town; records of the rabbinate; files on
rabbis, synagogues and prayer-houses; records concerning the mikveh; ritual
slaughter, documents and correspondence concerning the supply of money
and food for the poor at Passover time; files of the Commission for Ritual
Matters; records concerning Jewish schools and cheders; files on the Talmud
Torah; on the community delegates to the School Council; files on the establishment
and activities of various Jewish charitable and medical institutions (the
poor shelter, orphanages, home for the mentally disturbed etc.); records
of the Jewish cemetery; files on the staff of the cemetery and their wages;
records of burial costs; files on the desecration of graves by soldiers;
records concerning theft in the community; civil records and statistics
concerning the Jewish population; help granted to the victims of pogroms
in the Ukraine; files on anti-Jewish outbursts; records of those wishing
to leave the community; bulletins of the Jewish Press agency; files concerning
the election of Jews to the Town Council; files on community participation
in various non- Jewish celebrations; records of Jews conscripted into the
army; files of the Commission for the Registration of War Casualties; records
of Jewish solders returning from the war; support for solders' families;
records of the Committee for the Support of Wounded Soldiers, 1885-1935.
[P.R].
(AP Lodz, L.Zyd.Gm.Wyzn).
Files on the community; records
of the purchase of property and land by Jews, 1836-66
(AP Lodz, A.P.Rz.G.)
Records concerning the community
and its officials; correspondence dealing with the community's finances;
files of the Jewish cemetery, cheders and Jewish schools; records of synagogues;
contributions to the Jewish hospital in Piotrkow; files on the construction
of the Jewish hospital in L.; the establishment of a Jewish maternity home;
various societies and charitable institutions; records concerning the rabbi
and the supply of kosher food; licenses for Jews to settle in the town;
licenses for Jews to buy land for building purposes; files on the size
of the Jewish population and its participation in local life; files on
the legislation concerning Jewish dress (incl. fines for breaking the law
and taxes paid for permission to dress traditionally); medical certificates
for burial purposes; verdicts in criminal cases, 1864-1915, [P,R].
(AP Lodz, Akta Magistratu w Lodzi).
Documents, reports and correspondence
on Jewish schools and cheders; inventories and descriptions of various
schools; class registers. 1864-1915, [R].
(AP Lodz, L.D.Sz.).
Files on illegal trading activities
carried out by Jews; various official requests (incl. For opening businesses);
files on synagogues, prayer houses, schools and cheders; fines for evading
conscription; records of Jews under police observation; files on medical
services; records concerning the infringement of the law on Jewish dress;
a file on the "HaZamir" society; records concerning various educational
and professional societies; the appointment of a new rabbi; files concerning
the registration of merchants, 1869-1913, [R].
(AP Lodz, Policmajster m. Lodzi).
Ratification of community elections
and accounts; records concerning the arenda of synagogue income; files
on arrears in taxes paid by Jews; financial aid for the Jewish poor; donations
and contributions to charitable institutions, schools and synagogues; the
appointment of new rabbis; files on the construction and renovation of
the synagogue and the Jewish hospital; records concerning the establishment
of new synagogues and cheders; licenses for the establishment of various
cultural and charitable societies; files on Jewish guilds; various complaints
concerning the community; requests for licenses to build houses, warehouses
and factories; a request to permit a conversion to Christianity. 1871-
1914, [R].
(AP Lodz, P.Rz.G.R.O.)
Files on synagogues and cemeteries;
a request to establish society of merchants; various financial requests;
complaints against Jews; proceedings against Jews who built in unauthorized
area; fines for evading conscription; files on poverty suffered by the
families of Jews conscripted into the army. 1890-1903, [R].
(AP Lodz, P.Rz.G.W.P.).
Accusations against Jews of
membership in illegal organisations and political parties (incl. Bund,
S.D.K.P.P.iL.P.P.S. etc.); files on those accused of the possession and
distribution of illegal, anti-government literature; documents concerning
the organization of demonstrations and meetings on 1st May, 1905 and on
other occasions; files on those arrested for organising strikes in 1905;
records of investigations of the political orientation of certain Jews;
documents concerning the collection of funds for the "Bund" and other parties;
a file on a meeting of the "Poalei Zion" in 1910. 1903-1912, [R].
(AP Lodz. P.G.Z.Z.)
Requests to register various
cultural, charitable, religious and professional societies; confirmation
of the establishment of a Jewish orphanage. 1906-14, [R]
(AP Lodz, P.Rz.G.K.P.).
Correspondence on the causes
of pogroms in L.; a statement concerning acts of sabotage committed by
Jews; various petitions and complaints made by jews; correspondence concerning
a Jew under arrest; a case of a Jew using false medical certificates to
evade conscription; licenses to publish various Jewish journals. 1906-14,
[R].
(AP Lodz, K.G.P.).
Files on various Jews sent
into exile [R], 1907-08.
(AP Lodz, K.G.K.).
2. Files on various educational matters
concerning Jews in the district [R], 1883-85.
(AP Lodz, Urz.Gm. Chojny).
Records concerning various
Jewish communities in the district; files on Jews evading conscription.
1889-1914, [R].
Correspondence concerning cheders,
1889-99.
(AP Lodz, L.D.Sz.)
Fines for evading conscription;
the complaint of a Jew against the village militia. 1895-1902, [R].
(AP Lodz, P.Rz.G.W.A.).
A file on the request of the
Jews of a local village to join the L. community, 1908.
(AP Lodz, P.Rz.G.W.A.).
Files on Jews under police
observation [R]. 1908.
(AP Lodz, P.G.Z.Z.).
Reports of Onsite Visits to the CAHJP
There are a few
civil records located at the CAHJP, but nothing from Lodz or the area.
The CAHJP is working on publishing
a revised version of the 1988 index of their Polish
holdings (they have no equivalent for other countries). The CAHJP has
acquired a lot of new material since 1989, and the catalog should be twice
or thrice thicker. Unfortunately, a single archivist works on updating
the catalog, and only one day a week, so no publication date is planned.
The focus of the CAHJP is not genealogy but history, so, when they go to
Poland to microfilm material, they usually do not film civil records with
individual name lists. The major difficulty with accessing the data in
the CAHJP is language. As one can see from the old catalog, most of the
material is written in Russian or Polish (R, P). As these are not lists
of names, mastering these languages is necessary. Even the (non computerized)
catalog of the CAHJP is difficult to use, as every catalog entry is written
in the language used in the document that the entry describes. The archives
will pursue this policy in the future. The CAHJP is also working on a computerized
catalog, but here, too, no dates are given.
I have worked at these archives during several of my trips to Israel.
They have some extensive holdings on several Polish towns in which I was
interested. When I was there last, about five years ago, they were
not computerized and their holdings were largely catalogued on cards (not
always complete). Visitors were not permitted to search the stacks directly
and the number of requests for items at a time was limited by time available.
People wishing to use the archives should first realize that they were
not designed for public use. The staff is highly skilled, but they have
their own work to do (either for the Archives or the University) and neither
have time nor the assignment to assist the public. Hence, I believe
this not a place for an amateur, unless accompanied by an experienced professional.
Some of their archivists, however, are very competent and well informed.
The holdings of
the CAHJP on Lodz are summarized in the old 1988 catalog,
however an updated version may be available. The archives has a list of
more than 200 microfilms of documents that still exist in Poland. Most
are in Polish, some are in Russian and others are in Hebrew and Yiddish.
These documents are not genealogy records, per se, but there is much indirect
information including many name lists of all kinds and other documents.
I arbitrarily chose three films to peruse, but could only read the Hebrew
or Yiddish files, which were scarce. I found, for example, a birth registration
and a charitable donors' list. In conclusion, I believe the microfilms
contain information of value to genealogists. However, to extract the information
from these microfilms, one is required to view them, one by one, and prepare
lists in English. It will be a huge undertaking.
Contact Information
Postal Address:
Central Archives for the History
of the Jewish People
P.O.B. 1149
Jerusalem 91010
Israel
Telephone/Fax: (972)-2-5635716
Email: archives@vms.huji.ac.il
Location:
The Hebrew University Campus
Sprinzak Building
Givat Ram
Israel
See also: The
Central Archives for the History of the Jewish People
Sources
For more information on Jewish community
and vital records held in various branches of the Polish State Archives,
see:
-
Teller, H., Volovici,
H. Assouline, H. Guide to the Sources for the History of the Jews in Poland in the Central Archives. Jerusalem: CAHJP, 1988. (out
of print)
- Volovici, Hanna. "Polish Sources at
the Central Archives for the History of the Jewish People," Avotaynu,
Vol. X, No. 2 (Summer 1994), pp. 21-22.
- Weiner, Miriam. Jewish Roots in
Poland: Pages from the Past and Archival Inventories. New York: YIVO
Institute for Jewish Research and The Miriam Weiner Routes to Roots
Foundation, Inc., 1997.
- The
Central Archives for the History of the Jewish People web site
The assistance of Warren Blatt, Stanley Diamond, Jan
M. Engel, Shmuel Kehati and Jean-Pierre Stroweis is gratefully acknowledged.
Shirley Rotbein Flaum
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