Jewish Community of Valga

Collection description

Scope and content:: The collection includes the book of civil records of the Jewish community of Valga from the years 1919-25.

Archival history:: The civil record books were kept in the archive of the Estonian Ministry of the Interior until 2009, when they were transferred to the Estonian Historical Archives in Tartu.

Administrative/biographical history:: The Jewish community of Valga was established in 1871, and by 1897 it numbered almost 400 members. After World War I the town of Valga was divided between Latvia and Estonia. The Jewish community on the Estonian side gained recognition from independent Estonia in 1920 and existed throughout the period of Estonian independence, until after the Soviet occupation.

Access, restrictions:: The collection is open for reference at the Historical Arсhives of Estonia, Tartu. For further data and online access (registration may be required), see the digital access system of the Estonian Archives.

Finding aids:: Basic data is available at the web portal of the National Archives of Estonia: http://ais.ra.ee, Detailotsing – Leidandmed – EAA.5419.

For additional data, see the report on ERA.2290, The Jewish Sports Society Maccabi, and the non-described collections: ERA.2274, Y. L. Peretz Literary-Dramatic Society of Valga. ERA.2279, Valga Trusteeship of Jewish Culture Autonomy in Estonian Republic. ERA.2373, The Jewish Community of Valga; ERA.3506, The Jewish Elementary School of Valga. Data can be also found in the archive of Estonian Ministry of Interior, ERA.14.

Yerusha Network member:: Central Archives for the History of the Jewish People

Author of the description:: Tatjana Schor, Historical Archives of Estonia, and Alex Valdman, Central Archives for the History of the Jewish People, 2015