Zionist Organisations

Collection description

Collection

Country:: Lithuania

Holding institution:: Central State Archives of Lithuania

Holding institution (official language):: Lietuvos centrinis valstybės archyvas

Postal address:: O. Milašiaus 21, LT-10102, Vilnius

Phone number:: (8 5) 247 7830

Web address:: http://www.archyvai.lt/lt/lcva.html

Email:: lcva@archyvai.lt

Reference number:: f. 1140

Title:: Zionist Organisations

Title (official language):: Sionistų organizacijos

Creator/accumulator:: Tse‘ire Tsiyon-Hit’ahadut

Date(s):: 1920/1938

Language:: Lithuanian; Hebrew; Yiddish; German

Extent:: 21 files

Type of material:: Textual material

Physical condition:: good

Scope and content:: The collection is composed of the papers from several Zionist organisations that functioned in interwar Lithuania: socialist-Zionist movements and parties, youth movements and general Zionist enterprises and organisations. Documents of other, not essentially Zionist Jewish organisations, such as the Society for Handicraft and Agricultural Work among the Jews of Russia (ORT), are also included in the collection.

A notable part of the documents reflects the activities of Tse‘ire Tsiyon-Hit’ahadut, a socialist (though not strictly Marxist) party that functioned in Lithuania from 1923 until the early 1930s. The party was affiliated with the World Organisation of Tse‘ire Tsiyon-Hit’ahadut and the Hapo'el Hatsair party in Palestine. The connection between the Lithuanian Tse‘ire Tsiyon and these organisations is represented in the collection, along with their activities in the political and cultural arena in Lithuania.

The papers on the local activities of Tse‘ire Tsiyon include protocols and minutes from various meetings and conferences, including the protocols from meetings of the central committee in Kaunas, correspondence between the party's headquarters in Kaunas and various local branches and circulars and other publications on public and political issues.

The foreign ties of the Lithuanian Tse‘ire Tsiyon are also represented in the collection. These include correspondence with the headquarters of the World of Organisation of Tse‘ire Tsiyon-Hit’ahadut in Berlin on such issues as financing of the Party's activities in Lithuania and shekel campaigns (the membership payment to the World Zionist Organisation, which also granted a right to vote in the elections to the Zionist Congresses). The program of the World Organisation, which was formulated and issued in 1922, can be found in the files.

The collection also includes materials which represent the activities of Gordonia, a youth movement which was affiliated with Tse‘ire Tsiyon-Hit’ahadut and functioned in interwar Lithuania from 1925. The papers related to Gordonia include correspondence, bulletins and protocols from organization's meetings, as well as programme documents.

Another socialist-Zionist organization whose activities are represented in the collection is the Committee for Working Palestine (KAPAI), a body which concentrated on fundraising on behalf of Jewish workers' organisations in Palestine. The papers from this organisation's Lithuanian headquarters include correspondence, minutes and circulars.

Part of the collection contains data on Jewish educational organisations: several files include papers from the local branch of ORT in Lithuania. Its documents include correspondence with various governmental and other authorities and organisations and data on the organisation's budget. Another educational organisation reflected in the collection is the association of Jewish Orthodox Teachers of Lithuania. The files contain a 1921 list of this organisation's members.

The collection contains various materials related to other Zionist activities in Lithuania, which include data on the shekel campaigns – protocols of meetings and purchaser's lists from Kaunas and many smaller localities throughout the country, Zionist newspapers from Lithuania and abroad, lists of subscribers to Zionist periodicals and bulletins and periodicals on the activities of the Women’s International Zionist Organization (WIZO).

Archival history:: The Soviet occupation in 1940 put an end to the legal activities of Zionist organisations in Lithuania. Exact information concerning the fate of the archives of these organisations after the Soviet takeover and during the Nazi occupation is not available. However, by the early 1950s the materials had been deposited at the Central State Archive of the Lithuanian SSR in Vilnius, predecessor of the modern Central State Archive of Lithuania.

Access points: locations:: Lithuania

Subject terms:: Education; Financial records; Jewish political activity; ORT (Organisation for Rehabilitation through training); Shekel; Zionism; Zionism--WIZO (Women's International Zionist Organization); Zionism--Zionist organisations and parties; Zionism--Zionist youth movements

System of arrangement:: The collection consists of two inventories, which are arranged in thematic order.

Access, restrictions:: The collection is open for reference at LCVA.

Finding aids:: Inventories in Lithuanian are available at the Lithuanian Central State Archive (for online data see the Lithuanian archives' website). Inventories and descriptions in Hebrew are available at the Central Archives for the History of the Jewish People.

Links to finding aids:: https://eais-pub.archyvai.lt/eais/faces/pages/forms/search/F3001.jspx

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

Author of the description:: Alex Valdman, Central Archives for the History of the Jewish People, 2015

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