Metadata: Women’s Associations
Collection
- Country:
- Estonia
- Holding institution:
- National Archives
- Holding institution (official language):
- Rahvusarhiiv
- Postal address:
- Tartu, Nooruse 3, 50411
- Phone number:
- (+372) 738 7521
- Web address:
- www.ra.ee
- Email:
- tartu@ra.ee
- Reference number:
- ERA.2760
- Title:
- Women’s Associations
- Title (official language):
- Naisühingud
- Date(s):
- 1906/1940
- Language:
- Yiddish
- Estonian
- German
- Extent:
- 344 items
- Type of material:
- Textual material
- Physical condition:
- good
- Scope and content:
-
The collection is part of Women’s Associations in Estonia. There are two folders which contain material of Jewish women’s associations, namely “Zdako (Zdokoh)” and “Jung WIZO”. Most of the documents are handwritten in Yiddish.
1. Pärnu Jewish Women Association Zdako (Zdokoh): The statutes of the association state that their goal was to assist needy Jews in Pärnu city. Income came from membership fees, donations, bequests, parties, exhibition sales, proclamations, concerts and other incomes. Adult women and students were eligible for membership in the association (ERA.14.9.623 DP. 3-5). The Zdako file consists of three folders containing minutes of board meetings (ERA.2760.1.127) and two cashbooks (ERA.2760.1.128; ERA.2760.1.129).
Minute book overview: the majority of documents are handwritten in Yiddish. Minutes of 11 meetings from 1939-1940 and reviews thereof are in Estonian. All meetings were held in the chair Lea Binmann’s home.
1) Minutes on 18 November 1939. Agenda of the meeting was 1. to admit members 2. discussion about deportees from Tallinn 3. discussion about medical expenses 4. discussions about catering (ERA.2760.1.127 DP. 72).
2) Agenda of meeting on 4 December 1939: 1. how to help Mrs Burmistrov[itsch], the younger. 2. discussion about person appointed to Kihnu Island. 3. discussion about deportees from Tallinn (ERA.2760.1.127 DP. 74).
3) Agenda of meeting on 8 January 1940: 1. how to help the Smoloi family 2. discussions about handicraft (ERA.2760.1.127 DP. 76). The Association’s handicraft evenings were also mentioned.
4) Agenda of meeting on 27 January 1940: 1. discussions about family Smoloi battel’s. 2. talks about craft evenings with “Achdus” (educational society) board and to arrange the first crafts evening on 5 February 1940 (ERA.2760.1.127 DP. 78).
5) Agenda of meeting on 9 February 1940: 1. discussions about Mrs Leiserovitch’s loan application 2. discussion about “Achdus” demands (ERA.2760.1.127 DP. 80).
6) Cooperative meetings with educational society “Achdus” on 11 February 1940. “Achdus” demands monthly support 20-25 kroons, but Zdako refuses and offers a tablecloth for compensation. “Achdus” accepts tablecloth (ERA.2760.1.127 DP. 82).
7) Agenda of meeting on 29 February 1940: 1. discussions to support Mrs Burmistrovitsch’s manicure studies. 2. discussion about Mrs Kuschner’s loan application (ERA.2760.1.127 DP. 84).
8) Decisions at meeting on 28 April 1940: 1. to give Mrs Burmistrovitsch 40 kroons. 2. to support Smoloi and emigrants – decision was not approved (ERA.2760.1.127 DP. 86).
9) Agenda of meeting on 5 May 1940: 1. consideration to raise aid for the poor to accommodate rising costs of living (ERA.2760.1.127 DP. 88).
10) Cooperative meetings with “Achdus” on 26 May 1940: collective consultations how to help the Smoloi and Burmistrovitsch families. No agreement was reached, but Zdako will continue to support these families ERA.2760.1.127 DP. 90).
11) Agenda of meeting on 20 July 1940: 1. discussion on whether to hold a party (decision was not to hold the party due to the difficult times). 2. discussion how to market handicraft 3. discussion about membership fees (decision was not to collect membership fees) ERA.2760.1.127 DP. 92).
Cashbooks are in Estonian. The cashbook gives detailed monthly reviews about incomes and expenses from 1937 to 1940. It reveals that Zdako helped their own members’ children with food and medical expenses; much financial help was given to the poor. Income came mostly from membership fees and donations.
2. Zionist Jewish Women Association Jung WIZO
The WIZO statutes describe the general principles: The Association’s aim is to educate members in cultural aspects especially in Jewish literature and in history and to collaboration with the Zionist movement. Association stated activities: 1) to organise meetings, lectures, courses, congresses and trips; 2) to support and advance youth movements; 3) to organise musical, literary and scientific lectures; parties; family, hobby evenings for members and guests; 4) to create study groups; 5) to organise exhibition sales and to hold a raffle; 6) to accept donations to Zionist movements and to offer additional support. Incomes were derived from membership fees, collections, presents, bequests, literary sales, lectures fees, exhibition sales and other association activities (ERA.14.9.650 DP. 4-7).
The WIZO file consists of four folders: Board meeting minutes (ERA.2760.2.1; ERA.2760.2.2), Correspondence (ERA.2760.2.3), Cashbook (ERA.2760.2.4). Almost everything is in Yiddish with a few exceptions. The minute book is only in Yiddish and handwritten. Some of the minutes contain a list of members and board members. Correspondence includes the follow organisations: Continental Union Zionist Youth Movement for Girls WIZO; Estonian Zionistic Organisation; Culture and Educational society “Tarbuth”; Tartu University Student Body Board. The only letter in Estonian is to the Tartu University Student Body Board from 1934, in protest of restrictions in admitting ethnic minorities in Estonia (Russians, Germans and Jews) (ERA.2760.2.3 DP. 13-16). The cashbook is in Yiddish and provides details on income and expenses from September 1936.
- Archival history:
- The collection was transferred to the National Archive in Tallinn from the Historical Archive in 1972. The inventories were uploaded to the digital Archival Information System (AIS) in 2000. Jewish-related cases are digitised (see: https://www.ra.ee/dgs/explorer.php).
- Administrative/biographical history:
-
The founders of Zdako were Riva Levin, Jenny Birnik and Lea Binman (1875-1941). An application to the Ministry of the Internal Affairs to register the association was submitted on 30 December 1931 (ERA.14.9.623 DP. 2). On 18 November 1939 the following were elected as board members: Lea (Zvia) Binmann chairwoman, Jenny Pavlovsky vice chairwoman, Riva Levin treasurer, Jenny Gordin secretary and Ella Binmann member of the board (ERA.2760.1.127 DP. 72). Chairwoman Lea Binmann’s citizenship papers reveal that she was a butcher; she lived in Pärnu at Kuninga St. 36 and was born in Estonia (ERA.14.12.1487 DP. 4).
The founders of WIZO were Haja Itskovitsch, Pesla Aisenstadt and Rahil Rubin. An application was made to the Ministry of Internal Affairs to register the Tallinn Jewish Association Wizo on 30 September 1930 (ERA.14.9.650 DP. 2-3). All Estonian Jewish women over the age of 18 years were eligible to become members. Associate members could be under the age of 18. The board consisted of at least 5 members. (ERA.14.9.650 DP. 4-7). (Founder Rahil Rubin was a dentist, born in Narva on 28 October 1896 (ERA.14.15.2218 DP. 10-12))
- System of arrangement:
- The Women Association collection is arranged into 23 folders alphabetically by association.
- Finding aids:
- The collection is referenced as “Tartu Jewish Welfare Agency” (see: Weiss-Wendt, Anton (2017). On the Margins: About the History of Jews in Estonia, Primary Sources on Estonian Jewish History until 1941 (P. 278). Hungary: CEU Press).
- Links to finding aids:
- https://ais.ra.ee
- Yerusha Network member:
- Central Archives for the History of the Jewish People
- Author of the description:
- Sulev Andresson; 2021
