Metadata: Association of Lithuanian Jews in Israel Collection
Collection
- Country:
- Israel
- Holding institution:
- Archive of the Goldstein-Goren Diaspora Research Center
- Holding institution (official language):
- ארכיון המרכז לחקר התפוצות ע"ש גולדשטיין-גורן
- Postal address:
- Tel Aviv University, P.O. Box 39040, Tel Aviv 6997801
- Phone number:
- +972-3-6409676
- Web address:
- https://en-humanities.tau.ac.il/diaspora/archive
- Email:
- anatshim@tauex.tau.ac.il
- Reference number:
- A37
- Title:
- Association of Lithuanian Jews in Israel Collection
- Title (official language):
- איגוד יוצאי ליטא בישראל
- Creator/accumulator:
- Association of Lithuanian Jews in Israel
- Date(s):
- 1820/1999
- Date note:
- Predominantly 1820-20th century
- Language:
- Hebrew
- Lithuanian
- Russian
- Yiddish
- English
- German
- Extent:
- 2,154 files
- Type of material:
- Textual material
- Photographic images
- Cartographic material
- Physical condition:
- good
- Scope and content:
-
The collection contains materials of the Association of Lithuanian Jews in Israel and includes numerous records about the history and life of Jews in Lithuania in the following fields: religion, politics, culture, education, economic life, sports and the Holocaust.
An important part of the materials are photographs relating to different aspects of Jewish life in various communities in Lithuania. Examples include family photos of the Eliashev family from 1931 and 1939 (A37/2.2), Gitel family and David Prusk - before immigrating to Eretz Yisrael from Kėdainiai in 1935 (A37/19.6). The collection also includes photographs of key figures in Jewish cultural life, for example a photograph from 1923 of the literary critic Bal-Makhshoves (“Man of Thoughts”; pseudonym of Isidor Yisroel Eliashev) (A37/2.4), a photograph of Nehama Lifshitsaite and her family (A37/68.3), a photograph of a reception at a train station in Kaunas for the poet Hayim Nahman Bialik in 1928 (A37/820), and a photograph of the Ohel Theatre from Eretz Yisrael in Lithuania in 1930 (A37/819). The collection includes a photograph of a group of aspiring writers (A.B. Bialostotsky, Benzion Blokh, Kalman Zingman) in Kaunas (Kovno) from 1909 (A37/822) and a photograph of the “Engel” Choir in Kaunas from the early 1930s (A37/876). Many of the photographs commemorate events of the political life of Jews and members of the Zionist parties and the youth movements. The collection contains, for example, photographs of members of the main leadership of the Hashomer Hatzair movement in 1929 (A37/1000) and a photograph of Hashomer Hatzair members in Kėdainiai in 1939-1940 (A37/1084). The collection also includes photographs of “Bnei Akiva” members in Kaunas, Palanga and other cities from 1937-1939 (A37/111.1), and a photograph from 1935, showing members of the "HaHaver" group (A37/92.31). Other photos show pupils and teachers of Jewish schools, pupils at OZE summer camps, members of the “Maccabi” and “HaPoel” sports associations, Jewish hospitals, orphanages and other Jewish institutions and organisations. An example is a photograph of members of the “Central Union of Petty Traders” in Kaunas from 1933 (A37/240).
In addition, the collection includes documents from the Ministry for Jewish Affairs of Lithuania, letters from various personalities, memoirs, circulars of Jewish organisations, bulletins and personal documents including passports, graduation certificates, wills, etc. Materials from the Ministry for Jewish Affairs of Lithuania include notices and circulars from 1919-1921 (A37/92.17), an announcement about elections to the Jewish Community Committee (A37/92.7) and more. The collection includes a memorandum sent in 1918 by Shimshom Rosenbaum to the German occupation authorities regarding the situation of Jews (A37/92.9). Correspondence include a letter about a Talmud Torah in Jurburg (Jurbarkas) from 1901 (A37/91.2), copies of letters sent by the Levin family to relatives in Israel before and after the Holocaust (A37/69.5) and a copy of a letter sent by rabbi Shlomo Levinger (great-grandfather of the Israeli historian Dov Levin) in 1931 (A37/69.6). Personal documents include, for example, a letter from R. Iosef HaCohen regarding the appointment of a mohel in the town of Vasilishki (A37/55.11) (late 19th-early 20th century), bank documents and business records of the Fin family from the late 19th century (A37/91.3; A37/91.4; A37/91.6), and an application for the revocation of Lithuanian citizenship by Ari Ankorion due to his obtaining citizenship in Eretz Israel (A37/8.6).
Another important part of the collection are Jewish newspapers published in Lithuania: “Di Idishe Shtime”, “Di Zait”, “Unzer Veg”, “Dos Vort” and others. The collection also includes postcards and advertisement about the plays "The Little Hashmoneans" and “Hanukkah gelt "which were performed at the beginning of the 20th century in a gymnasium in Ponevezh (A37/113.38).
The collection also includes a photograph from a list of Jews who were sent to Siberia by the Soviet authorities in 1941 (A37/135). Documents related to the Holocaust include memoirs, maps and records regarding the Righteous Among the Nations.
- Archival history:
- The Archives of the Association of Lithuanian Jews in Israel was established in 1980 by collecting personal documents from the organisation’s members. Recently the collection was transferred to the Goldstein-Goren Diaspora Research Centre at Tel-Aviv University.
- Administrative/biographical history:
- The Association of Lithuanian Jews in Israel was founded in Tel-Aviv in 1932. Founders of the association, including Dr. Emmanuel (Monia) Lapin, were Zionist activists who immigrated to Eretz Israel (Palestine) from Vilnius and Kaunas. The organisation's goal from its beginning was to assist the organisation's members in adaptation to life in Israel, to encourage aliyah (immigration to Israel) from Lithuania and to serve as a social club for the organisation's members. After World War II, the association organised assistance of food and other supplies to Holocaust survivors in Israel and other countries. The association devoted much effort in the field of commemorating Jewish life and history in Lithuania.
- Subject terms:
- Education
- Education--Schools and universities
- Health and medical matters
- Health and medical matters--Hospitals
- Holocaust
- Holocaust--Righteous Among the Nations
- Jewish press
- Orphanages
- Personal records
- Photographs
- Sports
- Theatre
- Yiddish periodicals
- Zionism
- Zionism--Zionist organisations and parties
- Zionism--Zionist youth movements
- System of arrangement:
- The collection consists of one inventory.
- Finding aids:
- A detailed inventory is available on the website of the Goldstein-Goren Diaspora Research Center.
- Yerusha Network member:
- Central Archives for the History of the Jewish People
- Author of the description:
- Ilya Vovshin; Central Archives for the History of the Jewish People; 2021
