Metadata: Collection of documents
Collection
- Country:
- Lithuania
- Holding institution:
- Lithuanian State Historical Archives
- Holding institution (official language):
- Lietuvos valstybės istorijos archyvas
- Postal address:
- Mindaugo g. 8, 03107 Vilnius
- Phone number:
- +370 5 219 5320
- Email:
- istorijos.archyvas@lvia.lt
- Reference number:
- 1282
- Title:
- Collection of documents
- Title (official language):
- Dokumentų kolekcija
- Creator/accumulator:
- Lithuanian State Historical Archives
- Date(s):
- 1489/1936
- Language:
- Polish
- Latin
- Russian
- French
- German
- Lithuanian
- Yiddish
- Extent:
- 13,598 files
- Type of material:
- Textual material
- Physical condition:
- good
- Scope and content:
-
The collection consists of various economic, judicial and financial documents, personal papers (such as passports, diplomas and metrics), and records of different state and religious institutions in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Russian Empire. It includes materials relating to academic life, artistic activities, politics and public life (pamphlets, speeches, reports, correspondence and newspapers). The collection contains numerous records referring to the life of Jews in Lithuania, Belorussia, Poland and Germany.
One important part of the collection are materials relating to the kahal (Jewish community council), Jewish autonomy in Eastern Europe and other Jewish public institutions in various places. For example, the collection includes the decision of the Shereshevo kahal in the case of theft in 1761 (inventory 1, file 4769). The collection contains undated drafts (19th century) of the Minsk kahal’s requests to send troops to suppress the artisans’ riot (inventory 1, file 245). The collection holds summons to court in the case of Pustovsky and Mendelevich against Liahnitsky and the Indura kahal (Grodno powiat) regarding illegal taxation (inventory 1, file 989). Since the issue of taxation was under the kahal authorities’ control, the collection also contains undated draft notes on payment of the head tax by the Ezery kahal (inventory 1, file 6912).
The collection contains petitions of Jews from 1798 and 1816-1818 to speed up implementation of general courts’ decisions by some kahals in Novogrudok powiat (Stvolovotsk, Lubcha and Dvorzhets) regarding taxation and payment of debts (inventory 1, file 6937). Materials from 179-1801 relate to duties and rights of Jews from Vilkomir (Ukmerge) and Vilnius (inventory 1, file 6935). A file from 1856 includes a schedule related to the number of deaths in the Jewish community of Ostrino (inventory 1, file 11821).
Among documents relating to interrelations between Jews and non-Jews, there is a certificate of an investigation related to damage for synagogues in Vechitsa that was caused by Polish nobles in 1789 (inventory 1, file 104).
Valuable sources refer to different Jewish public societies in Germany after WWI. A file from 1918-1919 contains applications of Berlin’s and Frankfurt’s Central Committees regarding the collection of donations for Jewish settlement in Eretz Israel (inventory 10, file 6). Other files from 1919 includes reports and letters and notifications of Berlin’s Association of German-Jewish Communities and of the Berlin Central Department for Social Welfare of German Jews concerning the management of the communities’ financial issues, education, welfare for orphans, sick and war invalids (inventory 10, files 10-11). Sources dealing with Jewish education in Germany include records on the appointment of rabbis as teachers of Judaism, letters from the elementary school committee of the Poznan Jewish Council regarding the reduction of the number of pupils, a curriculum in Jewish schools and more (inventory 10, file 7). The collection includes a report on the activities of Ahlem’s Jewish school in 1919 (inventory 10, file 8).
Another valuable part of the collection are numerous records concerning economic activities of Jews as tavern keepers, leaseholders and traders. For example, the collection includes an extract from the promissory note of Moshka Itskovich and others to receive 300 barrels of salt from the royal treasury in 1689 (inventory 1, file 145). The collection contains a contract from 1807 on supplies of wheat by Abram Meerovich, Iudel Ioselevich and others (inventory 1, file 4532).
Contracts and other financial documents from the 18th century on the leasing of taverns, lands and infrastructure (bridges) by Jews constitute another part of the collection, including records referring to the engagement of Jews in the timber trade and materials related to monetary disputes between Jewish and non-Jewish businessmen. For example, it contains undated claims (18th century) of a Jewish merchant Iankel Lezerovich against Leonard Potsei for causing damage in trade (inventory 1, file 1161).
Financial documents include Jewish merchants’ accounts, promissory notes (weksels) and cash books. The collection includes correspondence of Jewish artisans from 18th century Germany (inventory 10, files 1-2) and a certificate from the Vileika Crafts’ Board on bestowing the rank of watchmaker to Iankel Rubin in 1878 (inventory 1, file 10429).
Materials about accusations of Jews of criminal acts such as theft and violence are also included in the collection. An undated file (end of the 18th century) includes a case against Hirsh Abramovich who is accused of theft (inventory 1, file 174). A file from 1795 includes a court decision in the case of Itska Leibovich against Antonii Borodzich regarding accusations of assault (inventory 1, file 1368).
The collection includes various sources of vital data concerning Jewish residents, for example, certificates issued by crown rabbis regarding the recording of births. An undated file contains a census book belonging to the Jewish population in Lida district (issued after 1891) (inventory 2, file 2). The collection includes an order from the Russian Senate (1804) regarding tax collection from Jews for maintenance of the post service (inventory 1, file 6878).
In addition, the collection contains issues of “Flugblatt”, a Jewish newspaper in Yiddish, from 1916 (inventory 11, file 105), and one issue of "The Communist" – Yiddish magazine of the Communist Party of Lithuania and Belorussia from 1918 (inventory 11, file 105).
- Archival history:
- Information on the history of the collection is unavailable.
- Administrative/biographical history:
- The collection was formed from deposits of various documents. The origin of these documents is unknown.
- Subject terms:
- Antisemitism
- Census
- Communism
- Communism--Communist parties and organisations
- Crime
- Education
- Financial matters
- Financial matters--Debt
- Hospitality industry
- Hospitality industry--Inns
- Kahal
- Professions
- Professions--Crafts
- Taxation
- Trade and commerce
- Vital records
- Vital records--Death records
- Welfare
- Yiddish periodicals
- System of arrangement:
- The collection consists of twelve inventories.
- Finding aids:
- Brief information on the collection as well as a detailed inventory are available on the website on the Lithuanian Chief Archivist Service.
- 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
