Manuscripts (500 Volumes)

Collection

Holding institution (official language):: Niedersächsisches Landesarchiv Aurich

Scope and content:: This collection contains manuscripts. Relevant for Jewish history are, for example: Wolf Valk: “The history of the Jewish Congregation of Emden“ (“Die Geschichte der jüdischen Gemeinde Emdens“) ca. 1930-1933, copy (no. A 207); memoirs of Arnold Levie Visser from Emden, typescript, 40 and 18 pp., also letters and other records, 1910-1948 (no. A 209); “Concerns of the people [Stände] in Germany because of the usurious contracts of the Jews“ (“Bedenken der Stände in Deutschland wegen der wucherischen Kontrakte der Juden“), 2nd half of the 16th century (no. A 257); Wolff Wolffs: “Brief description of the evacuation [deportation] of the Jews of East Frisia in March 1940“ (“Kurze Schilderung der Evakuierung der Juden Ostfrieslands im März 1940“) (no. A 264); “Wagenseil's proposal concerning perjury of the Jews“ ("Wagenseils Vorschlag betreffend Meineid der Juden"), 1748 (no. E 108).

Archival history:: The archive was first mentioned by the East Frisian government in Aurich in the year 1601. The archive became an independent authority with its establishment as the Royal Prussian State Archive Aurich on 9 April 1872. Initially it had its location in two rooms of the Supreme Court of Aurich in the castle, until it was able to move to its own purpose-built archive in 1890. In 1963, the State Archive moved into a new archive building, which underwent an expansion of its storage space in 1985 and again through a renovation of the attic in 2000. With the founding of the state of Lower Saxony in 1946, the state archive was named “Lower Saxony State Archive in Aurich“ ("Niedersächsisches Staatsarchiv in Aurich"). Since the merger of all Lower Saxony state archives in 2005, Aurich is one of seven locations of the Lower Saxony State Archives and is called "Lower Saxony State Archives - State Archive Aurich" (“Niedersächsisches Landesarchiv – Staatsarchiv Aurich“). Since 2014 it has the name "Lower Saxony State Archives (Aurich Branch)" (“Niedersächsisches Landesarchiv (Standort Aurich)“). The collection comprises 5.7 kilometres of shelves of archival material about the East Frisian regional and local history of the last 700 years. These include about 1,300 certificates (“Urkunden”), the oldest of which date from 1284, more than 11,000 maps and plans and 2,000 photos. The service library holds over 30,000 volumes.

Administrative/biographical history:: The Aurich branch of the Lower Saxony State Archive is responsible for all state authorities and courts and their (legal) predecessors with regional responsibility in the historical territory of East Frisia. The territory, which rose to become an Imperial County within the Holy Roman Empire in 1464, fell to Prussia in 1744 after the extinction of its governing dynasty. After the Battle of Jena and Auerstedt (1806) and the Peace of Tilsit (1807), East Frisia first became a part of France. In March 1808 it was then ceded to the Kingdom of Holland which was under the reign of Napoleon's brother Louis Bonaparte. In 1810 East Frisia became the “Departement Ems-Oriental“ (East-Ems) within the French Empire. The western part (Rheiderland) was separated from East Frisia due to old Dutch claims and became part of the Dutch “Departement Ems-Occidental“ with the capital Groningen. After the defeat of Napoleon and the collapse of his rule, the Prussians again entered the territory in the years 1813-1815. In 1815 East Frisia became part of the Kingdom of Hanover and in 1866 returned to Prussia together with the Kingdom which was annexed by Prussia. This area, which corresponded to the Administrative District of Aurich until 1978, is today defined by the City of Emden and the Rural Districts of Aurich, Leer and Wittmund. Since 1 November 1946 these areas belong to the German state of Lower Saxony.

Access points: persons/families:: Valk, Wolf; Visser, Arnold Levie; Wagenseil

Subject terms:: Antisemitism; Antisemitism--Antisemitic propaganda; Historical research; Holocaust; Holocaust--Deportation; Manuscripts; Memoirs; Synagogues

Finding aids:: An online finding aid (Arcinsys) is available. There is also a printed finding aid about the material regarding Jewish history up to 1945 in the Aurich State Archive: “Quellen zur Geschichte und Kultur des Judentums im westlichen Niedersachsen vom 16. Jahrhundert bis 1945“ (Göttingen 2001, vol. 1: Ostfriesland; partially with old reference numbers).

Links to finding aids:: https://www.arcinsys.niedersachsen.de/arcinsys/start