Archive of the Chamber of Ioannina

Collection

Scope and content:: The archive of the Chamber of Ioannina preserves important materials in relation to trade, industry, and craftmanship in the city of Ioannina. The part of the archive which is today in the possession of the Chamber of Ioannina is unsorted. It includes minutes of Board meetings and meetings of Administrative Commissions, Monetary Catalogues (containing the amount of contributions the members had to deposit), protocol, member registries, etc. The largest part of the archival materials is from the period from 1980 until today, although there are also items dating from the interwar period until the post-war times. The archive includes evidence on the activity of Jewish merchants and craftsmen in Ioannina. More research is needed to conclude whether it includes evidence on Jews residing in other areas of Epirus, such as Arta, Preveza and Thesprotia, as up to 1965 the Chamber was responsible for the entire region of Epirus and not only Ioannina. Research has shown that it contains evidence for the reconstruction of Jewish businesses after the Holocaust and the destruction of the Jewish Community of Ioannina, mainly registration applications by the few survivors who returned to the city. Also, from the preserved meetings of minutes we can follow the activity of important Jewish merchants in Ioannina during the Interwar Period, such as Sabethai Cabili, who were members of its Board.

Archival history:: The archive of the Chamber of Ioannina, remaining in the possession of the Chamber, remains unsorted and is now scattered in various storage areas in the Chamber, in view of its future relocation to a new building. Part of the archive deemed the most significant by the administration has been leather-bound in volumes ordered chronologically. Those volumes include member registries, meetings, etc. The date of this selection is unspecified. The Chamber has also delivered to the General State Archives a large part of its archive, mostly with financial documents (receipts etc) which today lies in the Historical Archive of Epirus. The date of the delivery is unspecified. In 2012, in view of the centennial celebrations of the city's unification with the Greek state, the Chamber of Ioannina decided to process its archival material aiming to publish a book of its history. The archive was processed by Associate Professor of Greek Economic and Social History Leda Papastefanaki.

Administrative/biographical history:: The Ioannina Chamber is a Legal Entity of Public Law for the protection and development of commerce, industry, crafts and professions. It was established in 1919 as Commerce and Industry Chamber of Epirus covering the 4 Prefectures of Epirus. In 1933 it was divided into two entities, the Chamber of Professionals and Craftsmen and the Chamber of Commerce and Industries of Epirus. In 1988 the two aforementioned Chambers merged and a single entity was created, the Chamber of Ioannina.

Subject terms:: Holocaust; Holocaust--Survivors; Jewish community; Personal records; Trade and commerce

Access, restrictions:: Free access following communication with the chamber's board.

Author of the description:: Eleni Kouki; Jewish Museum of Greece researcher; 2022