Archives of the Central Council of Jewish Communities in Finland

Collection

Title (official language):: Suomen juutalaisten seurakuntien keskusneuvoston arkisto

Scope and content:: The collection contains the records of the Central Council of Jewish Communities in Finland, from 1933 to 1992. The collection is part of the Finnish Jewish Archives (Suomen juutalaisten arkisto; 630:114). The collection contains minutes and annual reports, correspondence, accounting records and miscellaneous other documents. The minutes and annual reports (file 392) include minutes (1933–1977) and annual reports (1950–1989). The correspondence (files 393–398) contains letters (1933–1980), including correspondence with the World Jewish Congress, Jewish communities in the Nordic countries, and various Israeli officials and organisations (for instance concerning the Iraqi Embassy’s enquiry about Jews in 1980). The accounting records (files 399–400) include general journals, profit and loss accounts and balance sheets (1941–1992). The other records (files 401, 475) contain rules and regulations and a register of associations notification. Besides these there are records concerning an honour court against a Lodz Ghetto functionary and records concerning Russian Jewish emigration to Israel at the time of the collapse of Soviet Union.

Archival history:: The records were kept in the Jewish Community of Helsinki until the mid-1990s, when they were deposited in the National Archives of Finland. There the collection was sorted and catalogued and opened to the public in 1998. Further additions to the collection were made in 2005–2006.

Administrative/biographical history:: The Central Council of Jewish Communities in Finland (Suomen juutalaisten seurakuntien keskusneuvosto / Centralkommiteen för judiska församlingar in Finland) was founded in 1933. Its aim has been to act as a representative body for the Jewish communities in Finland and to enable them to promote their religious, national, political and economic interests. The Central Council joined the World Jewish Congress. One of the initial tasks of the Central Committee was to combat antisemitism, and during the Second World War and the Holocaust it made strategic plans to save the Jewish communities from the impeding destruction. The Central Council continues to issue public statements and letters to the authorities about matters concerning Jewish life in Finland.

Access, restrictions:: Use with permission from the Director-General of the National Archives. File 401 contains personal data of sensitive nature, access to which requires additional permission from the Jewish Community of Helsinki (50/100 years, Personal Data Act, 523/1999, §11).