Metadata: Finnish Jewish photograph collection
Collection
- Country:
- Finland
- Holding institution:
- National Archives of Finland
- Holding institution (official language):
- Kansallisarkisto
- Postal address:
- Rauhankatu 17, 00171 Helsinki
- Phone number:
- +358 29 533 7000
- Web address:
- https://arkisto.fi/
- Reference number:
- 630:114
- Title:
- Finnish Jewish photograph collection
- Title (official language):
- Suomen juutalaisten valokuvakokoelma
- Creator/accumulator:
- Jewish Community of Helsinki
- Date(s):
- 1850/1920
- Date note:
- From the second half of the 19th century to the beginning of the 20th century
- Language:
- Swedish
- Yiddish
- Finnish
- Russian
- Hebrew
- Extent:
- 46 files
- Type of material:
- Photographic images
- Physical condition:
- good
- Scope and content:
-
The collection contains photographs from the Jewish Community of Helsinki, its associations and members from the second half of the 19th century to the beginning of the 21st century. Most of the photographs are black and white, and some bear inscriptions and dedications. The collection is part of the Finnish Jewish Archives (Suomen juutalaisten arkisto; 630:114).
The collection is divided in two main groups: 1) Individual and group photos, which contains photos of individuals, groups, families, activities of the Jewish community, photos of Jewish associations, the Jewish Co-educational School and the Gan Jeladim Kindergarten, and 2) Other photos, which contains photographs of synagogues, cemeteries and businesses, the Second World War, the Yishuv and Israel, and a collection of large size photos.
Individual and group photos (files 1-26, 35) comprise a collection of identified individuals and families which are arranged alphabetically into folders, unidentified men, women, children and men in uniforms and religious costumes, identified groups, unidentified groups of men, women, children, soldiers, married couples and photos of weddings and families, and employees, rabbis and council members of the Jewish community. Besides these, the collection includes visits to the Jewish Community of Helsinki by Finnish presidents and their spouses and Israeli politicians, and an image of a Finnish Zionist meeting from the 1920s.
The collection contains photos of the following associations: sport clubs Stjärnan and Makkabi, including images of soccer, bowling and weightlifting teams, ping pong players, award distribution ceremonies and festivities; the Jewish Choir Association and its Hazamir choir; the Women’s International Zionist Organisation WIZO, including photos of anniversaries, meetings, bazaars, charity recipients in Israel; Keren Kajemet L’Israel, including photos of the Finnish Forest in Israel and events in Helsinki; the burial society Chewra Kadischa; the sick relief association Bicur Cholim, including photos from the 40th and 60th anniversary; Jewish Women Relief Society (Fruntimmers välgörenhetsföreningen), including photos from the 50th anniversary; Finnish Jewish War Veterans, including photos of memorial services and celebrations; and Finland-Israel Association (Suomi-Israel yhdistys), including a photo from the constitutive meeting.
There are also photos of artists, actors and musicians, theatre performances and concerts, including the opening ceremony of the Ahdus association of Vyborg and its drama group with Ester Steinbock (1887-1959). Besides these there are photos of the “Jews in Finland” exhibition of 1986, including a collection of Nils Anderson’s photos of Jewish life in Helsinki, photos of various opening ceremonies and seminars, including the opening ceremony of the Finnish Jewish Archives in the National Archives in 1998, and photos of birthdays, weddings, Bar Mitzvah and Bat Mitzvah ceremonies, Israel Independence Day celebrations etc. in the festive hall of the Jewish Co-educational School.
The collection contains photos of youth and children activities, including photos of a summer camps 1920-1922, the Jewish Scout Troop Kefir’s scout camp and scout marches, group photos of the girls scout troop, and photos of the Jewish Youth of Helsinki Association, including photos from their trip to Tallinn in 1930, and photos of meetings and trips of the Scandinavian Jewish Youth Association SJUF. There is also a group photo of the Jewish School of Helsinki (Judiska Skolan i Helsingfors), founded in 1892. The collection of photos from the Jewish Co-educational School, founded in 1918, contains individual portraits and group photos of pupils, teachers and school board members, photos of school festivities and events, photos of a trip to Palestine by a former student, photos of the old and new school building, and the 80th anniversary. Besides the photos from the Jewish Co-educational School, there are images of Jewish pupils from other schools and group photos from the Gan Jeladim Kindergarten.
The Other photos (files 36-43) contain photos of synagogues, including the Langén’s Villa and Malminkatu Street 26 synagogues in Helsinki, the Vyborg, Turku and Hämeenlinna synagogues, and a prayer house on Malminkatu Street 22 in Helsinki. Besides these, there are photos of cemeteries and memorial monuments, including the old and new Helsinki Jewish Cemeteries, the Helsinki, cemeteries in Hamina, Hämeenlinna, and Vaasa, and memorial plaques of the fallen Jewish soldiers of the Second World War, Holocaust memorial monuments, and miscellaneous tombstones.
Photos of businesses include photos of the so-called “Narinkka” market at Simonpuisto, photos of shopkeepers and shop façades.
Photos from the Second World War contain individual and group photos of soldiers, photos of “Scholkas shul”, a field synagogue at the River Svir on the Finnish-Soviet frontier, and photos of memorial services and burials of the fallen soldiers, and portrait photos of Austrian Jewish refugees who came to Finland in 1938.
There are miscellaneous photos from the Yishuv and State of Israel, photos of a house owned by the Jewish Community of Helsinki on Uudenmaankatu Street 28, photos of Sara-koti (the home for the elderly), Israeli ambassadors, etc., and miscellaneous negatives and slides.
The collection of large photos include images from Jewish schools and pupils, synagogues, sports associations, music ensembles, Jewish soldiers, families and individuals.
- Archival history:
-
The photographs in the collection were collected at various stages. In the 1960s, the chronicler of the Jewish community Jac Weinstein (1883–1976) started to collect photos from private persons and families. Many of the cabinet portraits from the second half of 19th century and beginning of the 20th century bear his markings on the back. Some of the photographs were collected for a 1986 exhibition of Jewish life in Finland in Jugend Sali, Helsinki (including photographs by Nils Andersson). Many of the larger photos have been on show in various premises of the Jewish community, the synagogue building on Malminkatu Street, the festive hall of the Jewish Co-educational School on Ruoholahdenkatu Street, Makkabi’s club on Iso Roobertinkatu Street etc. Many of these photos arrived into the archives in their original frames. In 2005 the photos of the Jewish Co-educational School were also added to the collection. Most of the colour photographs are from the editorial board of the Hakehila journal. The whole collection comprises over 4000 photos.
The photos were kept in the Jewish Community of Helsinki until the mid-1990s, when they were deposited in the National Archives of Finland. There were further additions to the collection during 2005-2006 at which point the whole photo collection was catalogued.
- Access points: persons/families:
- Anderson, Nils
- Steinbock, Ester
- Subject terms:
- Aid and relief
- Aid and relief--Philanthropy and charity
- Bar and Bat mitzvah
- Cemeteries
- Children
- Education
- Education--Schools and universities
- Hevrah kadisha
- Israel-Diaspora relations
- Jewish community
- Jewish soldiers
- Monuments and memorials
- Music
- Refugees
- Sports
- Synagogues
- Theatre
- Trade and commerce
- War veterans
- World War II
- Zionism
- Zionism--WIZO (Women's International Zionist Organization)
- Access, restrictions:
- Use with permission from the Director-General of the National Archives.
- Yerusha Network member:
- National Archives of Finland
