Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Arad

Collection

Holding institution (official language):: Arhivele Nationale Române. Direcţia judeţeană Arad

Scope and content:: The fonds comprises the files of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Arad from 1910 to 1950. It contains registration files of 14,498 industrial and commercial firms from Arad county, which include their applications for registering, data concerning the nature of their specific activity, social capital, Council of administration, senior staff and shareholders. To these files are attached records of general assemblies of the shareholders, Court decisions related to the activity of the firm and any changes that occurred during its activity. Among the companies registered by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Arad in order to supervise and direct their activity in accordance with the legislation in this matter and to protect their legitimate interests are a considerable number of Jewish enterprises from the area, such as Hoffman and Levai (File No. 108/1931) and Jakob Lehrer and Solomon Mayer (File No. 778/1938).

Archival history:: The fonds was preserved by the Popular Council of the former region of Arad, being transferred to the Arad branch of the State Archives in 1956. It was inventoried (preserving the original alphabetical indexes of the firms) and made available to researchers by the Arad county directorate of the Romanian National Archives.

Administrative/biographical history:: The Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Arad was founded in 1871 in accordance with the legislation of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It was reorganised after the First World War by the provisions of the Law adopted by the Romanian parliament on 12 May 1925. Its responsibility was Arad county, except in the years from 1934 to 1936 when Hunedoara county was included in its area of supervision. The Chamber was run by a Council of administration with 40 members elected by representatives of the companies registered by the Chamber. The Council elected in its turn an Executive Committee including a president, two vice-presidents, two councillors and a secretary. The Chamber of Arad was subordinated to the Union of the Chambers of Commerce and Industry in Bucharest under the authority of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce. During the Second World War the membership of Jewish companies was terminated in the framework of the antisemitic policy of the Antonescu dictatorship. They were readmitted in 1945. The Chamber of Industry and Commerce functioned until February 1949 when its responsibilities were taken over by the Commercial Direction of Arad county, controlled by the state.

System of arrangement:: The fonds includes the files of the firms in alphabetical order. Within each file the records are arranged in chronological order.

Finding aids:: Inventories no.533 and 1343, held by the Arad county directorate of the Romanian National Archives.

Yerusha Network member:: Romanian Institute for the Research of National Minorities

Author of the description:: Attila Gidó, researcher, Institute for Study of National Minorities Cluj-Napoca - 2019; Ladislau Gyémánt, emeritus professor - 2019