Prefecture of Hunedoara county

Collection

Holding institution:: National Archives of Romania, Hunedoara county directorate

Holding institution (official language):: Serviciul judeţean Hunedoara al Arhivelor Naţionale Române

Scope and content:: The fonds comprises the files of the Prefecture of Hunedoara county from 1635 to 1950. It includes registers of entry and issue of official records and correspondence of the county authorities, files concerning the local administration, finances of the county, of the economic, social, political, cultural, educational institutions supervised and controlled by the Prefecture and payrolls of its employees. The following files include Jewish references: No. 2/1895 - Rules of state registering of vital records for the Jewish population; No. 50/1930 - Statistics on craftsmen and factory owners from the county; No. 41/1931 - Election of the rabbi for Deva; No. 59/1938 - Statistics on employees of businesses in the county giving details on their ethnic origin; No. 61/1938 - Statistics of schools and religious institutions in the county and their staff; No. 125/1940 - Jewish population of the county; No. 233 and 234/1940 - Jewish properties; No. 266/1941 - evacuation of Jews and forced labour detachments; No. 105/1942 - Travel restrictions for Jews; No. 151 and 152/1943 - Evacuation of Jews from the mining area; No. 196/1945 - Jewish communities from Hunedoara county; No. 82/1950 - List of Jews who received approval to leave for Israel.

Archival history:: The fonds was preserved by the Popular Council of Hunedoara county, being transferred after 1989 to the Hunedoara county directorate of the Romanian National Archives where it was inventoried and made available to researchers.

Administrative/biographical history:: In the 17th and 18th century Hunedoara county was part of the Principality of Transylvania, being led by a supreme count elected by the county’s assembly of noblemen. After 1867 its administration was reorganised in accordance with the legislation of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, especially Law 42 of 1870 which established the role and tasks of the leadership of the county. After the First World War the Romanian administration introduced the institution of the Prefecture as the highest institution of the county, the prefect being directly subordinated to the government in Bucharest. The language of administration became Romanian. During the Second World War the main responsibility of the Prefecture was to organise and implement the orders of the Antonescu dictatorship including its antisemitic policy . After 1945 the Prefecture was reorganised in accordance with the inter-war model until 1950 when the new Communist regime replaced it with the so-called Popular Council which functioned until 1989.

Subject terms:: Antisemitism; Antisemitism--Antisemitic legislation; Education; Forced labour (of Jews); Jewish community; Migration; Migration--Emigration; Rabbis; Real estate; Resettlement of Jews; Statistics; Trade and commerce

System of arrangement:: The fonds is organised in thematic files, within which the registers and records are arranged in chronological order.

Finding aids:: Inventories no. 10, 42/46, 120, 279, 907, 959, 975, 976, held by the Hunedoara 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