Vital records of the Jews of Działoszyce: births, marriages, deaths

Collection

Holding institution (official language):: Żydowski Instytut Historyczny im. Emanuela Ringelbluma

Title (official language):: Księgi z dowodami do akt małżeństw (uprawomocniającymi małżeństwa) wyznania mojżeszowego w Działoszycach. Księgi urodzenia, małżeństw I zgonów w Działoszycach (duplikaty)

Date note:: Marriage certificates: 1828 (Roman Catholic), 1834, 1835, 1837, 1842, 1843,Births, marriages and deaths: 1829, 1835, 1845

Scope and content:: Marriage certificate registers contain records in which documents necessary for the marriage of Jews in Działoszyce were collected. Each record is numbered and constitutes a separate file which contains such documents as: excerpts from birth certificates, rabbinical certificates of marriage announcements in synagogues, certificate of identity (a certificate issued by the mayor to confirm the identity of a person not in possession of a birth certificate). Registers, of births, marriages and deaths contain information such as: names of the registered person, date and place of birth, names of parents; mother's maiden name; date of marriage, date and place of death. The register for 1828 contains only records for Roman Catholics. The registers were damaged and require conservation.

Archival history:: The registers were donated to the Jewish Historical Institute on 12 July 1993 by Lawrence N. Powell.

Administrative/biographical history:: The Jewish community in Działoszyce probably existed from the first half of the 18th century. 651 Jews lived here in 1765; in 1820 there were 1256 Jews, which constituted 74% of the total population (a similar proportion was maintained in the following years). In 1852, a monumental classicist synagogue was erected (currently a permanent ruin).

In 1933, almost 6,000 Jews lived here. The Jewish residents of nearby villages and towns also belonged to the community. Jews were active in the local government. The Germans created a ghetto here in March 1940, in addition to the local Jews imprisoned there, there were also Jews from Kraków, Warsaw, Łódź and Poznań, in total about 10,000 people. In the autumn of 1942, the Germans shot about 1,500; the rest were taken to the killing centre in Bełżec.

In the Kingdom of Poland, separate registers were kept for each religion, which also served marital status records. Each civil status file was recorded in two registers - one copy remained on site (the original), and the other was transferred to the archives of the district mortgage court (duplicate). Registers of civil divorces, announcements and marriages were kept by the town mayors or burgermeisters.

Subject terms:: Vital records; Vital records--Birth records; Vital records--Death records; Vital records--Marriage records

Yerusha Network member:: The Taube Department of Jewish Studies of the University of Wrocław

Author of the description:: Monika Taras, Emanuel Ringelblum Jewish Historical Institute, 2019