Prewar History and Jewish Life in Europe, 1897-1941 | Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust

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Collection Overview

Title: Prewar History and Jewish Life in Europe, 1897-1941

Predominant Dates:1918 --1939

ID: RG-12/RG-12

Primary Creator: Schwatz, Dana

Other Creators: Anker, Georg, Loen, Masha, Sprawy Narodowsciowe

Extent: 0.0

Arrangement:

The arrangement scheme for the record group was imposed during processing in the absence of an original order. Materials are arranged by subject/creator, then by identifier, as assigned by the processor.

Record group is comprised of seven collections: 1. Collection of prewar photographs and artifacts; 2. Collection on minority affairs in Poland; 3. Collection of Polish interwar censuses and statistics; 4. Publications on Jews in Nazi Europe; 5. Collection of U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum films; 6. Georg Anker papers; 7. Francis Blumenbaum collection.

Subjects: Carpatho-Ruthenia (Czechoslovakia: province), Czechoslovakia (Europe), Jewish life in interwar Europe, Lwow Province Statistics, Minority Affairs in interwar Poland, Nationalism and the Theory of State, National minorities, Jewish, National minorities, Ukrainian, National Relations in interwar Poland, Polish official statistics of interwar time, Stanislawow Province Statistics, Tarnopol Province Statistics, wartime photographs, Wilno Province Statistics, Wolyn Province Statistics, Zionism, Jewish national movement

Forms of Material: Jews in Nazi Europe, 1933 -- 1941 (publication), Polish Census of 1921, Polish Census of 1931, Prewar photographs, Sprawy Narodowosciowe (National Minorities Affairs, publication)

Languages: German, Polish, Russian, Serbian, Croatian

Abstract

These Collections comprise Polish official statistics of the interwar period, including the materials of two Polish Censuses of 1921 and 1931, as well as other official statistics related to ethnic, national, religious, demographic, economic and social distribution of population in interwar Poland. The other collections contains materials about Jewish population in Nazi-controlled Europe and related publications.

Scope and Contents of the Materials

This record group contains diverse documents illustrating general twentieth century European history and, in particular, various aspects of Jewish life in interwar Europe. Within this record group is the Georg Anker papers, which is comprised of photo albums depicting the First World War from the perspective of a German officer of Jewish descent. This collection is subdivided into photo albums depicting the various war-theaters where Georg Anker served, the photographs of which were taken in Russia, France, Latvia, Belgium, and in the regions of Eastern Europe.

Also within this record group is the interwar Polish quarterly publication, Sparwy Narodowosciowe (National Minorities Affairs); a publication by the Inter-American Jewish Conference, prepared by the Institute of Jewish Affairs in 1941; three streaming films on the prewar Jewish life in Eastern Europe, namely Czechoslovakia, Carpatho-Ruthenia, and Mukacevo; the personal collections of Masha Loen's and Dana Schwartz's family histories; and six volumes of the Polish census conducted in 1921 for the following Polish administrative units: the province of Lwów, Stanislawów, Tarnopol, Wolyn Nowgródek, and Wilno. These censuses are valuable historic sources for ethno-national, religious, economic, and socio-demographic composition for the six Polish provinces (Wojewodztwa). The Polish census of 1921 further provides unprecedented, valuable information on vernacular language, industrial, commercial, educational, gender, and other aspects of the multifaceted profile of the population.

Materials in this record group include photographs (including daguerrotypes), photo albums, official governmental publications, Polish censuses, personal recollections, postcards, maps, correspondence, and periodicals, all of which relate to multifaceted life of Jewish communities in Europe. Materials are digitized.

Collection Historical Note

In large part, the materials of this collection are historical primary sources in terms of both content and form. It is difficult to overestimate the historical value of censuses, scholarly publications of the interwar period, and original photo-documents depicting the Great War (the First World War). The personal collections of Masha Loen and Dana Schwartz compliment the general history. A collection of daguerreotypes serves as a historical relic in the development of photography, as well as an illustration of the social stratification of Russian Jewry.

Subject/Index Terms

Carpatho-Ruthenia (Czechoslovakia: province)
Czechoslovakia (Europe)
Jewish life in interwar Europe
Lwow Province Statistics
Minority Affairs in interwar Poland
Nationalism and the Theory of State
National minorities, Jewish
National minorities, Ukrainian
National Relations in interwar Poland
Polish official statistics of interwar time
Stanislawow Province Statistics
Tarnopol Province Statistics
wartime photographs
Wilno Province Statistics
Wolyn Province Statistics
Zionism, Jewish national movement

Administrative Information

Repository: Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust

Access Restrictions: No restriction

Use Restrictions:

Copyrighted materials, credits to and references to the Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust are required

Digital copies might be available upon request

Preferred Citation: RG-12, Prewar History and Jewish Life in Europe. Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust Archive.

Processing Information: Materials are primarily described using the local descriptive standards of the LA Museum of the Holocaust.

Box and Folder Listing

Browse by Sub-Collection:

[Sub-Collection 1: RG-12.01, Photographs and artifacts, 1897-1941],
[Sub-Collection 2: RG-12.02, Minority Affairs in Poland, publications, 1897-1941],
[Sub-Collection 3: RG-12.03, Polish interwar Censuses and Statistics, 1921],
[Sub-Collection 4: RG-12.04, Jews in Nazi Europe, 1933-1941, Publications, 1933 -- 1941],
[Sub-Collection 5: RG-12.05, Film Collection of the USHMM Film Archive],
[Sub-Collection 6: RG-12.06, Georg Anker Papers, 1914 -- 1918],
[Sub-Collection 7: RG-12.07, Francis Blumenbaum Collection],
[All]

Sub-Collection 5: RG-12.05, Film Collection of the USHMM Film Archive

This sub-collection includes three streaming films on the prewar Jewish life in Eastern Europe, namely in Czechoslovakia, Carpatho-Ruthenia and in Mukacevo.

Subject/Index Terms:: Prewar footage; Katz Family; German conquest of Czechoslovakia 1938

Creators:: Steven Spielberg Film and Video Archive at USHMM (1945); Libraries and Museums, Public Domain; Honon Katz (1929); Robert Wolman (1932); Herbert Kline and Alexandr Hackenschmied (directors) (1938); Marcel Rebiere (1939)

Document/Artifact of Item-Level 1: RG-12.05.01, Jewish Life in Prewar Kovno, Riga, and Lvov, Film, 1929

Prewar home videos of the Katz family in 1929 in Kaunas, Lithuania; Lvov, Poland; Riga, Latvia. Mainly street scenes of the family walking.

Subject/Index Terms:: Prewar footage; Katz Family; Jewish life; Jewish life, pre-war; Riga (Latvia); Poland (Europe)

Creators:: Steven Spielberg Film Video Archive at the USHMM (1929); Honon Katz (1929); Libraries and Museums, Public Domain

Document/Artifact of Item-Level 2: RG-12.05.02, Mukacevo, video, religious, social, and educational life, film, 1933

Prewar footage of a March 15, 1933 wedding of the daughter of the Grand Rabbi of Munkacs (Czechoslovakia). There are mostly wedding scenes and crowds of well wishers at night in the synagogue. There is also a zionist school with children singing and dancing and some street scenes. The scenes are outtakes from the edited March of Time Story "Jewish Peasants."

Subject/Index Terms:: Prewar footage; Jewish life; Jewish life, pre-war; Mukacevo (Czechoslovakia)

Creators:: Steven Spielberg Film Video Archive at the USHMM (1933 -- 1945); Libraries and Museums, Public Domain

Document/Artifact of Item-Level 3: RG-12.05.03, Prewar Warsaw, film, 1932

Prewar footage of street and family scenes in Warsaw, Poland in 1932. The scenes were shot by Robert Wolman who had moved to the United States in 1924 but had returned to visit Warsaw in 1932.

Subject/Index Terms:: Prewar footage; Jewish life; Jewish life, pre-war; Warsaw (Poland)

Creators:: Robert Wolman (1932); Steven Spielberg Film and Video Archive at USHMM (1932); Libraries and Museums, Public Domain

Document/Artifact of Item-Level 4: RG-12.05.04, Czechoslovakia prepares to repell German agression, film, 1938

A documentary about the Nazi conquest of Czechoslovakia just before World War II in 1938. The documentary is in English.

Subject/Index Terms:: Prewar footage; German conquest of Czechoslovakia 1938; Czechoslovakia (Europe); German Invasion of Czechoslovakia, March 1939

Creators:: Herbert Kline and Alexandr Hackenschmied (directors) (1938); Steven Spielberg Film Video Archive at the USHMM (1933 -- 1945); Libraries and Museums, Public Domain

Document/Artifact of Item-Level 5: RG-12.05.05, Jewish life in prewar Car[atjp-Ruthenia, Uzhorod, film, 1939

Prewar footage of Hungarian Jewish life in Ruthenia in 1939. There are also scenes from Budapest, Hungary; Munkacs, Czechoslovakia; and Ungvar, USSR.

Subject/Index Terms:: Prewar footage; Jewish life; Jewish life, pre-war; Carpatho-Ruthenia (Czechoslovakia: province)

Creators:: Marcel Rebiere (1939); Steven Spielberg Film Video Archive at the USHMM (1933 -- 1945); Libraries and Museums, Public Domain