Processed by Steven M. Lowenstein in the 1970s. Edited by Rivka Schiller in 2006 with the assistance of a grant from the Gruss Lipper Family Foundation. Additionally processed and prepared for digitization by Violet Lutz in 2016 as part of the Edward Blank YIVO Vilna Collections Project, with the assistance of a grant from the Conference of Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, New York, with additional funding from the Kronhill Pletka Foundation, and The Ruth and David Levine Charitable Fund, 2015.
Note to researchers: This collection is currently closed in preparation for the Edward Blank YIVO Vilna Collections Project.
YIVO Institute for Jewish Research© 2006 YIVO Institute for Jewish Research. All rights reserved
Electronic finding aid was converted to EAD version 2002 by Yakov Sklyar in December 2006. EAD finding aid customized in ARCHON in 2012. Description is in English.
Title: Guide to the Records of the Krotoszyn Jewish Community Council RG 14
ID: RG 14 FA
Extent: 3.0 Linear Feet
Arrangement: The collection is arranged in 43 numbered folders according to provenance, in as far as the fragmentary nature of the collection permits. Most of the documents were already bound into volumes in Krotoszyn. The “government” referred to in this catalogue is the Prussian provincial or local government. The majority of the documents are written in German, which was the dominant language of this region during the given time period (1828-1919). Some documents are in Yiddish or Hebrew.
Located in Western Poland in the province of Poznan, the Polish town of Krotoszyn (Krotoschin in German) was annexed by Prussia following the second partition of Poland in 1793. In 1834 Krotoszyn was officially declared a Prussian city. Trade alliances between Krotoszyn and greater Poland came to a halt when Krotoszyn was annexed by Prussia and began to align itself increasingly with Germany and other nearby countries. Krotoszyn reverted to Poland after World War I. The Jewish community of Krotoszyn dates back to the 14th century. During the period leading up to World War I, the Krotoszyn Jewish population began to decline significantly. The Prussian wars of the late 19th century and World War I contributed to this decline; the depletion of the Jewish population was due to the steady stream of emigration to countries including Germany, the United States, and South America. By the eve of World War I, there were 411 Jews in Krotoszyn, and by 1919, only 119 remained. During the inter-war period, when Krotoszyn was returned to Poland, the Jewish community had dwindled to 50 members. As of 12 September 1939, only 17 Jews remained in Krotoszyn, and after the outbreak of World War II they fled to Łódz, where it may be assumed that they were forced into the ghetto. The collection is only a partial representation of the Krotoszyn Jewish community’s archives. The material focuses on the period 1828-1919, when Krotoszyn was under German rule.
The records contained within the collection are primarily concerned with Krotoszyn’s communal administration. A number of records shed light on the integration of the Jewish community of Krotoszyn into the Prussian (and later, German) presence. The following categories of documents may be found in the collection:
Legal, Government, and Business Records: Tax lists, receipts, bills, 1835, lawyers’ reports concerning the status of property ownership, government summonses to individual taxpayers, 1834-1835, circulars calling meetings, minutes, correspondence re: mortgage matters, 1836-1860, government documents granting rights of marriage, 1838-1841.
Communal Aid and Welfare Societies: Contracts for the distribution of matzo to the poor and to Jewish soldiers, 1859-1874, material pertaining to the Deutsches Central-Komitee fur die russischen Juden, letters concerning and combating anti-Semitism, 1891-1894, 1896, 1905, questionnaires, correspondence, receipts, statutes, and advertisements pertaining to the Deutsch-Israelitischer Gemeindebund; zur Erziehung Der Juedischen Gebrechlichen, Blinde und Geistesschwache, 1905-1912.
Community, Religious, and Education Records: Applications for the positions of cantor and religious teacher, 1904, 1908, 1910, Hebrew school curriculum and miscellaneous school-related material, 1919, constitution of the Raschi Verein, 1828-1830, 1908-1910, voter lists for community representatives, 1838-1845.
Known for its participation in Jewish affairs, Krotoszyn was actively represented at the Council of the Four Lands (ca. 1580-1764). Jews in the city established a matzo bakery, which was famous throughout the province of Poznań. Jewish workers in Krotoszyn were organized in a professional trade union at quite an early date. In 1883 the first Hebrew publishing house was established by Ber Leyb Monash, and within a few years, was joined by a second Jewish publishing house.
By mid-19th century, the Prussians officially required rabbis, as religious leaders of the region’s Jewish communities, to receive academic training. The orthodox rabbis opposed this “decree” and as a result, Krotoszyn was plagued by riots, which demanded the intervention of police forces. In 1894 the Jewish community of Krotoszyn encountered further religious strife over the matter of women singing in the synagogue during prayer time. A decision was ultimately reached to establish a second synagogue, in which women would be permitted to sing alongside those praying. In this manner, the Reform Movement began to take root in the province of Poznań.
The Krotoszyn Jewish community had one elementary school, which was recognized by the government. Another school that was specifically oriented toward religious studies was also successfully established in Krotoszyn. In 1896, 192 students attended the Jewish elementary school.
A number of Jewish public welfare and aid societies existed in Krotoszyn including the “Bikur kholim,” “Ezras noshim,” and the “Khevre kadishe.” In 1907, a local branch of the German-Jewish union, “Ezra Hilfsverein” was formed in Krotoszyn. The organization’s goal was to help establish agricultural settlements and educational institutions in the land of Israel.
Access Restrictions:
Open to researchers by appointment.
For more information, contact: Chief Archivist, YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, 15 West 16th Street, New York, NY 10011, email: archives@yivo.cjh.org
Related Materials:
At the present time, the Krotoszyn communal records can be found in several locations. Part of the communal archives for the Jewish community of Krotoszyn was sent ca. 1910 to the Gesamtarchiv der Deutschen Juden in Berlin. Materials were later dispersed among several archival repositories around the world. A portion of the materials spanning the years 1684-1899 found its way to the Central Archives for the History of the Jewish People in Jerusalem. Another portion of the materials was taken over by the East German state archives and ultimately returned to the German Jewish community. Today these materials can be found in the “Centrum Judaicum,” which is a museum and archives located on Oranienburger Strasse, at the site of the recently reconsecrated Neue Synagoge Berlin. Yet another portion of the materials is located at the Jewish Historical Institute (ŻIH) in Warsaw. Finally, fragments of the Krotoszyn records are located in Moscow, at the former “Osobyi” (Special) archive, a repository for records confiscated by the Red Army from Germany and other countries during World War II.
A Centrum Judaicum catalogue was published in 2001 and contains references to 51 files dating 1825-1901. A listing of the Krotoszyn materials, which were sent to the Gemeindebund in Berlin for placement in the Gesamtarchiv der Deutschen Juden is found in folder #16 of the present collection.
Preferred Citation: Published citations should read as follows:Identification of item, date (if known); YIVO Archives; Records of the Krotoszyn Jewish Community Council; RG 14; folder number.