Guide to the Records of the VILBIG (Vilna Jewish Education Society), RG 11

Processed by Isaiah Trunk and Marek Web with the assistance of a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, 1979-1981. Additionally processed and prepared for digitization by Jessica Podhorcer in 2015.

Processing, conservation, preparation for digitization and digitization of this collection was done as part of the Edward Blank YIVO Vilna Collections Project, with the assistance of grants from the Edward Blank Family Foundation, The National Endowment for the Arts, the Righteous Persons Foundation, the Conference for Jewish Material Claims against Germany, the Kronhill Pletka Foundation and the Ruth and David Levine Charitable Fund, and anonymous supporters.

Note to researchers: This collection is currently closed in preparation for the Edward Blank YIVO Vilna Collections Project.

YIVO Institute for Jewish Research
15 West 16th Street
New York, NY 10011
Email: archives@yivo.cjh.org
URL: http://www.yivo.org

Electronic finding aid was converted to EAD 2002 by Dianne Ritchey Oummia and Yakov Sklyar in September 2006. EAD finding aid in ARCHON was customized in 2012. Description is in English.

Collection Overview

Title: Guide to the Records of the VILBIG (Vilna Jewish Education Society), RG 11

Predominant Dates:1924-1940

ID: RG 11 FA

Extent: 2.1 Linear Feet

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged in seven series.

Series I: Administration, 1924-1940, Series II: Correspondence, General, 1924-1940, Series III: Correspondence, Local Branches, 1924-1936, Series IV: VILBIG Educational Courses Section, 1927-1936,, 1939-1940, Series V: VILBIG Various Sections, 1925-1939, Series VI: Scout Club "Bin" (The Bee), 1927-1935, Series VII: Varia, 1924-1932

Languages: Yiddish, Polish

Abstract

VILBIG was organized in Vilna, Poland, in September 1924 to promote secular education among the Yiddish-speaking population. The collection holds the records of the VILBIG administration and of its educational programs. Included here are minutes of committee meetings, records of elections, financial reports, and documents about legalizing VILBIG and its provincial branches. Other documents found in this collection are correspondence with Jewish educational and cultural institutions in Poland, the Vilna Kehillah, and various government and municiipal agencies. In addition, there is also correspondence with 17 local branches of VILBIG, mainly in the province of Vilna, and materials relating to educational courses, various artistic groups, and the scout club "Bin."

Scope and Contents of the Materials

Note to researchers: This collection is currently closed in preparation for the Edward Blank YIVO Vilna Collections Project.

The record group appears to be incomplete and gaps are visible in all series. Administrative and financial records prevail, while programmatic and educational materials are very scarce. Thus there are no curricula, handbooks, texts of lectures, student papers, etc. in the files of the Educational courses (folder 46 to 54), Saturday Mornings program (folder 59) or Kindergarten Teachers Seminary ( folder 61). The abundance of administrative materials allows for a good picture of the Society -- how it was run, what problems it encountered in its contacts with the government authorities, how the political conflicts (so typical for Jewish cultural organizations in Poland) affected the activities of the Society, etc. Especially important in this respect are Minutes and Reports ( folder 2) and Financial Matters ( folder 8).

Historical Note

VILBIG is an acronym for Vilner Yidisher Bildung Gezelshaft (Vilna Jewish Education Society). VILBIG was organized in Vilna, Poland (now Vilnius, Lithuania) in September 1924 by a group of Jewish educators and communal leaders concerned with the state of secular education for the Yiddish speaking population in pre-war Poland. Its statutory goal was to stimulate general education and vocational training among the Jewish population of Vilna Province (Polish part of Lithuania until September 17, 1939), and to enrich the cultural life of the Jewish masses. To achieve those aims, the VILBIG intended to: 1) organize kindergartens, elementary and high schools, evening schools, teachers courses, libraries and other educational institutions; 2) publish school books and periodicals; 3) organize lectures; 4) organize conferences on Jewish and general educational themes (see by-laws, folder 1) Among the founders of the society were well known leaders of the Jewish community of Vilna: Zemach Shabad, Hertz Kowarski, E. Smilg and others. Meir Bernstein was the executive secretary. Max Weinreich was in charge of educational programs.

VILBIG based most of its activities on voluntary involvement of its membership. The main sources of the society's income were membership dues, fund raising campaigns and sale of tickets to various VILBIG events. It received few outside subsidies. It has an average annual budget of about 22,000 zlotys (about $5,500, pre-1939 value).

The scarcity of funds significantly curtailed VILBIG's educational program, especially with regard to organizing tuition-free or low-tuition secondary schools. Although attempts to open a school were made several times, none succeeded. In 1931 a seminary for kindergarten teachers was organized but it lasted for only 2 years. The society therefore concentrated on other forms of educational and cultural activities such as courses, lectures, performing arts, excursions etc. Between 1925 and 1935 the VILBIG offered annually a variety of educational evening courses. From 1925 to 1929 it organized so called "Saturday Mornings" for the general public. It maintained a "Children's Auditorium" and in 1927 it organized a Scout Club "Bin" (The Bee). It had a mandolin orchestra and a choir. The VILBIG choir under the direction of the composer Abraham Slep was well known not only locally but also throughout Poland.

VILBIG was active not only in Vilna but also in Vilna Province. At the peak of its popularity, in 1929, it had 20 branches in the provincial towns. By 1936, though, the branches had either closed down or changed their organizational affiliation. After the Soviet invasion of Vilna, the VILBIG continued its work for a while. It changed its name to "Bildungs Gezelshaft-Shtern" (Star Education Society), and it offered language courses in Russian and Lithuanian (as Polish was annulled as an official language). The society ceased to exist when the Nazis occupied Vilna in June 1941.

In the much fragmented picture of Jewish educational organizations and school systems in the pre-war Poland, VILBIG sided with the secular Yiddish groups represented by the TSYSHO (Tsentrale Yidishe Shul Organizatsye -- Central Yiddish School Organization), and locally in Vilna by the TSBK (Tsentraler Bildung Komitet -- Central Education Committee) and its political leanings were towards the Jewish socialist movements: Bund and Poalei Zion. VILBIG stood for better and continuing education for those who could not afford it. Although it did not create schools, it nevertheless succeeded in becoming an important cultural center for several generations of Jewish youth. More importantly, its style and methods were copied by similar societies in other cities in Poland. Therefore the history of VILBIG is an important case study in the general history of Jewish education and Yiddish culture in Poland.

Administrative Information

Access Restrictions:

Note to researchers: This collection is currently closed in preparation for the YIVO Vilna Collections Project.

For more information, contact: Chief Archivist, YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, 15 West 16th Street, New York, NY 10011. Email: archives@yivo.cjh.org

Use Restrictions: For permission to publish part or parts of the collection or to cite verbatim from the text of a document must be obtained from the YIVO Archives. For more information, contact: Chief Archivist, YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, 15 West 16th Street, New York, NY 10011. Email: archives@yivo.cjh.org

Preferred Citation: Published citations should read as follows: Identification of item, date (if known); YIVO Archives; Vilna Yiddish Education Society (Vilner Yidishe Bildung Gezelshaft - VILBIG); RG 11; folder number.

Box and Folder Listing

Browse by Series:

Series 1: Series I: Administration, 1924-1940,
Series 2: Series II: Correspondence, General, 1924-1940,
Series 3: Series III: Correspondence, Local Branches, 1924-1936,
Series 4: Series IV: VILBIG Educational Courses Section, 1927-1936,, 1939-1940,
Series 5: Series V: VILBIG Various Sections, 1925-1939,
Series 6: Series VI: Scout Club "Bin" (The Bee), 1927-1935,
Series 7: Series VII: Varia, 1924-1932

Series I: Administration 1924-1940

These are vital organizational records of VILBIG and they include minutes of meetings of all elected bodies, records of elections of VILBIG officers, documents about legalizing VILBIG and its branches and financial reports.

Folders: 10

Quantity: Folders

Folder 1: By-laws. Drafts and printed brochures 1924
Folder 2: Minutes and reports: founding committee, 1924; general meetings; executive committee, sections, 1924-1937 1924-1937
Folder 3: Local branches: receipts of registration with the local authorities 1924-1927
Folder 4: Monthly log of activities 1933-1938
Folder 5: Elections of officers: minutes and ballot records 1924-1939
Folder 6: Membership register 1936-1938
Folder 7: Membership applications 1924-1940
Folder 8: Finances: periodic financial reports 1926-1939
Folder 9: Finances: miscellaneous bills 1927-1932, 1939
Folder 10: Fund-raising campaigns 1930s

Series II: Correspondence, General 1924-1940

The correspondence is mainly of administrative character and the majority of correspondents are Jewish educational and cultural organizations in Poland, the Jewish Community Board of Vilna (Kehillah) and various government and Vilna municipal agencies. Correspondence with the Central Education Committee (TSBK) and YIVO is included.

Quantity: folders

Folders: 17

Arrangement: Arranged chronologically

Folder 11: Correspondence 1924
Folder 12: Correspondence 1925
Folder 13: Correspondence 1926
Folder 14: Correspondence 1927
Folder 15: Correspondence 1928
Folder 16: Correspondence 1929
Folder 17: Correspondence 1930
Folder 18: Correspondence 1931
Folder 19: Correspondence 1933
Folder 20: Correspondence 1934
Folder 21: Correspondence 1935
Folder 22: Correspondence 1936
Folder 23: Correspondence 1937
Folder 24: Correspondence 1938
Folder 25: Correspondence 1939
Folder 26: Correspondence 1940
Folder 27: Correspondence undated

Series III: Correspondence, Local Branches 1924-1936

There were some 20 branches of VILBIG operating in the towns of Vilna Province. The record group contains correspondence files of 17 branches. The files are arranged by the name of the town and cover of the years 1924-1936. By 1936 most of the branches ceased to exist.

Quantity: folders

Folders: 17

Folder 28: All branches: circular letter 1925-1931, 1936
Folder 29: Ignalino 1924-1927: (now Ignalina, Lithuania)
Folder 30: Oszmiana 1924-1936: (now Ashmi︠a︡ny, Belarus)
Folder 31: Glebokie 1924-1936
Folder 32: Dzisna 1925-1929
Folder 33: Dunilowicze 1924-1927
Folder 34: Druja 1924-1925: (now Druja, Belarus)
Folder 35: Hoduciszki 1924-1927: (now in Poland)
Folder 36: Widze 1925-1932: (now Vidzy, Belarus)
Folder 37: Jaszun 1926-1936
Folder 38: Landwarów 1926: (now Lentvaris, Lithuania)
Folder 39: Nowo-Wilejka 1929-1934: (now Naujoji, Lithuania)
Folder 40: Nowy Pohost 1925-1927
Folder 41: Swir 1927-1929: (now Svir', Belarus)
Folder 42: Swieciany 1924-1936
Folder 43: Podbrodzie 1924-1925: (now Pabrade, Lithuania)
Folder 44: Krewo 1924-1929
Folder 45: Radun 1926-1927: (now in Belarus): scrapbook of correspondence and press clippings on the burning of the VILBIG library in Radun by the local yeshiva students

Series IV: VILBIG Educational Courses Section 1927-1936,, 1939-1940

Only the first folder (46) contains material about the course curricula. The other folders contain student applications, lists of course participants and some financial data. Folders 53 and 54 evidence the organizational change in VILBIG, after September 1939: it adapted the name "Shtern" (The Star) and it offered mainly language courses in Russian and Lithuanian.

Folders: 9

Folder 46: Course programs and schedules 1927-1932
Folder 47: Student applications 1929-1930: Personal documents and photographs included
Folder 48: Student applications 1929-1930: Personal documents and photographs included
Folder 49: Student applications 1936
Folder 50: Student applications 1936
Folder 51: Student lists 1932-1936, 1939
Folder 52: Student lists 1932-1936, 1939
Folder 53: Student lists 1940
Folder 54: Certificates of completion of the Lithuanian language course 1940

Series V: VILBIG Various Sections 1925-1939

Correspondence, membership records, publicity materials, financial records pertaining to the chorus, the mandolin orchestra and other VILBIG entertainment programs. Also a folder of correspondence and legal documents of the Kindergarten Teachers Seminary (61).

Quantity: folders

Folders: 7

Folder 55: VILBIG chorus: ticket sales reports; lists of chorus members; records of performances; correspondence 1926-1936
Folder 56: VILBIG chorus: membership applications 1926-1929
Folder 57: Mandolin orchestra 1935-1939
Folder 58: Excursions section 1926-1939
Folder 59: "Saturday Mornings" program 1925-1927
Folder 60: VILBIG programs for the Jewish schools (Central Education Committee Schools) in Vilna 1926-1929
Folder 61: Seminary for Kindergarten Teachers: correspondence re licensing; by-laws 1931-1933

Series VI: Scout Club "Bin" (The Bee) 1927-1935

Records of the children organization which was active at VILBIG from 1929 to 1935.

Quantity: folders

Folders: 4

Folder 62: Correspondence with various Polish authorities, 1929-1934, including by-laws 1929-1934
Folder 63: Newsletters, circular letters, instructions 1927-1935
Folder 64: Financial documents: cash book, fund-raising reports, bills 1931-1933
Folder 65: Applications for admission 1935

Series VII: Varia 1924-1932

Includes VILBIG printed matter.

Quantity: folders

Folders: 2

Folder 66: Printed matter, including weekly calendars of VILBIG events, 1925, leaflets; press clippings 1924-1932
Folder 67: Miscellaneous and unidentified items 1925-1932