Ministerstvo sociální péče - Londýn

  • Ministry of Social Welfare - London
  • MSP - L
  • NAD 1007
Identifier
1007
Language of Description
English
Dates
1940 - 1945
Level of Description
Fonds
Languages
  • Czech
Scripts
  • Latin
Source
EHRI

Web Source

http://www.badatelna.eu/fond/9/

Extent and Medium

15,8 linear metres of documents from which 15,5 linear metres are processed and inventoried and 0,3 linear metres unprocessed. The fonds is partially accessible.

Creator(s)

Biographical History

The Czechoslovak Government-in-Exile consisted of the President, the Goverment and the State Council (which should represented the Czechoslovak parliament) - Edvard Beneš the former President of the Czechoslovak Republic was accepted as the President of the Czechoslovak Government-in-Exile. The Czechoslovak Government-in-Exile consisted of 7 ministries: Ministry of the National Defence, Ministry of the Interior, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Social Welfare, Ministry of Economic Recovery, Ministry of Agriculture.

The creator of the fonds is the Czechoslovak Ministry of Social Welfare in London which was established in 1940. The fonds consists of mainly administrative documents of the ministry. It dealt with the refugees and members of the Czechoslovak army and their relatives, it provided social and medical support and also made a registration of Czechoslovak citizens in exile and arranged job opportunities for them. It cooperated with other organisations that provided a financial, medical and social support to refugees, such as the Czech Refugee Trust Fund (CRTF) or the Czechoslovak Red Cross. Further more, the Ministry of Social Welfare prepared plans for post-war reconstruction and repatriation of Czechoslovak citizens and from 1944, it was in charge to dispose the organisation of the Czechoslovak Government-in-Exile (it provided financial support for dismissed employees and helped them to find a new job opportunity).

Archival History

After the WWII, documents of Czechoslovak Ministry of Social Welfare in London were sent to re-established Czechoslovak Republic, precisely to the Ministry of Labour Protection and Social Welfare. In early 1960's, documents were transferred to the State Central Archives (the National Archives). Other documents which are now part of the fonds were added in 1968.

Scope and Content

The fonds includes various administrative correspondence (this correspondence refers to requests for social supports or finding a job opportunity), questionnaires of repatriates, circulars, information booklets, studies, reports and records of the Czechoslovak National Council and its committees.

Jewish related documents can be found in various boxes, such as in boxes 58 and 59, there are files of Jewish associations, clubs and Jewish committees including the Federation of Czechoslovak Jews, The Union of Orthodox Jews from Czechoslovakia or Central Board of Jews. There are also documents from the Social Committee of Jews from Czechoslovakia in the United Kingdom. Further more, there are files related to the evacuation of Jews from various countries, reports about the situation of Czechoslovak Jews in Palestine, reports about Jews (and other Czechoslovak citizens) imprisoned in the concentration camps or records from meetings of the Czechoslovak Government in the matters of Czechoslovak Jews.

System of Arrangement

The fonds is divided into 11 books and protocols and consists of 112 boxes. The correspondence relating to the social and financial support for Czechoslovak soldiers and other war refugees is placed in 43 boxes and it is arranged alphabetically by surname of the applicants. The fonds also contains various administrative correspondence, name lists, statistics, circulars as well as the various documents related to the repatriation (there are several folders created by the Czech Refugee Trust Fund).

Finding Aids

Archivist Note

written by KS, 20.10.2014, edited by JV.

Sources

  • KUKLÍK, Jan: Londýnský exil a obnova československého státu 1938-1945. Praha, 1998.

    REES, Neil: Prezident Beneš v Anglii: československá vláda v exilu v Londýně a Buckinghamském hrabství za druhé světové války. Praha, 2006.

    NĚMEČEK, Jan (ed.): Zápisy ze schůzí československé vlády v Londýně. Praha, 2008.

Rules and Conventions

EHRI Guidelines for Description v.1.0