Československý červený kříž, Londýn
- Czechoslovak Red Cross, London
- ČsČK-L
- NAD 634
Extent and Medium
The collection consists of 25 linear meters of processed and inventoried documents.
Creator(s)
Biographical History
After the forced dissolution of the Czechoslovak Red Cross on 5th of August 1940 by the German occupiers, the Czechoslovak government-in-exile under Edvard Beneš in London founded the Czechoslovak Red Cross with a branch in Leamington Spa and delegations in Egypt, Iran, Italy, Palestine, USA. After the liberation of Czechoslovakia, the London office moved to Prague. During the war the main task of the Czechoslovak Red Cross was to provide medical care for the military. Added to this was the medical care of Czechoslovak refugees and of Czechoslovak citizens in the sphere of Nazi Germany, but also in the free world, end especially in Palestine.
Archival History
The collection of the Czechoslovak Red Cross was given in 1961 to the Prague State Central Archives (Státní ústřední archiv), now National Archives/Národní archiv). The material was organised according to the organisation of the London main office and geographically by place of origin.
Scope and Content
The collection primarily consists of organisational material of the Czechoslovak Red Cross, including its main offices in London and its branches, as well as documents concerning their tasks. The annual report provides information about the medical and social care of Czechoslovak citizens in exile. The most important Holocaust-related documents in the collection of the Czechoslovak Red Cross - London include the card files and directories of Czechoslovak Jews who were interned in concentration camps erected shortly after the Reichskristallnacht in the Sudetengau, of Jews who were interned in the Theresienstadt ghetto, and of Jews in camps on the territories of Slovakia, Poland and Romania (Inventory number 193). Inventory numbers 358 to 411 (boxes 170-198) scope the delegation of the Czechoslovak Red Cross in Palestine during the war.
Archivist Note
Based on online inventory in Czech: http://www.badatelna.cz/fond/4520, entry selected and written by AA
Rules and Conventions
EHRI Guidelines for Description v.1.0
Dates of Descriptions
9th of July 2014