Reichsvereinigung der Juden in Deutschland: Records

This finding aid is the result of a stage-by-stage series of arranging and indexing processes which could only be completed as recently as 1989.

The collection “Reichsvereinigung der Juden in Deutschland” is a fragmentary sub-collection (18 shelf meters) covering the years 1939 - 1945. Some of the files date back to the early thirties: the so-called “Vorakten” (background files) by attorneys and by the Gesellschaft zur Förderung wirtschaftlicher Interessen von in Deutschland wohnhaften oder wohnhaft gewesenen Juden GmbH“/FWI (Association for assistance in financial matters of Jews residing in Germany).

Among the items of the collection you can also find various kinds of deportees’ personal documents, such as genealogical tables and other kinds of records of a person’s marital status, attestations, last wills and testaments, certificates required by employment law etc. All of these documents had been given to the Reichsvereinigung for safe keeping by the victims prior to their deportation. Some of these documents had been sealed in envelopes containing the name and in some cases the person’s transport number. As a matter of course, they are legally still part of the deportees’ personal belongings and therefore cannot really (i. e. from a legal point of view) be considered a part of the collection “Reichsvereinigung”. However, for the sake of the processing of the items, it is reasonable and appropriate to associate them with the collection because of the evident connection concerning the contents. Note that the index of names includes references to deported Jews’ personal papers.

Regarding the allocation of files on administration of assets owned by emigrated Jews (these originated from attorneys’ chambers and later on from the FWI, respectively) the main object again was to retain subject related material in one and the same place, regardless of a possible final processing by the “Abteilung für Vermögensverwaltung der RV” (RV department for management of assets).

In the early sixties, when archiving of the items started, a categorisation according to provenance was introduced of the Berliner Gemeinde documents governed by the Deutsches Zentralarchiv (which later on became the Zentrales Staatsarchiv).

By 1967, approximately half of the collection was processed and a fundamental system of sorting the collection had emerged. It was based on the type of the main tasks of the Reichsvereinigung, focussing on tasks related to emigration and deportation and handling of assets. It was supplemented and extended in the course of the resumed indexing work on previously not analyzed items in 1989. In terms of a desired functionality of archiving, the RVs system of filing and keeping records had to a certain extent not been very useful, so you might come across overlaps. These overlaps couldn’t be completely avoided, but have been marked by references (where this can be considered to be of importance).

A considerable number of files were in a very bad state when they were included into the Deutsche Zentralarchiv, due to improper storage. As a result of this, at the same time as the archiving work that started in 1959, restoration of some files and groups of files started and was continued selectively. The microfilming of the collection in 1992 was another means of preserving the original documents.

Contents:

57/1-129
Organisation und Geschäftsbetrieb

57/1-11
Vorstand. Allgemeines. (Protokolle, Personalia, Haushalt, Fürsorge, Organisation, Rechtslage, Unterstützungen)

57/12-24
Durchfürhungsbestimmungen für Gesetze und Verordnungen; innerdienstliche Verfügungen.

57/25-38
Statistik der jüdischen Bevölkerung (statistische Erfassung der Juden; Reichssippenamt)

57/39-44
Eingaben (RV als Vermittlungsstelle für Eingaben an Behörden)

57/64-69
Haushaltsplan und -rechnung

57/70-111
Kassenunterlagen und -belege (Tageskasse der RV und Rechnungen für das jüdische Krankenhaus Berlin)

57/112-116
Verkauf und Verwertung von Eigentum jüdischer Gemeinden und anderer Einrichtungen (nach Orten A-Z)

57/117-122.
Versicherungsangelegenheiten (vgl. auch 75A Be 2, 1.6.)

57/123-129
Verschiedene Finanzangelegenheiten (vgl. auch 3.1.2.)

57/130-703
Emigration und Deportation; Verwaltung und Verwertung des Vermögens jüdischer Bürger

57/130-479
Vermoegensverwaltung fuer Verstorbene, Emigranten und Deportierte (v.a. Abwesenheitspflegschaft)

57/480-500.
Allgemeines; Deportationslisten

57/501-584
Abschluss von “Heimeinkaufsverträgen” für Theresienstadt

57/501-580
Nach einzelnen Bezirksstellen der RV

57/581-584
“Heimeinkaufsverträge”: Personen A-Z

57/585-646
Abwicklung der “Heimeinkaufsverträge” (Einbeziehung von Vermögenswerten; Sonderkonto H)

57/647-667
Verfügungserlaubnisse (v.a. in Bezug auf Geldbeträge vom eigenen Konto) (vgl. 1.1.4.)

57/668-703
Abgabe persönlicher Unterlagen vor der Deportation

57/668-676
Nachweis über die Abgabe der Unterlagen (Belege)

57/677-701
Persönliche Unterlagen von Deportierten

57/702-703
Testamente A-Z

57/704-798
Fürsorge und Betreuung

57/704-736
Schriftwechsel mit den Vertrauensleuten

57/737-762
Sonstige Unterstützungen und Beihilfen; Versorgung

57/763-779
Kinderunterkunft; Familienbetreuung

57/780-798
Bestattungswesen; Todesmeldungen

Personal name index

By 1967, approximately half of the collection was processed and a fundamental system of sorting the collection had emerged. It was based on the type of the main tasks of the Reichsvereinigung, focussing on tasks related to emigration and deportation and handling of assets. It was supplemented and extended in the course of the resumed indexing work on previously not analyzed items in 1989. In terms of a desired functionality of archiving, the RVs system of filing and keeping records had to a certain extent not been very useful, so you might come across overlaps. These overlaps couldn’t be completely avoided, but have been marked by references (where this can be considered to be of importance).