Poland (Vilna) Collection

Although fragmentary in nature, the documents in this collection reflect in considerable detail the period between the two world wars and the situation of the Jewish minority in reborn independent Poland. In the course of twenty years, the Jewish community in Poland led the existence of a national minority whose status was formally vouchsafed by the Minority Treaties which Poland signed, but which was largely ignored. In reality, hostility toward Jews from both the government as well as from large segments of the population prevailed. At the same time, Jewish communities strived to develop and maintain a host of internal institutions and organizations which served the most crucial needs of the people, such as health care, education, and economic needs. Jewish autonomy was a fact of life despite the government’s reluctance to recognize it as such. Of singular importance were the community councils (kehillah, kehiles) which constituted an internal administration for the Jewish population on a local level. kehillah elections (in which the majority of Jewish political groups participated) are richly illustrated in this collection through election announcements, leaflets, appeals, and other forms of electoral campaigning. Elections to the Sejm (Polish parliament) are well documented in a similar manner through electoral propaganda materials published by the political parties, which participated in the elections individually or allied as blocs with other groups. A significant number of documents pertain to the 1930s, which were years of a worsening political and economic situation for Jews in Poland.