Council of Jews from Germany Collection

This collection contains the records of the Council of Jews from Germany (Council for the Protection of the Rights and Interests of Jews from Germany). The records primarily range from the 1950s to the 1970s, and include correspondence concerning all aspects of restitution, particularly with the Claims Conference, internal minutes and other administrative and financial documents, and a small amount of cultural material. The correspondence in this collection shows the Council and its members finding their way in the post-war world. A primary concern was financial restitution from the West German government, but social and cultural concerns are also reflected. The history of German post-war restitution is generally well-documented here, as the Council was involved in most of the important events in restitution, such as the founding of the Claims Conference, as well as the Augsburg decision of 1954, which concerned heirless property. Correspondents include the West German government (and later the East German government), restitution organizations such as the JRSO and URO, and Jewish organizations such as the JDC and the Zentralrat der Juden in Deutschland.

The collection contains correspondence and other documents about the Council of Jews from Germany and its involvement with the Conference on Jewish Material Claims against Germany (the Claims Conference). The Council was a founding member, and documents include correspondence with the conference itself and with the Council’s national partners, minutes, protocols, and other documents reflecting the initial negotiations between West Germany, Israel, and various Jewish organizations. The Claims Conference minutes also include memos, statements, protocols and some correspondence from the initial negotiations surrounding the Claims Conference.

Many of the correspondence files contain both incoming correspondence as well as copies of outgoing correspondence. There are also many carbons and typed copies, often sent as enclosures. Also included are excerpts from various meeting minutes, as well as some newspaper clippings.

The collection also contains the administrative and financial records of the Council of Jews from Germany, such as minutes and circulars of the Council executive, as well as copies of important correspondence, agendas, minutes, budget documents, audit reports, and correspondence with financial bodies such as the Jewish Trust Corporation and the Leo Baeck Charitable Trust.

Finally, the collection also contains some cultural materials, such as correspondence and clippings regarding controversial books and publications such as Recha Freier’s "Let the Children Come Home," and books by Hannah Arendt and Raul Hilberg about Jewish victimhood. The Council argued for changes to the books and also released public responses. These documents reflect an important period in post-war German-Jewish historiography. In addition to other reviews and clippings, cultural materials found here include eulogies, memorials, and obituaries for Leo Baeck and Ernst Berent, the articles of incorporation of Leo Baeck Institute Limited, a typed copy of a poem "Das Lied von Theresienstadt,” and parts of a restitution application, including original identification documents from immediate post-war period.

This is a list of significant correspondents, prepared during previous processing: American Federation of Jews from Central Europe; American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee; Arendt, Hannah; Association of Jewish Refugees in Great Britain; Auerbach, Philipp; Aufbau; Axis Victims League; B'nai B'rith; Bach, Hans; Baeck, Leo; Baron, Salo; Bentwich, Norman; Berent, Ernst; Borchardt, Frederick W.; Breslauer, Walter; Callmann, Rudolf; Central British Fund for Relief and Rehabilitation; Conference on Jewish Material Claims against Germany; Council for the Protection of the Rights and Interests of Jews from Germany; Council of Jews from Germany; Eschelbacher, Max; Ferencz, Benjamin; Galinski, Heinz; Goldmann, Nahum; Grosz, Mikulasz; Gruenewald, Max; Gyseling, Walter; Heilberg, Adolf; Irgun Olej Merkaz Europa; Jewish Agency; Jewish Colonization Association (ICA); Jewish Restitution Successor Organization (JRSO); Jewish Trust Corporation; Josephtal, Paul; Kareski, Georg; Kiesinger, Georg; Kreutzberger, Max; Landauer, Georg; Leo Baeck Institute; Lindenbaum, Walter; Mann, Ludwig; Moses, Siegfried; Mosse, Martha; Oncken, Wilhelm; Reichmann, Hans; Schaeffer, Hans; Schwarzschild, Fritz; Simon, Ernst; Stein, Nathan; Tramer, Hans; United Restitution Organization (URO); Weil, Bruno; Weltsch, Robert; Wiener, Alfred; Wollheim, Norbert; World Jewish Congress; Woyda, Bruno; Zentralrat der Juden in Deutschland; and Zentralwohlfahrtsstelle der deutschen Juden.