Reichsvertretung der deutschen Juden

This collection contains materials about the Reichsvertretung der deutschen Juden, a federation of Jewish organizations and regional and local Jewish communities, founded in 1933, that aimed to provide a unified voice for German Jewry in dealing with the Nazi authorities.

The collection includes the correspondence files of banker Georg Hirschland concerning the formation of the Reichsvertretung. In addition to extensive incoming and outgoing correspondence, these folders also include minutes, drafts, clippings, and other documents such as notes-to-file. For example, found here is a handwritten draft by Otto Hirsch of the September 21, 1933 proclamation to German Jews about the formation of the Reichsvertretung. Also found here are sign-in sheets for meetings in 1933 and 1934. The bulk of the material is from August – September 1933. The precise original order is unclear, but most likely these documents came from a binder or binders. The documents were left in the order found, and separated into folders based on breaks in dates. Also found in this section is one folder of general correspondence, mostly typescript and Photostat copies of outgoing Reichsvertretung correspondence.

Correspondents include Leo Baeck, Rudolf Callmann, Alfred Dienemann of the Reichsbund jüdischer Frontsoldaten, Hugo Hahn, Otto Hirsch, Willy Katzenstein, Max Lilienthal, Siegfried Moses, Heinrich Stahl, Nathan Stein, Ludwig Tietz, Max Warburg, and Bruno Woyda, among many others.

The collection also includes a variety of documents and publications by or about the Reichsvertretung, such as articles, budgets, leaflets, minutes, and reports. Extensive statistics about German Jews – their emigration, employment, status – are also found here, as is an 18-page history of the Reichsvertretung by Bruno Blau, with 36 pages of attachments (typed copies of key documents).

The clippings are mostly Photostat copies from the CV Zeitung and Jüdische Rundschau, but there are also a few original clippings from the Israelitisches Familienblatt and Aufbau.

The Miscellaneous section includes a pamphlet entitled 5 Jahre Hilfe und Aufbau; a typescript copy of 1933 letter from Alfred Dienemann to Otto Hahn; two stamp booklets showing contributions to the Wohlfahrtsamt der Jüdischen Gemeinde zu Berlin from Albert Phiebig; and a typescript note calling for solidarity among German Jews.

The Addenda include a circular letter regarding adult education by Ernst Simon, entitled Mittelstelle fuer jüdische Erwachsenenbildung; a telegram from Leo Baeck to the Potsdam community; 1941 receipt for a contribution to the Hilfsverein of the Reichsverinigung; and a Photostat of a 1963 letter from Hans Reichmann to Max Gruenewald about the Reichsvertretung.