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Overview of Mazheik Jewish Community Material

By Ilan Ganot , Israel , 

email: o_ganot@inter.net.il

This work is dedicated to the loving memory of my father Moshe Iting z”l (1918-2004) who inspired me to research his roots, and in memory of my grandparents Eliyahu Faive and Rashe Iting hy”d (murdered in Mazeikiai July 1941), and my uncle Dov-Berl Iting z”l (fell in action while serving with the 16^th Lithuanian Division during WW II).

Table of Contents

ABSTRACT. 1

1.                    Introduction. 2

2.                    Collection Contents. 3

3.                    Sample Documents. 4

4.                    Affidavits. 9

5.                    Name Lists. 10

5.1.                 Signed Names List 10

5.2.                 Alphabetical List 22

5.3.                 Donation lists. 25

5.3.1.              Clothes and Shoes donations list 25

5.3.2.              Donations list (religious books) 27

5.4.                 Lists of Delegates and Candidates. 25

5.4.1.              List of Delegates. 28

5.4.2.              List of Candidates. 29

1.             Introduction

Following an article published in the LitvakSIG section of the JewishGen Website (The Contents of YIVO’s Lithuanian Communities of the Interwar Period Collection by Deena A. Berton, 1998 [1]) I became aware of the existence of some material, originally belonging to the Committee of Jewish Community of Mazeikiai (Vaad ha’Kehila) and dating from the early 1920’s, at the YIVO archives in New-York.

The route that these documents had taken from the offices of the Committee of Jewish Community of Mazeikiai to the YIVO archives in New York is a mystery. Hints of a possible route appear in the introduction to the book “Guide to the YIVO Archives”, pp. xv – xvii.[2] According to this source the YIVO Archives in Vilna were established in 1926. During the Lithuanian/Soviet period (Sept. 1939 – June 1941) the archives were enlarged by addition of materials from … and from Jewish Historical and Ethnographic Societies in Vilna (Vilnius) and Kovne (Kaunas) [where the Mazeikiai JCC material might have been archived – I.G.]. Under the Nazi occupation the YIVO collection fell into the hands of the Einsatzstab Rosenberg, … charged with the looting and disposition of Jewish cultural treasures. The materials selected … were shipped to Frankfurt in 1942 and 1943; … [After the war was ended] the books and archival records from Vilna that were transferred from Vilna to Frankfurt survived the final years of the war intact and were reclaimed by YIVO in New York in 1947.

After some research and correspondence I was able to obtain photocopies of the said material.

For those who may be interested in reviewing the originals or ordering a copy for themselves, the location of the material is as follows:

Archives: YIVO (YIVO Institute for Jewish Research)

15 West 16th Street , New York , New York 10011-6301

Tel (212) 246-6080, Fax (212) 292-1892

Call #: RG 2

Box #: 30

Folders #: 573, 583

Collection title: Lithuania .

2.                Collection Contents

The collection includes about eighty documents, mainly written in Yiddish, Lithuanian, German and Russian. They may be divided into the following main groups of documents:

1. Name lists (see below)
2. Formal correspondence between the Committee of Jewish Community of Mazeikiai (Vaad ha’Kehila) and the Ministry for Jewish Affairs of the Lithuanian Government.
3. Handwritten documents (to be translated and evaluated)
4. Documents concerning elections to the (regional?) Committee of Jewish Community
5. Receipts and payrolls
6. Affidavits (sworn statements in writing)
7. Other documents.

Preliminary cataloguing of the documents has been done, as well as scanning of the documents for ease of access. The preliminary catalogue is included in the attached Excel file: YIVOdocs_index

Each document carries a unique serial number given by YIVO archives (e.g. #24740, # 24745 etc.). These numbers were used as document identifiers at the index of documents, and as part of file names of the scanned documents. For example: document carrying number 24745 was scanned and given a file name: YIVO24745.jpg. Dual sided documents were numbered as YIVO24740-1 and YIVO24740-2 accordingly. A small number of documents, who do not carry serial numbers (perhaps numbers were truncated during copying) were numbered YIVOnnnnn1, YIVOnnnnn2, etc.

For each document, the following fields are included:

1. YIVO Doc. No. – serial number stamped on the document
2. File Name – name of the file containing the scanned document (Jpeg format), with link to the file itself
3. Document type (list, letter, note etc.)
4. Document title / abstract of contents
5. Date originated
6. Language
7. Name of originator / destination
8. Remarks.

Further research has yet to be done in order to finalize cataloguing, evaluation and analysis of all documents.

3.             Sample Documents

Included below are sample documents from each group.

4.             Affidavits

Affidavits are sworn statements in writing, providing testimonies about personal details of certain persons (name, parents’, wives’ and children’s names, date and location of birth, location of origin etc.). These affidavits were required in order to reconstruct personal registration information usually lost or destroyed during World War I. The local authorities’ registration offices, or the local Jewish community council required this information, so the only way to obtain it was to accept affidavits from witnesses who were familiar with these persons. Containing detailed personal facts, these affidavits may be an invaluable source of information for genealogical research.

Affidavits concerning the following persons are included:

                (*) Deported May 1915

5.             Name Lists

The YIVO collection includes several name lists, handwritten in Yiddish. These lists are of importance from genealogical point of view, therefore an effort has been put in order to transliterate and computerize these lists.

While the purpose of some of these lists is clear, there is an uncertainty about the purpose and dates of some other lists. Further research is required in order to determine their purpose and dates. 

The following lists are included in the YIVO collection:

1. Signed names list
2. Alphabetical list
3. Donations lists
4. List of delegates
5. Other lists

5.1.       Signed Names List

This list, written in Yiddish, includes the following fields:

(1)   Last name and given name

(2)   Age

(3)   Signature

The list includes names of adults only, aged 22 years old and above (with the exception of one person of 17 years old). Names and ages of every individual of any family are separately written, while a single signature (in most cases) is included for each family.

It is assumed, not for certain, that this list might have been either of the following:

1. Voter’s list for the local Committee of the Jewish Community of Mazeikiai (Vaad ha’Kehila), where every family had a single voting mandate.
2. List of registration of adult members of the Jewish community for an unclear purpose.
3. List for confirmation of reception of some services or donations from the Jewish Community of Mazeikiai.

These assumptions have yet to be researched, verified or negated.

According to some identified names in the list, whose birth year is known from bibliographical references (e.g. Sefer Yahadut Lita), we could assess in which year it was written. For example it is known that R. Zeev Avrech was born in Ritova in 1845. Since in the list he appeared to be 75 years old, we could assume that the list is dated to 1920.

Following is the whole list, transliterated into English. In some cases spelling mistakes or inaccuracies may have occurred due to inaccurate name transliteration or interpretation. Corrections will be welcome (please write to the Webmaster).

File name: YIVO24740-1.jpg