Jewish Organisations

The Association of Jewish Refugees was founded in 1941 to represent the interests and needs of the Jewish refugees who fled to Britain to escape the oppression of Nazi-Germany.

AJR refugee voices

AJR refugee voices is a Holocaust Testimony collection of 280 interviews of survivors and refugees. You can learn more about the project here. The filmed interviews can be accessed in the Reading Room of the Library. See the catalogue entry for details.

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The AJR Journal

Published monthly since 1946, this periodical serves as the organ of the AJR. It was called AJR information until 2001, when it was renamed the AJR Journal. It includes a combination of news analysis, book, film and theatre recommendations, as well as a letters page. Historically it was a way of informing members about developments in Britain or their home countries that were of importance to the community of refugees from Germany and Austria.

Digital copies are available here: AJR Journal – AJR

The Library’s holding of the two titles are listed in our catalogue:

AJR journal : Association of Jewish Refugees in Great Britain

AJR information : Association of Jewish Refugees in Great Britain

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Correspondence between with the Association of Jewish Refugees (AJR)

This collection of 43 letters contains correspondence between the Library and the AJR in the 1950s and early 1960s.

The Board of Deputies of British Jews is the largest Jewish organisation in the United Kingdom. It was founded more than 250 years ago in 1760. The Board is a democratically elected, cross-communal, representative body of the Jewish community. The Board is in close contact with the government to ensure that Jewish voices are heard.

Primary sources

Document collection 1658 – Board of Deputies: Defence committee papers

The Library holds a collection of 69 boxes covering the doings of the Defence Committee which was involved in opposing antisemitism in the UK and Europe. This collection contains minutes, correspondence, observer reports, campaigns and much more. This collection is digitised and accessible at a terminal in the reading room. Readers need to reserve a terminal to access the digital collection.

The Defence Committee Papers were separated from the main body of the BoD Archives and have been on long-term loan with the Wiener Holocaust Library since 2011. They allow research across the period 1933-1960. The main BoD archive is currently held at the London Metropolitan Archives.

NB: Permission is needed to access this collection. The collection is currently being digitized and is unavailable until further notice.

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Secondary sources

• 250 years of convention and contention : a history of the Board of Deputies of British Jews : 1760-2010
• The Board of Deputies of British Jews : a brief survey of its work 1933-1950

The Central British Fund for German Jewry, now called the Central British Fund for World Jewish Relief, was founded in the early months of 1933 by a group of Anglo-Jewish community leaders in response to the appointment of Adolf Hitler as Chancellor of Germany on a political platform of anti-Semitism. They played a major role in organising the Kindertransport, which saved around 10,000 mostly Jewish children from Nazi Europe. Today the CBF helps people in need by offering humanitarian aid and social work all around the globe. They even have an independent archive regarding the refugees they helped in the 30s and 40s.

Primary sources

MF Doc 27 – Central British Fund for World Jewish Relief: Archives

The Library holds a huge microfilmed collection of the CBF’s work from 1933 onwards. A lot of the documents relate to the helping hand offered to Jewish refugees from Europe. More information is available on the catalogue.

The originals of this collection are held at the London Metropolitan Archives.

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CBF news: The bulletin of the Central British Fund for Jewish Relief and Rehabilitation

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Secondary sources

• Men of vision : Anglo-Jewry’s aid to victims of the Nazi regime 1933-1945
• The long horizon : 60 years of Central British Fund

Centralverein deutscher Staatsbürger jüdischen Glaubens (eng.: Central Association of German Citizens of Jewish Faith) was one of the largest and most significant of the Jewish organisations in Germany before World War II. It was founded in 1893 by German Jews to defend themselves against rising antisemitism. They believed educating society about Judaism would overcome antisemitism. Below is a selection of key collections. Please explore the catalogue for other collections.

Given that the Centralverein was a German organization most of the documents are in German.

Primary sources

MS 143 – The Centralverein Deutscher Staatsbürger Jüdischen Glaubens – its meaning and activities

This unpublished manuscript written by our founder and former member of the CV Alfred Wiener explains the structure, convictions and activities of the Centralverein.

• also by Alfred Wiener and the CV –  Alfred Wiener’s lecture on Judaism from political, economic and cultural perspectives: Das deutsche Judentum in politischer, wirtschaftlicher und kultureller Hinsicht

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MF doc 55 – Centralverein deutscher Staatsbürger jüdischen Glaubens: records

These microfilmed files contain records of the Centralverein’s chief office in Berlin and mostly cover the 1920s and 1930s. In there you can find circulars, correspondence, periodicals, announcements as well as lists and reports of antisemitism. To make navigating this vast collection easier, please see the finding aid below.

The originals of this collection are currently in Moscow. In 1996 the Central Archives for the History of the Jewish People started to microfilm this major collection, making it available for international researchers. Their catalogue for the collection is available online.

See also the Library’s finding aid.

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Central-Verein Zeitung : C.V.-Zeitung : Blätter für Deutschtum und Judentum : Organ des Central-Vereins deutscher Staatsbürger jüdischen Glaubens e.V.

This periodical was first published in April 1922 and combined its predecessors Im deutschen Reich and the Allgemeine Zeitung des Judentums to create an organ of the Centralverein, the CV-Zeitung: Blätter für Deutschtum und Judentum: Organ des Central-Vereins deutscher Staatsbürger jüdischen Glaubens e. V.: Allgemeine Zeitung des Judentums. It was the largest German-Jewish periodical. It appeared weekly to disseminate the views of the CV and counter false antisemitic accusations.

The Handbuch des Antisemitismus contains more detailed information on the aforementioned periodicals.

Digitised versions of the CV-Zeitung are available on Compact Memory.

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An die deutschen Staatsbürger jüdischen Glaubens : ein Aufruf

This pamphlet from the founding year of the CV is an appeal to the German Jews to stand together and join the CV to defend themselves against rising antisemitism.

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Publications by the CV

These pamphlets are examples of the CV’s many publications opposing antisemitism.

• Anti-anti : Blätter zur Abwehr : Tatsachen zur Judenfrage 
• Blutlügen : Märchen und Tatsachen 

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Secondary sources

• “Wehr Dich!”: der Zentralverein deutscher Staatsbürger jüdischen Glaubens (C.V.), , 1893-1938   This book covers the Centralverein’s whole existence (1893-1938).
• “Seid mutig und aufrecht!” : das Ende des Centralvereins deutscher Staatsbürger jüdischen Glaubens 1933-1938). This book is specifically about the end of the CV.
• Centralverein deutscher Staatsbuerger juedischen Glaubens : Anwalt zwischen Deutschtum und Judentum

The Kulturbund Deutscher Juden (eng.: Cultural Federation of German Jews) was founded in 1933 in response to the cultural exclusion of Jews. It managed to keep a little bit of Jewish culture alive by putting on theatrical performances, operas, concerts, exhibitions and lectures from Jewish artists who were no longer permitted to appear in front of non-Jewish audiences. In 1935 they were forced to delete the word ‘deutsch’ from their name, so it became the Jüdischer Kulturbund (eng.: Jewish Cultural Federation). Until 1941 the Nazis tolerated the Kulturbund to isolate and control Jewish artists. After that the Gestapo prohibited its activities and most of the remaining members were deported and killed. The federation had different locations all over the country, for example in Berlin and Hamburg.

Primary sources

Document collection 575 – Kulturbund Deutscher Juden: Correspondence

This collection mainly contains correspondence, but also banned Jewish texts. More detailed information can be found in the catalogue.

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Geschlossene Vorstellung : der jüdische Kulturbund in Deutschland 1933-1941 : Zeitung zur Ausstellung der Akademie der Künste mit Dokumentation und Chroniken

A paper describing the Kulturbund’s history written to accompany the Berlin Academy of the Arts’ 1992 exhibition on the Kulturbund Deutscher Juden in 1992.

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Jüdischer Kulturbund Berlin : Monatsblätter

A periodical published monthly by the Kulturbund Deutscher Juden in Berlin. The Library holds issues, but they are also available online on this website.

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Kulturbundbühne

This serial was published by the Kulturbund Deutscher Juden and used as a way of communicating their programme as well as advertising for new members. Digital copies are available in the DNB, Katalog der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek.

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Secondary sources

• The Jewish Kulturbund theatre company in Nazi Berlin. This book focuses on the history of the Kulturbund Deutscher Juden theatre Berlin and considers various factors like coercion, isolation, artistic integrity, adaptability, community and identity.
• Gegen alle Widerstände : der Jüdische Kulturbund 1933-1941: Fakten, Daten, Analysen, biographische Notizen und Erinnerungen. This book contains information, biographical notes and memories concerning the Kulturbund Deutscher Juden from 1933 to 1941. The table of contents can be found in the catalogue.
• Theater als geistiger Widerstand : der Jüdischer Kulturbund in Hamburg 1934 – 1941. This work captures the broader picture of the Kulturbund Deutscher Juden while also going into more into detail about its work in Hamburg.

The Reichsbund Jüdischer Frontsoldaten (eng.: Reich Federation of Jewish Front-Line Soldiers) was founded in 1919 by Leo Löwenstein. After the First World War, German nationalist groups promoted the idea that Jews were not true Germans, claiming that they had shirked their duty or even caused the defeat of Germany. The RJF countered these accusations, making clear that Jews were patriotic and had honourably contributed to the German war effort.

Document collection 609 –  Reichsbund jüdischer Frontsoldaten: Correspondence and papers

The RJF introduced exercise for Jewish youth as a means of self-defence and to counter the stereotypes of Jews as cowardly and weak. This collection relates to correspondence between the RJF and the Westdeutscher Landessportverband. It also contains RJF posters reminding the public of the service and sacrifice of German Jews. For more information, please have a look at the catalogue.

NB:  Some relevant correspondence can be found in MF Doc 55. Search “Reichsbund jüdischer Frontsoldaten” in the finding aid: Beschreibung der Akten des Centralvereins (CV).

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Der Schild : Zeitschrift des Reichsbundes Jüdischer Frontsoldaten

Der Schild (eng.: The Shield) was a periodical published every fortnight by the RJF. Above all it called for resistance against antisemitism. At the same time, it honoured fallen Jewish soldiers. The publication also reported on news and activities of the RJF.

Digital versions can be found on Compact Memory.

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Satzungen des Reichsbundes Jüdischer Frontsoldaten

This is a microfilmed copy of the written constitution of the RJF from 1929.

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Books by and about the RJF

• Leo Baeck Institute year book 19 : 1974. The yearbook of the Leo Back Institute from 1974 a chapter is dedicated to the RJF (p.139 ff.).
• Der Reichsbund jüdischer Frontsoldaten 1919-1938 : Geschichte eines Abwehrvereins
• Gefallene deutsche Juden : Frontbriefe 1914-18. This book contains letters from the frontline written by German-Jewish soldiers. A digital copy is available here.
• Für Kaiser, Reich und Vaterland : jüdische Soldaten : eine Geschichte vom 19. Jahrhundert bis heute

The Reichsvereinigung der Juden in Deutschland (eng.: Reich Association of the Jews in Germany) was formed on 4 July 1939 by the Nazis. Every Jew still living in Germany was forced to join and pay membership fees. The board had Jewish members such as Leo Baeck and Otto Hirsch. However they were directly controlled by the Gestapo and tasked with organising the deportation and emigration of Jews as well as the confiscation of assets and property of escaped or deported Jews. They also had to announce and enforce antisemitic regulations from the Gestapo. Despite these circumstances, they did their very best to help the remaining Jews and those trying to flee as best as they could.

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Document collection 604 – Reichsvereinigung der Juden in Deutschland: Reports and papers 

This document collection relates to the foundation of the RVJD. It contains the constitution, documents regarding the emigration of Jews and asset determination, and announcements about orders given by the Gestapo.

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MF doc 57 –Reichsvereinigung der Juden in Deutschland: Records 

This microfiche contains administrative content, statistics and even a personal name index. The catalogue includes a list of contents.

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Document collection 602 – Reichsvertretung der Juden in Deutschland: Records

The Reichsvertretung der Juden in Deutschland (eng.: Reich Representation of the Jews in Germany) was founded in September 1933 to represent the interests and needs of German Jews. It was the predecessor to the Reichsvereinigung der Juden in Deutschland.

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Books about the RVJD

A fatal balancing act : the dilemma of the Reich Association of Jews in Germany, 1939 – 1945. There is also a German copy.

Jüdische Selbstverwaltung unter dem NS-Regime : der Existenzkampf der Reichsvertretung und Reichsvereinigung der Juden in Deutschland