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Mediaş Jewish Community Collection

 Collection
Identifier: AR 25498

Scope and Content Note

This collection contains select pre-World War II and war-time documents from the archives of the Mediaş community. The documents primarily comprise membership lists, other personal registration forms, and photographs.

The membership lists in folder 1 are typed and arranged alphabetically by family, they include birth years, addresses, and sometimes additional information. The registration forms in folder 3 were distributed by the central offices of the Jewish community of Romania. They include a picture of the person, birthplace and date, education level, military service, and position held in the community structure.

The following names are included in the registration forms in folder 3:

  1. Abraham, Aron
  2. Abraham, Josif
  3. Braun, Eugen
  4. Davidovits, Alberth
  5. Davidovits, Desideriu
  6. Davidovits, Oscar
  7. Deutsch Juliu
  8. Deutsch, Heinrich
  9. Deutsch, Sigismund
  10. Dicker, Hermann
  11. Ehrenreich, Josua
  12. Farkas, Ludovic
  13. Feuer, Isac
  14. Fisch, Samuila
  15. Fischer, Eduard
  16. Fried, Samuila
  17. Goidl, Mayer
  18. Heilper, Ludovic
  19. Herschkovits, Ernest
  20. Izrael, Izso
  21. Kadar, Adolf
  22. Lengyel, Paraschiva
  23. Löwy, Desideriu
  24. Pick, Ignat
  25. Reich, Moise
  26. Reichhardt, Leopold
  27. Rosenstein, Serena
  28. Schwartz, Isidor
  29. Spitz, Rubens
  30. Suranyi, Josif
  31. Weinstock, Danila

The handwritten chart in folder 4, entitled "Chart of Deportees Settled in Mediaş," includes first and last names, place and date of birth, marriage status, and occupation. Most individuals are from Bukovina or northern Transylvania. It is not clear whether the chart was made after 1945 and refers to deportees returning from both Transnistria and Auschwitz (where most northern Transylvanians were deported) or whether it was created during the war and refers only to deportees to Transnistria, some of which were permitted to return to Romania prior to 1945 and were frequently placed with existing Jewish communities throughout the country.

The photographs in folder 5 include images of the Jewish school, which was built in 1928 adjacent to the synagogue and other photographs of the synagogue and rabbi's house, probably dating to the 1950s or 1960s. There are also photographs of a ceremony held in Mediaş in 1945 for the Jews of Europe murdered during the Holocaust. These photographs include pictures of a march through the town of Mediaş to the cemetery and various men speaking at a new monument. The additional photographs of tombstones are unidentified but may be of the Kappel family cemetery, not the main Jewish cemetery. The architectural plans in OS folder 146 include drawings for workers residences which factory owner, Benjamin Citron, constructed. Citron was also president of the community at the time and instigated the construction of a Jewish school, new mikvah, and additional decorative elements for the synagoge.

Dates

  • Creation: 1896-circa 1950

Creator

Language of Materials

This collection is in German, Romanian and Hungarian.

Access Restrictions

Open to researchers.

Access Information

Collection is digitized. Follow the links in the Container List to access the digitized materials.

Use Restrictions

There may be some restrictions on the use of the collection. For more information, contact:

Leo Baeck Institute, Center for Jewish History, 15 West 16th Street, New York, NY 10011

email: lbaeck@lbi.cjh.org

Biographical Note

The Jewish community of Mediaş was founded in the mid-19th century by families from the surrounding villages and immigrants from Bohemia. During World War II there were no mass deportations but under communism virtually all members emigrated to either Israel, the United States, or western Europe.

Extent

0.25 Linear Feet (6 folders + 1 oversized folder and digital images)

Abstract

This collection contains select pre-World War II and war-time documents from the archives of the Mediaş community. The documents primarily comprise membership lists, other personal registration forms, and photographs.

Related Material

For additional photographs, see also Mediaş Jewish Community Photograph Collection (AR 25402).

Statutes of the community (folder 7) have been digitized separately.

Title
Guide to the Mediaş Jewish Community Collection, 1896-circa 1950  AR 25498
Status
Completed
Author
Processed by Julie Dawson
Date
© 2013
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
Finding aid written in English.

Revision Statements

  • May 22, 2014 : Links to digital objects added in Container List.

Repository Details

Part of the Leo Baeck Institute Repository

Contact:
15 West 16th Street
New York NY 10011 United States