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Jacob Jacobson Collection

 Collection
Identifier: AR 7002 / MF 447 / MF 134

Scope and Content Note

The Jacob Jacobson collection mostly is comprised of records of several Jewish communities assembled by Jacobson himself while working at the Gesamtarchiv der deutschen Juden in Berlin. A huge portion of this collection was taken out of Germany by his wife and child when they immigrated to England in 1939.

Series I contains records of the Jewish community of Berlin from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, including census lists, vital registers, cemetery lists and tombstone inscriptions, rabbinical court decisions, among them the divorce case of Simon Veit and his wife, the future Dorothea Schlegel; fliers, budgets, by-laws, and elections to the community executive committee.

Series II includes records of the Jewish communities of Hamburg, Altona, and Wandsbek from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, including the minute book of the burial society of the Sephardic Congregation Neve Salom, Altona, and record books (Pinkassim), vital registers, tax-lists, proclamations, letters of protection, financial reports, by-laws, ordinances, private documents, and correspondence of the German-Askenazic communities of Hamburg, Altona, and Wandsbek; photos of gravestones; minutes of the Löb Mindensche Brautstiftung, Altona-Hamburg, as well as records of other communal organizations.

Records of Jewish communities in Central Europe can be found in Series III, including memorial books, correspondence, minutes, financial records, censuses, vital registers, mohel books, and cemetery lists from multiple different Jewish communities in Germany and Prussia; transcriptions of documents, 1797-1806, dealing with the administration of territories annexed by Prussia in the partitioning of Poland, and particularly with the Jewish question.

Records of Jewish organizations from the eighteenth through the twentieth century can be found in several series. Included are the minute book of the Gesellschaft der Freunde, Berlin; the correspondence of the Kassel branch of the Kartell-Convent jüdischer Verbindungen; by-laws, membership lists, or minutes of the tailors' mutual benefit society in Gnesen; the Gesellschaft jüdischer Handwerker, Berlin; the charitable society in Mattenbuden; and the burial societies in Rendsburg and Dyhernfurth.

Letters to Rabbi Leopold Löw, editor of Ben Chananja, and to Rabbi Löw Schwab from individuals are contained in Series V, these individuals include Adolphe Crémieux, Samson Raphael Hirsch, Isaak Marcus Jost, and Ludwig Philippson.

Series VI contains papers of Jacobson's grandfather Marcus Hirsch (1833-1907), chief rabbi in Prague and Hamburg, including correspondence with rabbis and Jewish communities in Altenhofen, Prague, Vienna, and towns in Hungary, and papers of Jacobson's father, Moses Jacobson (1853-c.1930), rabbi in Schrimm, Gnesen, and Hamburg, including a eulogy for Eduard Lasker and a speech on the 125th anniversary of the Bruederverein Gnesen.

Poetry, correspondence, notes, personal papers, clippings and other material from various individuals and communities conclude the collection, including memo by Max Bodenheimer about a meeting of Theodor Herzl with Kaiser Wilhelm II; papers of the bookdealer Julius Harrwitz; genealogical correspondence of Moritz Stern, librarian of the Jewish community of Berlin; eighteenth-century talmudic novellae written by members of the Fliess family; poetry of George Davidsohn, editor and parliamentary deputy for the Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands (SPD); and a manuscript and notes by Selma Stern-Täubler.

Dates

  • Creation: 1450-1988

Creator

Language of Materials

This collection is in German, Hebrew, Yiddish, Slovak, Portuguese, French, Hungarian, Czech, English, Polish and Latin.

Access Restrictions

Collection is microfilmed, use MF 447 and MF 1614

Access Information

Readers may access the collection by visiting the Lillian Goldman Reading Room at the Center for Jewish History. We recommend reserving the collection in advance; please visit the LBI Online Catalog and click on the "Request" button.

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

Dr. Jacob Jacobson was born in Schrimm (now Śrem, Poland) on November 27, 1888. Jacobson was a historian and archivist, as well as director of the Gesamtarchiv der deutschen Juden from 1920 to 1939. In 1938 he published Jüdische Trauungen in Berlin, 1723-1759. As archivist and historian, he solicited Jewish communities throughout Germany for records, and often retained the most records from smaller Jewish communities in Germany, which made up a significant part of this collection. In May 1943 he was deported to Theresienstadt and after liberation immigrated to Great Britain in 1945. After liberation, Jacobson published two major works, Die Judenbürgerbücher der Stadt Berlin, 1209-1851 (1962) and Jüdische Trauungen in Berlin, 1759-1813 (1968). Jacobson died in Bad Neuenahr on May 31, 1968.

Extent

16 Linear Feet : oversized materials

Additional Description

Abstract

Records of several Jewish communities assembled by Jacob Jacobson.

Arrangement

Original inventory is arranged by subjects; microfilm inventory is arranged by document numbers.
  1. Series I: Berlin
  2. Subseries 1: Minute Books and Registers
  3. Subseries 2: Government Decrees and Documents
  4. Subseries 3: Various Jewish Communal Documents
  5. Subseries 4: Tax Lists
  6. Subseries 5: Financial Records
  7. Subseries 6: Vital Statistics
  8. A) Births
  9. B) Circumcisions
  10. C) Marriages
  11. D) Deaths
  12. E) Combined Statistics
  13. F) Cemetery Registers and List of Gravestone Inscriptions
  14. Subseries 7: Miscellaneous
  15. Series II: Altona, Hamburg, Wandsbek
  16. Subseries 1: Sephardic Community
  17. Subseries 2: Ashkenazic Communtiy and Societies
  18. A) Record and Minute Books
  19. B) By-Laws and Regulations
  20. C) Finances and Tax Lists
  21. D) Miscellaneous Communal Documents
  22. Subseries 3: Vital Records
  23. A) Birth and Circumcisions
  24. B) Deaths
  25. Subseries 4: General
  26. Series III: Communities (Alphabetical)
  27. Series IV: Prussian Administration of Polish Territories
  28. Series V: Autographs
  29. Series VI: Hirsch and Jacobson Family Papers
  30. Series VII: Family Histories
  31. Series VIII: Papers of Individuals (A-Z)
  32. Series IX: Books and Pamphlets

Microfilm

Collection is available on 37 reels of microfilm (MF 447), listed below. In addition, some material is available on MF 134.
  1. Reel 1: I/5–I/10
  2. Reel 2: I/11-I/21
  3. Reel 3: I/22–I/27
  4. Reel 4: I/28-I/35
  5. Reel 5: I/36-I/44
  6. Reel 6: I/45-I/48
  7. Reel 7: I/49-I/55
  8. Reel 8: I/56-I/66
  9. Reel 9: I/67-I/75
  10. Reel 10: I/76-I/95
  11. Reel 11: I/96-II/19
  12. Reel 12: II/20-II/41
  13. Reel 13: II/42-III/11
  14. Reel 14: III/12-III/25
  15. Reel 15: III/26-III/39
  16. Reel 16: III/40-III/52
  17. Reel 17: III/53-III/70
  18. Reel 18: III/71-III/87
  19. Reel 19: III/88-III/103
  20. Reel 20: III/104-IV/5
  21. Reel 21: IV/6-IV/10
  22. Reel 22: V/1-V/8
  23. Reel 23: VI/1-VI/11
  24. Reel 24: VII/1-VII/11
  25. Reel 25: VII/12-VIII/5
  26. Reel 26: VIII/6-VIII/17
  27. Reel 27: VIII/18-VIII/20c
  28. Reel 28: VIII/20d-VIII/26
  29. Reel 29: VIII/27-VIII/44
  30. Reel 30: VIII/45-VIII/54
  31. Reel 31: VIII/57-IX/3
  32. Reel 32: IX/4-IX/8
  33. Reel 33: IX/9-IX/15
  34. Reel 34: IX/16-IX/20
  35. Reel 35: IX/21-IX/26
  36. Reel 36: VIII/54e-j; VIII/55a-e; VIII/56a; VIII/67a-b
  37. Reel 37: VIII/56c

Microfilm

Collection is available on 16 reels of microfilm (MF 1614), listed below. In addition, some material is available on MF 134.
  1. Reel 1: 6/I91-3/I36
  2. Reel 2: 3/I37-6/I100
  3. Reel 3: 4/I50-1/I2
  4. Reel 4: 1/I3-5/I63
  5. Reel 5: 4/I46-4/I45
  6. Reel 6: 2/I17-5/I70
  7. Reel 7: 5/I71-7/I130
  8. Reel 8: 7/I142-7/I129
  9. Reel 9: 7/I152-8/III19
  10. Reel 10: 11/III12-15/VIII58
  11. Reel 11: 14/VIII44-14/VIII44
  12. Reel 12: 9/III54-10/III68
  13. Reel 13: 10/III69-11/III92
  14. Reel 14: 11/III93-12/IV3
  15. Reel 15: 12/IV4-12/IV7
  16. Reel 16: 12/IV8-12/V7

Related Material

See also:
  1. Jacobson's memoir Terezin, The Daily Life, 1943-1945 call number DM 83
  2. Jacobson's memoir fragments, Bruchstücke call number ME 329

Separated Material

28 wax seals with samples, belonging to Isaac Bernays and probably others, have been removed to the LBI Art and Objects Collection.

Related Names

Subject

Subjects

Genre / Form

Geographic

Topical

Finding Aid & Administrative Information

Title
Guide to the Jacob Jacobson Collection, 1450-1988 AR 7002 / MF 447 / MF 134
Status
Completed
Author
Processed by LBI Staff
Date
© 2009
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
Description is in English.

Revision Statements

  • December 2015:: microfilm inventory replaced by Emily Andresini.
  • January 2018:: digital form for II5 added.

Repository Details

Repository Details

Part of the Leo Baeck Institute Repository

https://www.lbi.org
Contact:
15 West 16th Street
New York NY 10011 United States

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