Union of Austrian Jews, Vienna Union österreichischer Juden, Wien (Fond 714)

Union Ősterreichicher Juden (Wien)-The Union of Austrian Jews was formed in 1886 and, until 1919 was called the Austrian Israelite Union. It was renamed to the Union of German Austrian Jews and, in 1931 to the Union of Austrian Jews. The union was a first Jewish organization in Central Europe to defend the interests of Jews. The union was well prepared for the anti-Semitic riots of 1896, which escalated, especially in Bohemia. They informed the press and government regularly about the state of the riots and asked for support. A legal protection bureau was founded to provide free assistance to Jews whose rights had been violated. After the serious riots of 1898 in Galicia, they initiated a thorough investigation into the circumstances of their fellow-believers. This resulted in the founding of the Galician Hilfsverein . From 1888, the union published a monthly magazine called "Mittheilungen der Oesterreichisch-Israelitischen Union," which was to spread its ideas and views. From 1892, the calendar for Israelites, which is one of the best yearbooks of Jewish life, was also published. Later, the weekly "The Truth" became the organ of the Union. In the interwar Austria, the union operated as multipurpose organization: selected candidates for election to the council of the Jewish religious community of Vienna, published the weekly liberal newspaper "Die Wahreit,” financed the women's club, and sections for students and youth, and later organized various lectures, courses, and social events. In the 1930', the union opened a credit bureau to support Jewish small business. In the late 1930's, the union's popularity declined markedly, in election to the Jewish religious community council in 1932, the union lost its previous majority to the Zionists. By 1938, its membership fell to 3,000.

Rossiĭskiĭ gosudarstvennyĭ voennyĭ arkhiv

Forms part of the Claims Conference International Holocaust Documentation Archive at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. This archive consists of documentation whose reproduction and/or acquisition was made possible with funding from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.

Source of acquisition is the Russian State Military Archive (Rossiĭskiĭ gosudarstvennyĭ voennyĭ arkhiv), Osobyi Archive, Fond 714. The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Archives received the filmed collection via the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum International Archival Programs Division in 1993.