Jewish Youth Group, "Berith Trumpeldor," Vienna Jüdischer Jugendverein "Berith Trumpeldor", Wien (Fond 715)
Extent and Medium
2 microfilm reels (partial), 16 mm
410 digital images, JPEG
Creator(s)
- Betar
Biographical History
The Austrian section of the Brit Joseph Trumpeldor (Betar) was funded in December 1926 as a branch of Betar, the international youth organization of revisionist Zionists, headed from its inception by Vladimir Jabotinsky. Betar’s ideology stressed that the only solution to the Jewish question was the creation of the Jewish state in Palestine on both banks of the Jordan River. Toward this end, they prepared for settlement activity and trained in the use of weapons to defend Jewish settlements in Palestine. The Austrian “ken” (nest) was headed by E. Wolf and Otto Seidman. The Betar section in Gratz, which is often mentioned in the collection’s files, was led by B. Fleising. The organization was of paramilitary nature, structured on the principle of strict hierarchical subordination. An important aspect of Betar’s activity in Austria was creation of Youth Camps where organization members engaged in agricultural work and military training.
Archival History
Rossiĭskiĭ gosudarstvennyĭ voennyĭ arkhiv
Acquisition
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 715. The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Archives received the filmed collection via the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum International Archival Programs Division in 1993.
Scope and Content
The entire Fond 715, 1929-1938 (45 Dela) contains organization’s charts, correspondence with local leadership, circulars, orders and reports. Includes lists of members and their military trainings. Majority of collection comprises of correspondence with Betar divisions in Germany and with Zionist organizations: Jewish Youth Front of Austria, Jewish State Party, Keren Tel Chai, Brit Hakana’im, Mizrachi of Austria; the Jewish academic organization Bar-Giora and Caritas, the Revisionist Zionist Party, Betar Hatzair, Maccabee, Betar of Yugoslavia, Betar of Czechoslovakia, The Union of Jewish War veterans, the Jewish National Youth Organization, the Revisionist Zionist Land Union, Hechalutz, HaLeumi, Hechalutz, hatzioni Hakalali, Chalutz Mizrachi, Brit Hahayal, Hakhsharra Kibbutzit, the Jewish State Party of Brazil, the youth section of Otzar Hanoar, the Zionist Organization, and Haganah. Selected records consists of organizational bylaws; meeting minutes; financial reports; Trumpeldor monthly reports; name lists of members; correspondence with organizations including the Graz police, B'nai B'rith in Graz and Vienna, Austrian Jewish Boy Scouts, and World Zionist Revisionists; and basic Hebrew vocabulary used by Trumpeldor. Note: USHMM Archives holds only selected records.
System of Arrangement
Fond 715 (1929-1938). Opis 1; Delo 1-45. Selected records of Fond 715 arranged in three series: 1. Correspondence with Austrian Jewish Youth organizations, 1937; 2. Lists of members, 1932-1938; 3. Circulars and correspondence, 1933-1937; 3. Minutes, reports, name lists, and Hebrew terms used by the organization, 1934-1937. Note: Location of digital images; Partial microfilm reels #103, 189; Reel 103: Image #781-Reel-end; Reel 189: Image #1622-1957.
Conditions Governing Reproduction
Copyright Holder: Rossiĭskiĭ gosudarstvennyĭ voennyĭ arkhiv
People
- Betar
Corporate Bodies
- Central Union of German Citizens of Jewish Faith
- World Zionist Organization
- Betar
Subjects
- Jews--Europe--History--20th century.
- Jews--Austria--Vienna--History--20th century.
- Jews--Austria--Politics and government--20th century.
- Jewish organizations--Europe--History--20th century.
- Antisemitism--History--20th century.
- Zionism and communism--Europe--20th century.
- Jews--Persecution--Europe--History--20th century.
- Germany--Politics and government--1933-1945.
- Europe--Politics and government--20th century.
- Austria--Ethnic relations.
- Austria--Emigration and immigration--History--20th century.
Genre
- Reports.
- Registers.
- Minutes.
- Correspondence.
- Document
- Circulars.