Memel Archives

[Martha Lev-Zion]

My apologies for taking so long to get this letter scanned and out
to the list. I am hoping it will be helpful for all those of
MEMELian descent!

Vakaru Lietuvos is Prusijos Istorijos Centras
Klaipedos Universitetas
Tel.: (3706) 25 13 84
Fax: (3706) 25 48 86

Tilzes 13,
LT 5800 Klaipeda
Lietuva

Mrs M. Levinson - Lev-Zion
ISRAEL

Dear Madam,

January 21 1997

Thank you very much for your letter which was passed on to me
recently. I am sorry to have to tell you that I cannot provide
you with any useful information concerning your family. At the
end of World War Two the Germans attempted to take the Klaipeda
(Memel) archive with them as they retreated westwards, some parts
were left behind. The documents disappeared somewhere in East
Prussia. However, Polish scholars have recently confessed that
part of the Klaipeda archive is stored, uncatalogued in the
vicinity of Olsztyn. We are trying to find the means to copy this
resource and house it in Klaipeda. Another part of the evacuated
archive disappeared near Pillau (now under Russian control). A third
section is preserved in the Lithuanian Central State Archives
(Lietuvos centrinis valstybinis archyvas - Oskaro Milasiaus g. 21,
LT 2051 Vilnius), but Lithuanian scholars have neglected this
(largely from ignorance of German) and it too is very poorly
catalogued. We travel to Vilnius (300 km away) only occasionally.
I enclose a list of relevant fonds, which may help you track down
information there. If we come across information during expeditions
to Vilnius, I shall certainly contact you.

In effect your letter is much more useful to us than we can be to
you at present. We are working on the Jewish community of western
Lithuania (Zemaitija, across the border from East Prussia) as a
separate research project, but this is in its infancy. The Centre
for West Lithuanian and Prussian History was established three
years ago to carry out research into Lithuania's relations with
her Baltic, German and Slavonic neighbours. We also specialize in
the history of western Lithuania and are just beginning to build up
a strong local archive (mainly of copies) with the cooperation of
various national and foreign archives. Unfortunately, <snip> severely
overestimated the capacity of our archival base, which is not such
as would throw much light on individual family history now, although
we do hope to remedy this eventually.

With my best wishes for your own etforts to track down your family
and my apologies for being unable to be of any practical use, I am,
Madam

Yours sincerely,
(dr) Vacys Vaivada (archivist)

LCVA, Oskaro Milasiaus 21, LT 2051 Vilnius reserves concerning Klaipeda

Fondas Name Timespan No. of doc.

F 645 Klaipedos miesto magistratas 1882-1941 2878
[City Magistrate]

F 1217 Lietuvos Respublikos VRM 1927-39 9
Klaipedos krasto
pasienio policija [LR Interior Ministry,
Klaipeda Region border police]

F 1256 Karaliauciaus generaline komisija 1820-1921 2928
[Konigsberg General Commission]

F 1452 German political organisations 1923-40 129
in Kl. Region

F 1493 Lith. Rep. Governor in the Kl. Region 1924-39 81

F 1605 Klaipeda High Insurance Institution 1906-24 226

F 1606 Klaipeda central customs office 1880-1923 17

F 1611 Klaipeda Region population office 1865- 1944 2

F 1614 Royal Administration, Konigsberg 1809-1915 57

F 1615 Klaipeda Region police 1877-1944 5837

F 1633 r.p Klaipeda city police 1938-44 4749

F 1634 Kl regional criminal police 1919-39 71

F 1635 Klaipeda Regional Court 1796-1943 1522

F 1636 Kliapeda Region Directorate 1890-1940 584

---------------------------end of copy of letter-------------------------

If this comes out garbled in the ether, please feel free to email
me and I will send it to you as an attachment.

Martha

--
Martha Lev-Zion from Israel
<mar...@bgumail.bgu.ac.il>

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Email address: mar...@bgumail.bgu.ac.il
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