Research Forum Presentation: Archival History: A Case in Point

Author
Susanne Belovari, PhD, MA, MS, is the Archivist for Reference and Collections, Digital Collections and Archives, Tufts University. Before that she worked as a Holocaust restitution historian and archivist for the Jewish Community of Vienna. One of her tasks was to reconstruct a framework for the IKG archives closed down by National Socialists in 1938 and to process over 95% of records recently found in Vienna.

Abstract
1816 - 1938 - 2008 - The History of The Vienna Jewish Community Archives

The presentation summarizes six years of work and research in preparation for an article for Libraries and the Cultural Record which will trace the history of the Archives of the Jewish Community of Vienna, Austria (IKG), 1816-1938. Founded in 1816, the archives 'of sorts' functioned akin to a central archives of Austrian Jews between 1918 and 1938 when it was closed down by National Socialists.

I will very briefly review the history of the Jewish community of Vienna and its community archives, describe the types of 'archivists' who worked at the archives as well as the supervision and control of things archival by the Historical Commission of the Jewish community of Vienna. Based on historical material, I will raise two issues that are still relevant for our work today: (1) the lack of keeping adequate records of one’s archival work and (2) the lack of actions by other archivists to save or preserve Jewish community records and artifacts during and after the National Socialist regime.