Communal Records | Family History | Holocaust | Immigration | Jewish Life | Local HistoryPartially online Jewish History Association of Wales / Cymdeithas Hanes Iddewig Cymru A portrait of Rabbi Asher Grunis, born in Poland in 1877 who became the first communal Rav of Cardiff in 1921 until his death in 1937 • Jewish History Association of Wales The Jewish History Association of Wales/Cymdeithas Hanes Iddewig Cymru (previously the Jewish History Association of South Wales/Cymdeithas Hanes Iddewig De Cymru) has created a digital collection, hosted on the People’s Collection Wales platform. Its collection covers a wide range of topics documenting the cultural heritage of Jewish communities in South Wales. As of 2025, the charity has embarked upon collecting and documenting the stories of Jewish communities across the whole of Wales, building up a full picture of those who once made Wales their home. Archive Description The Jewish History Association of Wales/Cymdeithas Hanes Iddewig Cymru collection currently contains images, sound clips from oral histories, and presentations about the rich heritage of historic Jewish communities, majoritively in south Wales, but the collection is ever expanding. We celebrate the large, active Jewish communities found across Wales in the early part of the twentieth century and chart the slow but seemingly inevitable decline to where they find themselves today. The digital content comes from material JHAW/CHIC has discovered (and in some cases rescued from imminent destruction or disposal), material contributed by local synagogues and Jewish organisations, and material from individual members of the community. The scanned documents range from official minute books of congregations, minutes of Jewish social, youth and sports organisations, to newspaper clippings from the local press. They include correspondence about the creation and management of Jewish cemeteries and the lack of provision of kosher food for prisoners during the First World War. Sound clips from some of the 127 interviews with people from the last generation to live and work in these communities, share memories that would otherwise have been lost. Photographs of people and places long gone are now preserved for posterity. So far, JHAW/CHIC has uploaded over 3,973 files, which make up over 1,295 single and multipage items. They intend to continue to add to this collection in the belief that it will help illuminate the major contribution Jews have made to the south Wales area, and in time to the whole of Wales. The majority of original documents have been deposited with local Archives and Record Offices including Glamorgan Archives. Digital Accessibility The collection is available to the public with no access limitations, under a Creative Commons license. Additional information about the project and links to the archive on People’s Collection Wales can be found on the JHAW/CHIC website. https://www.jhasw.com
Commercial | Family History | Historical Documents | Holocaust | ImmigrationPartially online The National Archives The National Archives are the official archive and publisher for the UK Government, located in Kew, South West London. They hold documents covering every aspect of Jewish life in Britain. Archive Description The National Archives looks after and makes available to the public a collection of historical records dating back more than 1,000 years, including records as diverse as the Domesday Book and MI5 files. They are also a cultural, heritage and academic organisation which promotes public accessibility to iconic documents while ensuring preservation for generations to come. Subject guides are available to help users locate the information they are looking for. The two most relevant ones are on Jews and Jewish Communities, and this collection of guides for family history research. The Archives’ historic records also cover the history of Medieval Jewish communities, as well as the return of the Jewish community to England in the mid-1650s. Access Information The National Archives is open to all members of the public. In order to view files at The National Archives, you will need to book your visit and order documents at least a week in advance. You will also need a reader’s ticket, which you can register for when you book online. In order to obtain or renew your reader’s ticket you must bring two forms of identification with you: a proof of name with a valid signature and a separate proof of address. A photograph will be taken for your reader’s ticket. The National Archives are open 9am – 5pm, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday, and until 7pm on Tuesday and Thursday. It is closed on Sundays and Mondays. Currently, visits must be booked at least a week in advance, and slots will be made available two weeks before the date of the visit, on a rolling weekly basis every Monday morning. Additional information can be found here. Online Accessibility The National Archives’ online catalogue, Discovery, lists records held by the Archive as well as more than 2,500 other archives in the UK. Over five percent of the Archives’ records have been digitised and are available online. These can be found by searching on the online catalogue and filtering for ‘available for download only’. Depending on the document these may not be free to view, and require a payment to either the National Archive or one of it’s commercial partners. Street Address Bessant Dr,Kew,RichmondTW9 4DU https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
Family History | Holocaust | ImmigrationPartially online Imperial War Museum The Imperial War Museum (IWM) is a national museum based in London, whose archival records cover Holocaust testimony, military history documentation and accounts. Archive Description Imperial War Museum’s document collection holds over 20,000 individual collections of private papers, comprising unpublished diaries, letters and memoirs written primarily by British and Commonwealth servicemen and women since 1914 and by civilians mainly during the two world wars. It also looks after a large collection of foreign documents, including the official British records of the major war crimes trials conducted at Nuremberg and Tokyo, together with related documents from the Second World War which mainly concern the German and Japanese war efforts. Archival material in the collection with particular reference to Jewish history includes oral history interviews and written testimony from Holocaust survivors and those involved with the Kindertransport scheme, as well as much important supporting documentation on these subjects. Access Information The archives are open to members of the general public by appointment. Access requires the museum to be notified at least five full working days in advance. Access times are 10am to 5pm, Monday to Thursday (closed Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and Bank Holidays). More information about access to the archives is available on the Museum’s website, as well as contact information. Online Accessibility The Museum’s catalogue is available online, and includes substantial digital collections, including its digitised sound archive – available online. Street Address Imperial War MuseumLambeth RoadLondonSE1 6HZ https://www.iwm.org.uk
Family History | Holocaust | ImmigrationOnly online AJR Refugee Voices AJR Refugee Voices is a digital archive created by the Association of Jewish Refugees (AJR) and holds Holocaust survivor and refugee testimony. Archive Description AJR Refugee Voices is the Association of Jewish Refugees (AJR)’s groundbreaking Holocaust testimony collection of 250 filmed interviews with Jewish survivors & refugees from Nazi Europe who rebuilt their lives in Great Britain. The archive contains video interviews, written transcripts and summaries, historical photos, documents and other artefacts. You can see photos, documents and videos from the archive via their Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts. Access Information The archive is available to the public and can be accessed in full at the following partner institutions: The Wiener Holocaust Library The Brotherton Library Special Collections, University of Leeds German Historical Institute London The Stanley Burton Centre for Holocaust Studies, University of Leicester The Albert Sloman Library, University of Essex Hartley Library Special Collections, The University of Southampton Interview summaries, photos and documents are also available on the AJR Refugee Voices website. For more information about accessing the collection you can contact the archive on their website. Online Accessibility A searchable catalogue of the interviews can be found on the AJR Refugee Voices Website. The website also holds information about the history of the archive, background information about the interviews, and teaching resources. https://www.ajrrefugeevoices.org.uk
Holocaust | Immigration | Local HistoryPartially online Scottish Jewish Archives Centre The Scottish Jewish Archive Centre (SJAC) is a community archive with collections covering all aspects of Scottish Jewish life. SJAC is housed at Garnethill Synagogue in Glasgow, Scotland’s oldest synagogue which opened in 1879. The SJAC partnered with the Garnethill Synagogue Preservation Trust to create the Scottish Jewish Heritage Centre, incorporating the Scottish Holocaust-era Study Centre, which opened in 2021. Archive Description The Scottish Jewish Archives Centre opened in 1987 as a national heritage, information and research centre, dedicated to preserving Scotland’s Jewish heritage. It collects historic material relating to the experiences of Jewish people in Scotland over the past 200 years. SJAC aims to document, preserve, exhibit and publish aspects of the collections and make them available to the public. Access Information The archive is open to members of the public, but access must be arranged by appointment by email: info@sjac.org.uk or by visiting the SJAC contact page. Visitors from outside the United Kingdom are required to bring photographic identification to access the archive. If you are unable to visit the archive personally, enquiries can be made via email to info@sjac.org.uk. Digital Content The SJAC has a growing collection of digitised material which can be viewed on the website. Street Address Scottish Jewish Archives CentreGarnethill Synagogue129 Hill StreetGlasgowG3 6UB Home
Immigration | Local History | Religion | SocialPartially online The London Archives The London Archives (formerly London Metropolitan Archives) is a public archive, housing a broad collection of social, religious, and local history records. Archive Description The London Archives holds one of the most important collections of Jewish archives in the UK. Its collections include archives of major national Jewish organisations as well as many schools, synagogues and charities working in London for the local Jewish population. Large institutions with a national remit such as the Office of the Chief Rabbi, the Board of Deputies of British Jews and the London Beth Din are included among the collections, as are national and international welfare organisations including World Jewish Relief. The archive of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews Congregation are held at The London Archives and includes records created by the congregation in its original home of Bevis Marks in the City of London as well as its current base in Maida Vale, and Ashkenazi religious communities, including the orthodox United Synagogue and Federation of Synagogues, the Liberal Jewish Synagogue and several individual Reform and Independent congregations have their records here. Many documents from the Bevis Marks archives have been digitised by the The London Archives and placed online by the National Library of Israel. A Nação Hebraica is a project that, with the help of machine learning, aims to transcribe these documents and make them available online. The archive of the Jews Free School (now JFS) are also held at The London Archives, as are the Association of Jewish Teachers and the London School of Jewish Studies. Local charitable organisations range from the Jewish Memorial Council, the Jews Temporary Shelter and Nightingale (formerly the Home for Aged Jews) to the tiny Soup Kitchen for the Jewish Poor in Stepney, among many others. Access Information The London Archives is open to the public, Monday – Thursday, 10am to 4.30pm, with late opening on Wednesday until 7pm. You will need a History Card to access original archive documents. Registration requires photographic identification (i.e driver’s license, passport etc.) and you can register for a History Card online. Further information and contact details can be found on The London Archives website. Online Accessibility The London Archives catalogue is available online, along with digital collections including digitised documents, images, and exhibitions. Street Address The London Archives40 Northampton RoadClerkenwell EC1R 0HB https://www.thelondonarchives.org 29 Nov 2024 Collection Encounter: The London Archives Collection Encounter: The London Archives