Skip to main content

Papers of Abraham Charasch

 Collection
Identifier: RG 86

Scope and Content Note

Abraham Charasch Collections documents Abraham Charasch’s involvement with Jewish political parties and Jewish student organizations in the Russian Empire and abroad, but mostly in Switzerland. Most materials collected here deal with the Union of Eastern Jewish Student Organizations in Western Europe (Souz Vostochno-Evropeiskikh Studencheskikh Evreiskikh Organizacii v Zapadnoi Evrope, Rus: Союз Восточно-Европейских Студенческих Еврейских Организаций в Западной Европе) and Zionist Socialist Worker’s Party (Sionistko-Sozialisticheskaya Rabochaya Partiya, Rus: Сионистско-социалистическая рабочая партия). Included here is correspondence, by-laws, reports, resolutions, minutes of meetings, declarations, circular letters, lists of delegates to student conferences, memoranda, manuscripts, bibliographies, and applications sent to the Swiss Central Committee for the Return of Political Immigrants.

Bulk of material consists of correspondence pertaining to Russian-Jewish students abroad, publications and publication efforts, Jewish immigration, and Jewish political parties in the Russian Empire and abroad.

Materials dealing with student publications include correspondence, announcements, and circulars pertaining to the following publications: Academic Directory, Studencheskaya Mysl (Student Thought, Rus: Студенческая Мысль), and Jewish Student Body (Ger: Die jüdische Studentenschaft).

Materials dealing with Russian-Jewish students abroad include correspondence of the Union of Eastern Jewish Student Organization in Western Union (Souz Vostochno-Evropeiskikh Studencheskikh Evreiskikh Organizacii v Zapadnoi Evrope, Rus: Союз Восточно-Европейских Студенческих Еврейских Организаций в Западной Европе) with individuals and other student organizations, correspondence regarding political parties in Russian Empire and abroad, and correspondence between Union’s Executive Committee (Pinchas Dubinsky) and Central Bureau (Abraham Charasch).

Other materials include documents dealing with Abraham Charasch, such as typed and handwritten manuscripts, bibliographies, and notes for manuscripts.

Dates

  • 1910-1920

Language of Materials

The collection is in Russian and Yiddish with some German and French.

Conditions Governing Access

The collection has been digitized and is available online without restrictions. The physical collection is closed.

Use Restrictions

The images, documents, film footage, audio materials, and texts displayed in any portion of this web site may be copyrighted. Permission to use this web site is given on condition that the user agrees to follow U.S. copyright laws. The user agrees that she or he assumes liability for any copyright violations resulting from unauthorized use of items appearing on this web site and to hold YIVO harmless from any action involving copyright infringement. It is the responsibility of the user to carry out a due diligence search under U.S. copyright laws to determine the copyright status of items displayed on this web site.

Biographical Note

Abraham Charasch, sociologist, scholar, and political activist was born in 1889 in Rovno, Russian Empire (now Rivne, Ukraine). He was a prominent member of the Zionist-Socialist Workers Party (Sionistko-Sozialisticheskaya Rabochaya Partiya, Rus: Сионистско-социалистическая рабочая партия). Charasch was an active member of its many committees in Switzerland, including Zürich Immigrant Aid Committee. While in Switzerland, Abraham Charasch was also an active member of the Russian-Jewish student organizations including the Union of Eastern Jewish Student Organizations in Western Europe (Souz Vostochno-Evropeiskikh Studencheskikh Evreiskikh Organizacii v Zapadnoi Evrope, Rus: Союз Восточно-Европейских Студенческих Еврейских Организаций в Западной Европе).

While residing in Switzerland, Charasch was a member of editorial boards of the Jewish Student Body, (Ger:Die jüdische Studentenschaft) and Student Thought (Studencheskaya Mysl, Rus: Студенческая Мысль), a weekly magazine published in Kiev (Kyiv).

He is also the author of a book entitled Lenin, which was published in Zürich in 1920.

During World War II, Abraham Charasch was deported from France and perished in Majdanek concentration camp in 1943.

Extent

1.25 Linear Feet

Abstract

Abraham Charasch Collection documents Abraham Charasch’s involvement with various Jewish political parties and Jewish student organizations in the Russian Empire and abroad prior to the October Revolution of 1917. Most materials collected here deal with the Union of Eastern Jewish Student Organizations in Western Europe and Zionist Socialist Worker’s Party. Included here is correspondence, by-laws, reports, resolutions, minutes of meetings, declarations, circular letters, lists of delegates to student conferences, memoranda, manuscripts, bibliographies, and applications sent to the Swiss Central Committee for the Return of Political Immigrants.

Arrangement

The collection consists of three series:

  1. Series I: General, 1911-1920
  2. Series II: Zionist Socialist Workers’ Party, 1916-1918
  3. Series III: Union of Eastern Jewish Student Organizations in Western Europe, 1910-1919

Custodial History

The Collection was received by Elias Tcherikower who was the head of the Historical Section of YIVO.

Related Materials

Papers of Abraham Charasch are part of the Tcherikower Archive, which includes RG 80 through RG 89.

Title
Guide to the Papers of Abraham Charasch 1910-1920 RG 86
Author
The collection was processed in the 1960s and 70s by YIVO Archives staff and by Marek Web. Additional processing, Finding Aid encoding and preparation for digitization by Yakov Il'ich Sklar
Date
© 2018
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
Description is in English.
Sponsor
Processing, conservation, preparation for digitization and digitization of this collection was done as part of the Edward Blank YIVO Vilna Collections Project, with the assistance of grants from the Edward Blank Family Foundation, The National Endowment for the Humanities, the Righteous Persons Foundation, the Conference for Jewish Material Claims against Germany, the Kronhill Pletka Foundation and the Ruth and David Levine Charitable Fund, and anonymous supporters

Repository Details

Part of the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research Repository

Contact:
15 West 16th Street
New York NY 10011 United States