Zweite Registratur
Item
Country
DE
Name of institution (English)
Emden Municipal Archive
Name of institution (official language of the state)
Language of name of institution
deu
Contact information: postal address
Kirchstrasse 18, 26721 Emden
Contact information: phone number
0049 492187 - 1401
Contact information: web address
Contact information: email
rolf.uphoff@emden.de (Dr. Uphoff - Director, Archivist)
mschneider@emden.de (Mr. Schneider - User support, genealogist, photo archive)
bubacz@emden.de (Mr, Bubacz - Press and Newspapers, filing and repositioning)
mschneider@emden.de (Mr. Schneider - User support, genealogist, photo archive)
bubacz@emden.de (Mr, Bubacz - Press and Newspapers, filing and repositioning)
Reference number
II
Type of reference number
Archival reference number
Title (English)
Second Registry
Title (official language of the state)
Zweite Registratur
Language of title
deu
Creator / accumulator
Emden City Council
Date(s)
1744/1806
Language(s)
deu
fra
heb
Type of material
Textual Material
Physical condition
Good
Scope and content
The Second Registry includes the files of the Prussian administration, i.e. the period from 1744 to 1806, consisting of 1500 files. Some of them include original Hebrew wax seals. The collection includes several items of interest to Jewish history, including some with particular interest to the Western Sephardic Diaspora. Some examples are the following: orders of the War and Domain Chamber on regulation of trade in raw hides, therein:
prohibition of trade for Jews, sale of raw hides in the cities, prohibition of buying raw hides, 1749, 1751, 1760, transit of raw hides by Schutzjuden from Jever, 1807, and illegal export of calfskins by Jacob de Beer, 1825 (no. 72);
permission for the Jews to slaughter on Sunday evening in the summer months, October 1798, and rejected plea by Abraham and Nathan Salomon for the release of their oxen (Schlachtochsen) from customs to be transported to the Netherlands, February 1800 (no. 75); pogrom against Jews in Emden 1761 (no. 102);
collection of the stake (Pfahlgeld) of Jewish butchers, December 1755, November 1774, October 1775, October 1797-October 1799 (no. 121);
various Jewish matters, 1748-1806, for example, the ordinance of the government of Aurich on the obligation of Jews to have a beard (Tragung eines Bartes), August 1748, ordinance of the government of Aurich prohibiting a third marriage of a Jew without special permission, November 1750, tax for Jews (Judengeleit/Leibzoll), 1752-1803 (no. 179);
election of the representatives, treasurers and assessors of the synagogue association Emden, 1750-1821, 125 pages (no. 180);
lawsuits against the election of the representatives of the Jewish congregation Emden, 1750-54, 38 pages (no. 181);
legal action against the distribution of congregational tax for the Jewish congregation, 1758 (no. 183-184);
determining the interest rate on loans and mortgages of Jewish lenders, 1755-1801 (no. 185);
Jews without a royal letter in the Emden area, 1751-1798 (no. 186);
request by the Portuguese Jew Abraham German, who had arrived from Amsterdam, for a settlement permit as a doctor in Emden, May 1752 (no. 188);
protection letter for the Dutch Jew Alexander, 1751-1752 (no. 189);
request for royal protection by foreign Jews, 1753-1754 (no. 193);
tax for Jews (Judengeleit/Leibzoll), 1752-1761 (no. 194-199, 201-202);
statistics regarding Jews, 1752-1806 (no. 203a-203d [203b missing]; 469a-469b);
property ownership of Jews, 1758 -1796, 1797-1806 (no. 204a-204b);
inclusion of the Jewish inhabitants of Emden to bear the cost of the French occupation, 1757 (no. 239);
prohibition of attacks against Jews (“Joodsche Natie“), 1781 (no. 302);
controversy over the activity and admission of the Jewish doctor (Portuguese Jew) Abraham German in Emden until his departure for Groningen, May-September 1752 (no. 309);
controversy over the contribution register within the Jewish congregation, 1764, 7 pages (no. 463);
controversy over the butcher of the Jewish congregation, 1764-1766, 10 pages (no. 464);
the attraction (recruitment) of wealthy Portuguese Jews, 1765-1783, 40 pages (no. 466);
forbidden trade of the Jews, 1766-1774 (no. 505);
requests for protection letters (Geleitbriefe) and marriage certificates for Jews in Emden, 3 volumes, 1765-1774, 1774-1780, 1780-1789 (no. 887-889);
marriage certificates for Jews in Emden, 2 volumes, 1790-1803, 1796-1805 (no. 911, 913);
shoemaker guild complaints against purchases of raw sheepskins and other rawhides by Jewish and other traders, 1774-1806 (no. 916);
Jewish families in Emden, 1765-1783 (no. 922).
prohibition of trade for Jews, sale of raw hides in the cities, prohibition of buying raw hides, 1749, 1751, 1760, transit of raw hides by Schutzjuden from Jever, 1807, and illegal export of calfskins by Jacob de Beer, 1825 (no. 72);
permission for the Jews to slaughter on Sunday evening in the summer months, October 1798, and rejected plea by Abraham and Nathan Salomon for the release of their oxen (Schlachtochsen) from customs to be transported to the Netherlands, February 1800 (no. 75); pogrom against Jews in Emden 1761 (no. 102);
collection of the stake (Pfahlgeld) of Jewish butchers, December 1755, November 1774, October 1775, October 1797-October 1799 (no. 121);
various Jewish matters, 1748-1806, for example, the ordinance of the government of Aurich on the obligation of Jews to have a beard (Tragung eines Bartes), August 1748, ordinance of the government of Aurich prohibiting a third marriage of a Jew without special permission, November 1750, tax for Jews (Judengeleit/Leibzoll), 1752-1803 (no. 179);
election of the representatives, treasurers and assessors of the synagogue association Emden, 1750-1821, 125 pages (no. 180);
lawsuits against the election of the representatives of the Jewish congregation Emden, 1750-54, 38 pages (no. 181);
legal action against the distribution of congregational tax for the Jewish congregation, 1758 (no. 183-184);
determining the interest rate on loans and mortgages of Jewish lenders, 1755-1801 (no. 185);
Jews without a royal letter in the Emden area, 1751-1798 (no. 186);
request by the Portuguese Jew Abraham German, who had arrived from Amsterdam, for a settlement permit as a doctor in Emden, May 1752 (no. 188);
protection letter for the Dutch Jew Alexander, 1751-1752 (no. 189);
request for royal protection by foreign Jews, 1753-1754 (no. 193);
tax for Jews (Judengeleit/Leibzoll), 1752-1761 (no. 194-199, 201-202);
statistics regarding Jews, 1752-1806 (no. 203a-203d [203b missing]; 469a-469b);
property ownership of Jews, 1758 -1796, 1797-1806 (no. 204a-204b);
inclusion of the Jewish inhabitants of Emden to bear the cost of the French occupation, 1757 (no. 239);
prohibition of attacks against Jews (“Joodsche Natie“), 1781 (no. 302);
controversy over the activity and admission of the Jewish doctor (Portuguese Jew) Abraham German in Emden until his departure for Groningen, May-September 1752 (no. 309);
controversy over the contribution register within the Jewish congregation, 1764, 7 pages (no. 463);
controversy over the butcher of the Jewish congregation, 1764-1766, 10 pages (no. 464);
the attraction (recruitment) of wealthy Portuguese Jews, 1765-1783, 40 pages (no. 466);
forbidden trade of the Jews, 1766-1774 (no. 505);
requests for protection letters (Geleitbriefe) and marriage certificates for Jews in Emden, 3 volumes, 1765-1774, 1774-1780, 1780-1789 (no. 887-889);
marriage certificates for Jews in Emden, 2 volumes, 1790-1803, 1796-1805 (no. 911, 913);
shoemaker guild complaints against purchases of raw sheepskins and other rawhides by Jewish and other traders, 1774-1806 (no. 916);
Jewish families in Emden, 1765-1783 (no. 922).
Archival history
The collection was essentially determined and maintained according to the “numerus-currens” principle of the individual departments of the Prussian era municipal files of the secretariats of the Renaissance town hall at Delft. The shortened file titles, which were presumably created by Dr L Hahn, were established in the 1930s.
The Municipal Archive Emden dates back to the collection of municipal documents and privileges which were kept in the secretary chamber of the old town hall in the 16th century. During the tenure of city alderman Johannes Althusius in the 17th century the archive was of particular importance, as it was the source of his arguments in his fight for the political independence of Emden. In this context, the first file directory of the Municipal Archive was created in 1618. From 1576 to 1942, the archive was located at the town hall on the Delft. After the transition of Emden to Prussia in 1744 and the abolition of some of the existing city rights, Emden's archive lost its previous importance as an "arsenal" in the struggle for the independence of the city and was redesigned after the Prussian model. From 1763 to 1794, the archive was managed by the registrar Scipio Nellner, who created further extensive file directories. The files of the Dutch-French reign were arranged and listed by his successor in the system of the French decimal classification. In the years of Hanoverian rule, the Municipal Archive fell into disarray, so that in 1859 the archive provided "the picture of a complete confusion for which the memory of two persons provided the only key.” In 1861, therefore, at the instigation of the Hannover district administration (Landdrostei) in Aurich, the registrar Ernst August Gebest took over the management of the archive. This brought the extensive files back in order. Gebest remained in post until 1914. In the years 1934-1945, under National Socialist rule, Dr Louis Hahn became the head of the archive after it had been neglected for 20 years. He brought the archive into a new order. In the years 1939-45 the archive was moved several times to different places, which caused the largest part of the file directories as well as a number of files to be lost. The municipal archive's location in the old town hall on the Delft was destroyed in the bombing of 6 September 1944, when 90% of Emden’s city centre was lost to fire. In 1952, the director of the Museum of the East Frisian Region (“Ostfriesisches Landesmuseum“) Wolfgang Schöningh was entrusted with the reorganisation of the archive and created several directories. From 1962, the archive was stored in two storage rooms of the museum. Between 1967 and 1997, Dr Helmut Eichhorn was in charge of the Municipal Archive. In 1995-96 the archive moved from the town hall at the Delft to new, larger premises in Kirchstrasse. Since then, the archive has been stored in a former World War bunker, which was prepared as a storage unit. Documents are housed on shelves that meet modern storage requirements, the rooms are air-conditioned and there is room for growth. The files were packaged in archive boxes and rearranged. Since 2001, Dr Rolf Uphoff is the head of the Emden Municipal Archive. Since then, an inventory of all files has taken place. All archival materials are re-recorded with the help of EDP. Today the archive contains about 500 documents, 150 manuscripts, 8,000 printed publications, 10,000 books and 70,000 files.
The Municipal Archive Emden dates back to the collection of municipal documents and privileges which were kept in the secretary chamber of the old town hall in the 16th century. During the tenure of city alderman Johannes Althusius in the 17th century the archive was of particular importance, as it was the source of his arguments in his fight for the political independence of Emden. In this context, the first file directory of the Municipal Archive was created in 1618. From 1576 to 1942, the archive was located at the town hall on the Delft. After the transition of Emden to Prussia in 1744 and the abolition of some of the existing city rights, Emden's archive lost its previous importance as an "arsenal" in the struggle for the independence of the city and was redesigned after the Prussian model. From 1763 to 1794, the archive was managed by the registrar Scipio Nellner, who created further extensive file directories. The files of the Dutch-French reign were arranged and listed by his successor in the system of the French decimal classification. In the years of Hanoverian rule, the Municipal Archive fell into disarray, so that in 1859 the archive provided "the picture of a complete confusion for which the memory of two persons provided the only key.” In 1861, therefore, at the instigation of the Hannover district administration (Landdrostei) in Aurich, the registrar Ernst August Gebest took over the management of the archive. This brought the extensive files back in order. Gebest remained in post until 1914. In the years 1934-1945, under National Socialist rule, Dr Louis Hahn became the head of the archive after it had been neglected for 20 years. He brought the archive into a new order. In the years 1939-45 the archive was moved several times to different places, which caused the largest part of the file directories as well as a number of files to be lost. The municipal archive's location in the old town hall on the Delft was destroyed in the bombing of 6 September 1944, when 90% of Emden’s city centre was lost to fire. In 1952, the director of the Museum of the East Frisian Region (“Ostfriesisches Landesmuseum“) Wolfgang Schöningh was entrusted with the reorganisation of the archive and created several directories. From 1962, the archive was stored in two storage rooms of the museum. Between 1967 and 1997, Dr Helmut Eichhorn was in charge of the Municipal Archive. In 1995-96 the archive moved from the town hall at the Delft to new, larger premises in Kirchstrasse. Since then, the archive has been stored in a former World War bunker, which was prepared as a storage unit. Documents are housed on shelves that meet modern storage requirements, the rooms are air-conditioned and there is room for growth. The files were packaged in archive boxes and rearranged. Since 2001, Dr Rolf Uphoff is the head of the Emden Municipal Archive. Since then, an inventory of all files has taken place. All archival materials are re-recorded with the help of EDP. Today the archive contains about 500 documents, 150 manuscripts, 8,000 printed publications, 10,000 books and 70,000 files.
Administrative / Biographical history
From 1464 to 1806, the region East Frisia (Ostfriesland) formed the county of East Frisia, becoming the Principality of East Frisia in 1667. During this time, it was a part of the Holy Roman Empire. In 1744, the area fell to Prussia; from 1806 to 1810, it was a part of the Napoleonic satellite state "Kingdom of Holland"; from 1810 to 1813, a part of Napoleonic France, until finally from 1815 to 1866, Prussia again became a part of the kingdom of Hannover. With the annexation of Hannover by Prussia, the area was again administered by Prussia and in 1871 also became part of the Prussian-dominated German Empire. This remained the case beyond the time of the Weimar Republic. During National Socialism from 1939 to 1945, it formed part of the so-called “Gau Weser-Ems“. After the Second World War, it became in 1946 a part of the newly formed federal state of Lower Saxony in the administrative district Aurich. Since then it has been a part of the Federal Republic of Germany.
The city of Emden already existed as a harbour settlement in the early Middle Ages. Trade was the main factor in the growth and prosperity of the city, making the settlement the largest city in East Frisia. Since 1885, it is district-free. According to a legend, Jews are said to have settled in East Frisia as early as the 14th century, but evidence exists only from the middle of the 16th century for the port cities of the region. In Emden, it is attested for the year 1530. From 1842, Emden was the seat of a district rabbinate (“Landrabbinat“). From 1933, on a large part of the East Frisian Jews emigrated, those who remained were persecuted and murdered in the Holocaust. After the Second World War, only 13 Jews returned. They founded a new synagogue association in 1949, which lasted until 1984. Today, only a few Jews live in East Frisia; they are part of the Jewish congregation of Oldenburg.
The city of Emden already existed as a harbour settlement in the early Middle Ages. Trade was the main factor in the growth and prosperity of the city, making the settlement the largest city in East Frisia. Since 1885, it is district-free. According to a legend, Jews are said to have settled in East Frisia as early as the 14th century, but evidence exists only from the middle of the 16th century for the port cities of the region. In Emden, it is attested for the year 1530. From 1842, Emden was the seat of a district rabbinate (“Landrabbinat“). From 1933, on a large part of the East Frisian Jews emigrated, those who remained were persecuted and murdered in the Holocaust. After the Second World War, only 13 Jews returned. They founded a new synagogue association in 1949, which lasted until 1984. Today, only a few Jews live in East Frisia; they are part of the Jewish congregation of Oldenburg.
Access points: locations
Access points: subject terms
Access points: document types
System of arrangement
The material is arranged in thematic order.
Finding aids
An online database (Arcinsys) is available.
Eichhorn, Helmut. 1997. “II. Registratur“ (printed finding aid)