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ArcheoBiblioBase: Archives in Russia: B-8

Last update of repository: 2 December 2020

Rossiiskii gosudarstvennyi voennyi arkhiv (RGVA)


Go to:    Finding Aids — Specialized

Finding Aids —  Published — General:

Archives of Russia (2000), pp. 220-30; Arkhivy Rossii (1997), pp. 176-79, 212-16; Fed. arkhivy NSA (1994), pp. 70-72, 101-107; GA Spravochnik (1989), pp. 28-32; G&K Spravochnik (1983), pp. 30-32 and 356-60; PKG M&L (1972), pp. 135-37; Sup. 1 (1976), p. 34.


Categories:
Fonds of the Pre-March 1999 RGVA (former TsGASA)
      • Guides and Lists of Fonds
      • History and Surveys
Fonds of the former Special Archive (1992–March 1999—TsKhIDK)
      • Guides and Lists of Fonds
      • History and Surveys

Fonds of the Pre-March 1999 RGVA (former TsGASA)
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Guides and Lists of Fonds

b-335. Tsentral'nyi gosudarstvennyi arkhiv Sovetskoi Armii: Putevoditel'. Compiled by O.V. Brizitskaia, N.D. Egorov, T.F. Kariaeva, et al. Edited by L.V. Dvoinykh, T.F. Kariaeva and M.V. Stegantsev. 2 vols. Minneapolis: East View Publications, 1991–1993. v, 421 p.; vi, 531 p. Also available in microfiche edition. [TsGASA/ RGVA] (Lib: DLC; MH; NNC).
Electronic edition: http://guides.eastview.com/browse/Gui...; http://guides.rusarchives.ru/guides/1... (vol. 1); http://guides.eastview.com/browse/Gui... (vol. 2)

A detailed guide with very extensive agency histories for individual fonds. The first volume covers central military records, while the second volume covers those of lower army units, and regional army commands throughout the former USSR. Because it was published abroad and sold only for hard currency ($110), few copies are available in Russian libraries. Does not cover some more recently declassified fonds.

b-336. Annotirovannyi perechen' fondov Tsentral'nogo gosudarstvennogo arkhiva Sovetskoi Armii. 5 vols. Moscow: Glavarkhiv SSSR; TsGASA, 1987. (Lib: DLC[mf]) [Reprint/microfiche edition: Minneapolis: East View Publishers, 1990].

Initially issued in a pressrun of 50 copies and restricted “for internal use only,” a U.S. reprint edition now makes it readly available abroad.

b-337. Tsentral'nyi gosudarstvennyi arkhiv Krasnoi Armii: Putevoditel'. Edited by P.G. Sofinov. Moscow: GAU, 1945. 470 p. (Lib: DLC; IU; MH) [IDC-R-10,678].

Briefly describes records of the Red Army from its formation through materials relating to the period of the Civil War, with coverage of a few fonds going up to 1926. The appendixes provide data on the organization of fronts and the army's order of battle on different fronts. Includes a short subject index. Updates and expands the 1933 edition (b–338).

b-338. Arkhivy SSSR: Arkhiv Krasnoi Armii. Compiled by A.K. Bochkov, E.D. Divnina, M.P. Ershov, et al. Moscow: Izd. Shtaba RKKA, 1933. 135 p. (Lib: DLC; IU; MH) [IDC-R-10,792].

Briefly describes materials dating from 1917 to 1925 then held in AKA, but with no reference to fond numbers or other details. Now updated by more recent guides.

b-339. Romano, Andrea. “L'Armée Rouge, miroir de la société soviétique: Aperçu des sources d'archives.” Communisme, 1995, no. 42–43–44, pp. 35–43. (Lib: MH).

A helpful analysis of the nature of various types of documentation available for social history in RGVA, especially in terms of newly declassified fonds.

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History and Surveys

b-342. Uspenskii, I.V. “Rossiiskii gosudarstvennyi voennyi arkhiv: desiat' desiatiletii istorii.” Vestnik arkhivista, 2008, no. 3.

b-343. Kuznetsov, F.E. “Fondy tsentral'nykh gosudarstvennykh voennykh arkhivov SSSR i ikh nauchnoe ispol'zovanie.” Trudy Moskovskogo gosudarstvennogo istoriko-arkhivnogo instituta 4 (1948), pp. 73–112. (Lib: DLC; MH).

Describes the development of the archive in relation to other military archives.

b-344. Sokolov, M. “Tsentral'nyi arkhiv Krasnoi Armii za 20 let.” Arkhivnoe delo 47 (1938), no. 3, pp. 53–58. (Lib: DLC; MH[mf]).

Discusses the development of the archive before World War II.

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Fonds of the former Special Archive (1992–March 1999—TsKhIDK)
 
1992–1999, Centre for the Preservation of Historico-Documentary Collections (TsKhIDK)
        Regarding the history, holdings, and restitution issues associated with the holdings from TsGOA, see the bibliography of publications on displaced cultural treasures by Patricia Kennedy Grimsted now available electronically—https://iisg.amsterdam/en/search?sear....
 
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Guides and Lists of Fonds

b-347. Ukazatel' fondov inostrannogo proiskhozhdeniia i Glavnogo upravleniia po delam voennoplennykh i internirovannykh NKVD–MVD SSSR Rossiiskogo gosudarstvennogo voennogo arkhiva. Compiled by V.I. Korotaev, A.P. Naganov, et al. Edited by V.P. Kozlov and V.N. Kuzelenkov. Moscow, 2001. 331 p. [Rosarkhiv; RGVA] (Lib: DLC; MH).
Electronic edition: http://guides.eastview.com/browse/Gui...

This official RGVA publication lists most (but not all) foreign captured (“trophy”) fonds held by the former Special Archive (TsGOA)—with foreign-language names for most of their creating agencies or individuals. However, even the on-line edition has not been updated to reflect fonds returned to their home countries since 2000. It does not list many fonds of questionable provenance and others that were not well processed at the time of publication. A separate section provides an abbreviated list of fonds (with no data as to quantify of files) returned to their country of provenance during the Soviet period that were held by former Special Archive (TsGOA; 1992–1999—TsKhIDK). This all-too-brief directory, listing fonds in numerical order, lacks annotations and indication of the source of acquisition, and is difficult to use without rubric structure and with no indexing of foreign-language names of individuals and institutions in the original language. Since it was completed, more fonds have been returned to France, Belgium and the Netherlands, but these are not indicated as returned, nor are there notes as to microfilms that have been retained for some of them.
        For most fonds above number 500k, researchers are accordingly advised to consult the on-line Panwitz listings (b–348) and for some to compare the coverage in the Aly-Heim guide (b–349), which provides at least brief annotations for many fonds, and the country-oriented coverage in more specialized finding aids listed below. An updated, more comprehensive, annotated guide with appropriate Western-language names and indexing, is still badly needed for the RGVA holdings of the former Special Archive (TsGOA SSSR/TsKhIDK).
        Researcher should note that the electronic edition of this publication has not been updated to reflect the return of many fonds to their countries of provenance.

b-348. Panwitz, Sebastian. “Die Judaica im„Sonderarchiv Moskau“.” Medaon, 2008, no. 3, pp. 1–9.
Electronic edition: https://www.medaon.de/de/artikel/die-...

Although limited to predominantly German and Austrian fonds.
        Includes a separate web page for a list of fonds (nos. 500–1528), some with helpful annotations and indicates those returned to their home countries. German-language finding aids (opisi) are provided for many of the most important fonds. A separate web page lists relevant literature, but again primarily covering German-language fonds.

b-349. Aly, Götz; and Heim, Susanne. Das Zentrale Staatsarchiv in Moskau (“Sonderarchiv”): Rekonstruktion und Bestandsverzeichnis verschollen geglaubten Schriftguts aus der NS-Zeit. Düsseldorf: Hans-Böckler-Stiftung, 1992. 58 p. (Lib: DLC; MH).

A brief list of predominantly German-language fonds (starting with fond no. 500) in former TsKhIDK under eight major headings. Provides fond numbers, number of opisi, number of units in each, and the creating agency. Provides helpful, brief annotations for some of the larger or more important fonds, and a brief introduction. Published without the approval of the archive, this guide accordingly contains some errors and shortcomings, but for the materials covered, is often more helpful than the new 2001 list of fonds. The guide does not cover the French and Polish holdings, but indicates fonds that were earlier returned to East Germany or moved to other archives.

b-350. Browder, George C. “Captured German and Other Nations' Documents in the Osoby (Special) Archive, Moscow.” Central European History 24 (1992), no. 4, pp. 424–45. (Lib: DLC; IU; MH).
        ——. “Update on the Captured Documents in the Former Osobyi Archive, Moscow.” Ibid 26 (1993), no. 3, pp. 335–42.

A short introduction to the archive and its holdings (exclusive of the French holdings), with an English-language list of fond names for fond numbers 500 to 1524, translated from the Russian-language Book of Fonds. The 1993 supplement updates the coverage with some corrections, based on a 1992 visit by the author.

b-351. Mikrofil'my dokumentov Bel'gii, Niderlandov, Liuksemburga v Rossiiskom gosudarstvennom voennom arkhive: Kratkii spravochnik. Compiled by N.A. Khorina and T.A. Vasil'eva. Edited by V.N. Kuzelenkov. Moscow, 2004. 55 p. [Rosarkhiv; RGVA].
Electronic edition: http://guides.eastview.com/browse/Gui...

Provides brief annotations of microfilms retained in RGVA for selected fonds of Belgian, Dutch, and Luxembourg provenance the originals of which have been returned to their countries of origin.

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History and Surveys

b-353. Returned from Russia: Nazi Archival Plunder in Western Europe and Recent Restitution Issues. Edited by P.K. Grimsted, F.J. Hoogewoud and E. Ketelaar. Institute of Art and Law, UK, 2007. 349 p.
Paper edition with “Afterword–2013” by P.K. Grimsted. Institute of Art and Law, UK, 2007.
Brief description available on the website: https://ial.uk.com/product/returned-f....

Describes the wartime plunder of archives in Western Europe by several Nazi agencies with reference to the archival loot that was transported to the USSR after the war, and finally returned after 1991. Appendices of successive chapters covering return to individual chapters list fonds of French, Belgian, and Dutch provenance returned to their homelands from Moscow with indication of microfilms remaining in RGVA.

b-353.1. Grimsted, Patricia Kennedy. “Why Do Captured Archives Go Home?: Restitution Achievements under the Russian Law.” In Spoils of War v. Cultural Heritage: The Russian Cultural Property Law in Historical Context, pp. 291–334. Cambridge, Massachusetts, 2008.
Electronic edition: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journa... (abstract)
Edited by Patricia Kennedy Grimsted, as guest editor for the issue: International Journal of Cultural Property 17, no. 2 (2010) (a collection of articles base on the proceedings of a Workshop at the Harvard Law School, February 8-9, 2008).

b-353.2. Grimsted, Patricia Kennedy. “Progress in the Return of Displaced Archives from Russia: Steps Forward and Hurdles Ahead.” Art, Antiquity and Law XV (October 2010), no. 3, pp. 224–51.

b-354. Das Sonderarchiv des Russischen Staatlichen Militärarchivs. Forschungsberichte von Stipendiaten des DHI Moskau. Moscow, 2008. 124 p. [Deutsches Historisches Institut Moskau/Germanskii istoricheskii institut v Moskve] “Bulletin des Deutsches Historisches Institut Moskau,” vol. 2.

b-355. Grimsted, Patricia Kennedy. Russia's “Trophy” Archives—Still Prisoners of World War II?. Budapest: Open Society Archive, Central European University, 2002.
Electronic edition: https://www.ucis.pitt.edu/nceeer/2002...

Variant (earlier) edition: Issued as a “Working Paper” by the National Council for East European and Eurasian Research, Washington, DC. Updated from a lecture at the Summer University, 17 July 2001.

b-356. Grimsted, Patricia Kennedy. “Twice Plundered or ‘Twice Saved’? Identifying Russia's ‘Trophy’ Archives and the Loot of the Reichssicherherheitshauptamt.” Holocaust and Genocide Studies 15 (2001), no. 2, pp. 191–244. (Lib: DLC; IU; MH).
        Updated Russian version: “Dvazhdy zakhvachennye ili ‘dvazhdy spasennye’? Rozysk rossiiskikh ‘trofeinykh’ arkhivov i dobycha Glavnogo upravleniia imperskoi bezopasnosti.” In Sotsial'naia istoriia. Ezhegodnik 2004, pp. 401–455. Moscow: ROSSPEN, 2005.

b-357. Kuz'min, Evgenii. “‘Vyvezti. . . unichtozhit'. . . spriatat' . . .” Sud'by trofeinykh arkhivov’ [interview with P.K. Grimsted].” Literaturnaia gazeta, 2 Oct. 1991, no. 39, pp. 13.

b-358. Prokopenko, Anatolii Stefanovich. “Dom osobogo naznacheniia (Otkrytie arkhivov).” Rodina, 1992, no. 3, pp. 50–51. (Lib: DLC; IU; MH).

A popularized survey history of the archive by the former director. See also the interview with Prokopenko, “Proshchanie s Osobym arkhivom,” Novoe vremia 11 (March 1991): 46–47.

b-358.1. “‘Proshchanie s Osobym arkhivom' [interview with Anatolii Prokopenko].” Novoe vremia, March 1991, no. 11, pp. 46–47.

b-359. Maksimova, Ella. “Piat' dnei v Osobom arkhive.” Izvestiia, 17–21 February 1990, no. 49–53. (Lib: DLC; IU; MH).

The first public revelation regarding the archive and the Nazi records held there, with considerable imprecision about the records and where they had been retrieved.

b-359.1. Maksimova, Ella. “‘Arkhivy Frantsuzskoi razvedki skryvali na Leningradskom shosse' [interview with Anatolii Prokopenko].” Izvestiia, 9 Oct. 1991, no. 240.

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Finding Aids —  Specialized:

For Jewish-related holdings, see Dok. ist. evreev. (1997), p. 191. The collection of xerox copies of documents from RGVA that are now held by the Yale Russian Archive Project at Yale University are described on the YRAP website as the Russian State Military Archives Collection (http://www.yale.edu/rusarch/archive.html). See the database for personnel files in fonds held by RGVA on the website “Arkhivy Rossii”: http://ls.rusarchives.ru/.
 

Categories:
Microfilm Collections
Fonds of the pre-March 1999 RGVA (former TsGASA)
Fonds of the former Special Archive (TsGOA, 1992–March 1999—TsKhIDK)
      • Fonds Relating to Collaboration in the USSR
      • Fonds of Austrian Provenance
      • Fonds of Belgian Provenance (all returned to Belgium)
      • Fonds of Czech Provenance
      • Fonds of Dutch Provenance (all returned to the Netherlands)
      • Fonds of French Provenance (most returned to France)
      • Fonds of German Provenance
      • Records of the Third Reich
      • Fonds of Polish Provenance
      • Fonds Relating to Jewish History and Culture
      • Masonic Fonds

Microfilm Collections
 
For Holocaust-related materials see the finding aids for the microfilm copies collected by the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC, many of which are listed on the Museum’s website at http://www.ushmm.org/.
 

b-360. The Military Papers of Leon Trotsky, 1918–1925. Woodbridge, CT: Primary Source Microfilm, 200?. 71 reels. “The Russian Archives.”

See more details at: http://www.library.yale.edu/slavic/mi... and https://www.gale.com/intl/c/russian-a....

b-361. The Papers of the White Army, 1918–1921. Woodbridge, CT: Primary Source Microfilm, 200?. 71 reels. “The Russian Archives.”

See more details at: http://www.library.yale.edu/slavic/mi... and https://www.gale.com/intl/c/russian-a....

b-362. The Papers of the Red Army: Political and Internal Intelligence Reports, 1918–1938. Woodbridge, CT: Primary Source Microfilm, 200?. 76 reels. “The Russian Archives.”

See more details at: http://www.library.yale.edu/slavic/mi... and https://www.gale.com/intl/c/russian-a....

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Fonds of the pre-March 1999 RGVA (former TsGASA)

b-363. [Rossiiskii gosudarstvennyi voennyi arkhiv]. Putevoditel' po fondam Beloi Armii. Compiled by L.M. Chizhova, N.D. Egorov and N.V. Pul'chenko. Edited by L.V. Dvoinykh and N.D. Egorov. Moscow: Russkoe bibliograficheskoe obshchestvo; Izd. firma “Vostochnaia literatura” RAN, 1998. 526 p. [Rosarkhiv; RGVA] “Academia ROSSICA,” vol. 4. (Lib: DLC; MH).
Electronic edition: http://guides.eastview.com/browse/Gui...

Describes over 800 fonds of central commands and local units, as well as some personal papers and collections of documentation of the White Army during the Civil War (1917–1922), all of which were first opened for research in 1989. Includes materials brought to the USSR in 1946 from the Russian Foreign Historical Archive (RZIA) in Prague and other émigré sources acquired after World War II, as explained in the introduction, although the archival provenance of individual fonds is not indicated. Includes indexes of army units and personal names. See also the survey article by I.V. Uspenskii, “Dokumenty Beloi armii v fondakh RGVA,” Otechestvennye arkhivy, 1998, no. 2, pp. 26–31, which surveys the materials covered by the new guide in historical context.

b-364. 13-ia Armiia: (Obzor fonda no. 198). Compiled by I. Levetskii. Moscow, 1939. 62 p. [TsARKKA] (Lib: MH[mf]) [IDC-R-11,077].

Inventories records of the Thirteenth Army (1919–1920) in the Don basin area, with charts of the fond and individual items and a survey of the main army operations (pp. 18–32).

b-365. Zapadnyi front (19 fevralia 1919 g.–8 aprelia 1924 g.): Kratkii obzor fonda no. 104. Compiled by A.A. Ezhov. Edited by V.A. Melikov. Moscow, 1939. 42 p. [TsARKKA] (Lib: MH[mf]) [IDC-R-11,081].

A survey of army records from the Western Front against Poland (1919–1924) with details about individual documents and a summary of army operations.

b-366. Ukrainskii front: (Kratkii obzor fonda no. 103). Moscow, 1939. 34 p. [TsARKKA] (Lib: MH[mf]) [IDC-R-11,078].

Surveys the records of Red Army operations on the Ukrainian Front (1918–1919), including a chart of the fond and individual items.

b-367. Iuzhnyi front (protiv Vrangelia) 27 sentiabria–10 dekabria 1920 g. Organizatsiia, sostav i boevye deistviia: Obzor, sostavlennyi po dokumentam Tsentral'nogo arkhiva RKKA fonda no. 101. Compiled by D. Oznobishin. Edited by I. Korotkov. Moscow, 1940. 19 p. [TsARKKA] (Lib: MH[mf]) [IDC-R-11,079].

Surveys records of operations against General P.N. Vrangel' (Wrangel) on the Southern Front (September–December 1920) with details about individual items and a chronology of army operations.

b-368. Iugo-zapadnyi front: (Obzor fonda no. 102). Moscow, 1940. 37 p. [TsARKKA] (Lib: MH[mf]) [IDC-R-11,080].

Surveys documentation of operations on the Southwest Front in 1920 with details about the most important items and a summary of army operations.

b-369. Chizhova, L.M.; and Portnov, V.P. “Partiino-politicheskaia rabota v Krasnoi Armii v gody inostrannoi voennoi interventsii i grazhdanskoi voiny v SSSR (Obzor dokumental'nykh materialov Tsentral'nogo gosudarstvennogo arkhiva Sovetskoi Armii za 1918–1920 gg.).” Voprosy arkhivovedeniia, 1961, no. 1, pp. 85–91. (Lib: DLC; IU; MH).

A brief survey of documentation.

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Fonds of the former Special Archive (TsGOA, 1992–March 1999—TsKhIDK)
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Fonds Relating to Collaboration in the USSR

b-369A. Kollaboratsionizm v Sovetskom Soiuze, 1941–1945: Spravochnik po fondam RGVA. Compiled by V.I. Korotaev and A.E. Zabelin. Moscow: ROSSPEN, 2014. 166 p. + ill.

Catalogue of documents, relating of collaboration in the USSR in 1941–1945, mostly captured German fonds and held in RGVA. Also includes catalogues of collaborationist journals (fond 1699, opis' 1) and newspapers (fond 1699, opis' 3).

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Fonds of Austrian Provenance
 
In June 2009, 51 fonds (10,770 units) of Austrian provenance were returned to Austria, and a second return transport is expected in 2012. Those returned in 2009 are indicated on the Panwitz website cited above (b–348).
 

b-370. Jagschitz, Gerhard; and Karner, Stefan. “Beuteakten aus Österreich”: Der Österreichbestand im russischen “Sonderarchiv” Moskau. Edited by S.E. Gollmann. Graz, Vienna: Selbsverlag des Ludwig Boltzmann-Instituts für Kriegsfolgen-Forsch, 1996. “Veroffentlichungen des Ludwig Boltzmann-Instituts fur Kriegsfolgen-Forschung,” vol. 2. (Lib: DLC; MH).

A systematic well-annotated guide to fonds of Austrian provenance and the Austrian documentation in a number of consolidated collections. Describes documentation in 102 different fonds, with 34,063 file units, totaling an estimated 3,406,300 documents. As of June 2007, 51 of these fonds have been returned to Austria.

b-371. Gray, Victor. “The Rothschild Archive. The Return of the Austrian Rothschild Archives.” In Returned from Russia: Nazi Archival Plunder in Western Europe and Recent Restitution Issues, edited by P.K. Grimsted, F.J. Hoogewoud and E. Ketelaar, pp. 287–96. Institute of Art and Law, UK, 2007.

b-372. Trentmann, Frank. “New Sources on an Old Family: the Rothschild Papers at the Special Archive, Moscow and a Letter from Metternich.” Financial History Review 2 (April 1995), no. 1, pp. 73–79. (Lib: DLC; IU; MH).

A short description of the Rothschild papers from the Austrian branch of the family then held by the former Special Archive (TsKhIDK, fond 637K). Provides an outline of opis' 1 (373 files) with predominantly nineteenth-century materials including banking and property records, family correspondence and some materials relating to art collections, and of the smaller Austrian-related opis' 2 (46 files, 1883–1939). The materials were turned over to the Rothschild Archive (London) in November 2001. Those relating to the French branch of the family (fond 58K, with 1,500 files) are not described, but most of them were returned to Paris (in 1994 and 2000) and are now also held in London.

b-374. Rukopisi i arkhivnye dokumenty Evreiskoi obshchiny goroda Veny v rossiiskikh sobraniiakh: Katalog/Manuscripts and Archival Documents of the Vienna Jewish Community held in Russian Collections: Catalogue. Compiled by K. Akinsha, K.A. Dmitrieva, T.A. Vasil'eva, M.V. Volkova, et al. Moscow: Rudomino, 2006. 230 p. Preface by Ekaterina Genieva. [VGBIL; RGB; Rosarkhiv; RGVA; The Research Project on Art and Archives, Inc. (USA)].
Proekt “Obretennoe nasledie”/ Project “Heritage Revealed”.

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Fonds of Belgian Provenance (all returned to Belgium)

b-375. Lust, Jacques; and Vermote, Michel. “Belgium. Papieren Bitte! The Confiscation and Return of Belgian Archives and Libraries (1940–2003).” In Returned from Russia: Nazi Archival Plunder in Western Europe and Recent Restitution Issues, edited by P.K. Grimsted, F.J. Hoogewoud and E. Ketelaar, pp. 191–239. Institute of Art and Law, UK, 2007.

Describes the wartime plunder of archives in Western Europe by several Nazi agencies with reference to the archival loot that was transported to the USSR after the war, and finally returned after 1991. Contains list fonds of Belgian provenance returned to Belgium from Moscow with indication of microfilms remaining in RGVA (pp. 231–39).

b-376. Steenhaut, Wouter; Martin, Dirk; Gotovitch, J.; and Vermote, Michel. “Mission to Moscow. Belgische socialistische archiven in Rusland.” AMSAB Tijdingen n.s. 16 (Summer 1992). Extra issue. (Lib: MH).

A special issue of the journal of the Belgian Archive and Museum of the Socialist-Labor Movement (AMSAB) devoted to an illustrated account of its own and other captured Belgian collections recently identified in Moscow. Covers holdings in RTsKhIDNI (now RGASPI—B-12) as well as those in former TsKhIDK (now RGVA) returned to Belgium in May 2002.

b-377. Fondy bel'giiskogo proiskhozhdeniia: Annotirovannyi ukazatel'. Compiled by A.S. Namazova and T.A. Vasil'eva. Edited by M.M. Mukhamedzhanov. Moscow, 1995. 26 p. [Rosarkhiv; TsKhIDK; In-t vseobshchei istorii RAN].

A short annotated list of captured records of Belgian provenance held in former TsKhIDK covering 35 fonds (20,154 units). Most of the originals were returned to Belgium in May 2002.

b-377.1. Fondsen van Belgische Herkomst: Verklarende Index. Edited by P. Creve, H. De Conninck, M.M. Mukhamedzhanov and M. Vermote. Ghent: AMSAB, 1997. 20 p. Flemish version edited by Michel Vermote, Piet Creve, Hendrik De Coninck. [AMSAB; TsKhIDK].

Dutch edition (expanded) of b–377. Microfilms of all of the materials described have been prepared and are now held at AMSAB in Ghent, and the originals were returned to Belgium in May 2002.

b-378. Lust, Jacques; Maréchal, Evert; Steenhaut, Wouter; and Vermote, Michel. Een zoektocht naar Archieven: van NISG naar AMSAB. Ghent: Amsab, 1997.

b-379. Vermote, Michel. “Archiefervaringen in Moskou: niets is mogelijk, alles kan.” Bibliotheek- & Archiefgids 76 (2000), no. 6, pp. 3-11.

b-380. Vermote, Michel. Back from Nowhere. The Restitution of Looted Belgian Collections (1991–2001). Amsterdam, 2002. Paper for the Seminar “Russia, Archives and Restitution”, International Institute of Social History, 24 September 2001.

b-381. Vermote, Michel. “Vozvrashchenie niotkuda. Restitutsiia pokhishchennykh bel'giiskikh kollektsii/Das Privatrecht und Fragen der Restitution von Kunstschätzen.” In Trudnaia sud'ba kul'turnykh tsennostei: Materialy mezhdunarodnoi konferentsii “Chastnoe pravo i problemy restitutsii peremeshchennykh kul'turnykh tsennostei”, Moskva, 27 i 28 maia 2002 g./Das schwierige Schicksal von Kulturgutern: Materialien der internationalen Konferenz “Privatrecht und Probleme der Restitution von kriegsbedingt verbrachten Kulturgutern”, Moskau, 27. und 28.Mai 2003, pp. 147-54 (Russian), and pp. 155-61 (German). Moscow: Rudomino/Berlin: BWV-Berliner Wissenschafts Verlag, 2002.

b-382. Vermote, Michel. “War Trophies in Prospect: The Fate of the Looted Collections from Belgium.” In Karta Evropy: Sbornik materialov mezhdunarodnoi konferentsii “Kul'turnaia karta Evropy: sud'ba peremeshchennykh kul'turnykh tsennostei v tret'em tysiacheletii”, Moskva, VGBIL, 10–11 aprelia 2000 goda/Mapping Europe: Materials of the International Conference “Mapping Europe: Fate of Looted Cultural Valuables in the Third Millenium”, Moscow, VGBIL, 10–11 April 2000, pp. 148-58 (Russian), pp. 328-37 (English). Moscow: “Rudomino”, 2002.

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Fonds of Czech Provenance

b-383. Sedláková, Monika. “Studijní pobyt v Moskve 2002.” Archivni­ casopis 53 (2003), no. 1, pp. 26–29.

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Fonds of Dutch Provenance (all returned to the Netherlands)

b-384. Ketelaar, Eric. “The Netherlands. The Return of Dutch Archives from Moscow.” In Returned from Russia: Nazi Archival Plunder in Western Europe and Recent Restitution Issues, edited by P.K. Grimsted, F.J. Hoogewoud and E. Ketelaar, pp. 241–81. Institute of Art and Law, UK, 2007.

Describes the wartime plunder of archives in Western Europe by several Nazi agencies with reference to the archival loot that was transported to the USSR after the war, and finally returned after 1991. Contains list fonds of Dutch provenance returned to the Netherlands from Moscow with indication of microfilms remaining in RGVA (pp. 268–81).

b-385. Ketelaar, Eric. “Nederlandse archieven in Moskou: Winterslaap ten einde.” Archievenblad 105/6 (August 2001), pp. 36–39. (Lib: DLC; MH).

Lists the fonds of provenance in the Netherlands and describes some of the problems involved in their restitution. As of May 2003, the final group of the 33 fonds claimed were transferred to the Netherlands.

b-386. Bosch, Mineke. “Over het jatten van schatten. Mijn bezoek aan het Osoby Archiv te Moskou.” Lover 30 (2003), no. 2, pp. 25-28.
Electronic edition: https://atria.nl/bibliotheek-archief/...

b-387. Haan, Francisca de. “A ‘Truly International' Archive for the Women's Movement (IAV, now IIAV): From its Foundation in Amsterdam in 1935 to the Return of its Looted Archives in 2003.” Journal of Women's History 16 (2004), no. 4, pp. 148-72.
Electronic edition: https://atria.nl/bibliotheek-archief/...

b-388. Kwaadgras, Evert. “‘A Great Waste of Time and Energy': The Seizure and Scrutiny of Masonic Documents During and After World War II.” In Karta Evropy: Sbornik materialov mezhdunarodnoi konferentsii “Kul'turnaia karta Evropy: sud'ba peremeshchennykh kul'turnykh tsennostei v tret'em tysiacheletii”, Moskva, VGBIL, 10–11 aprelia 2000 goda/Mapping Europe: Materials of the International Conference “Mapping Europe: Fate of Looted Cultural Valuables in the Third Millenium”, Moscow, VGBIL, 10–11 April 2000, pp. 123-27 (Russian) and pp. 306-309 (English). Moscow: “Rudomino”, 2002.

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Fonds of French Provenance (most returned to France)

b-389. Kuperminc, Jean-Claude. “France. The Return of Looted French Archives: The Case of the Library and Archives of the Alliance Israélite Universelle.” In Returned from Russia: Nazi Archival Plunder in Western Europe and Recent Restitution Issues, edited by P.K. Grimsted, F.J. Hoogewoud and E. Ketelaar, pp. 135–88. Institute of Art and Law, UK, 2007.

Describes the wartime plunder of archives in Western Europe by several Nazi agencies with reference to the archival loot that was transported to the USSR after the war, and finally returned after 1991. Contains list fonds of French provenance returned to France from Moscow with indication of microfilms remaining in RGVA (pp. 154–88).

b-390. Coeuré, Sophie. La memoire spoliée. Les archives des Français butin de guerre nazi puis soviétique (de 1940 a nos jours). Paris: Editions Payot-Rivages, 2007.

An incisive, well-researched and well-written study of the plunder, wartime fate and restitution of French archives in a broad intellectual context. Considerably expanded from the author's 2003 article. Includes a list of the French archives returned from Moscow and an extensive bibliography of related literature.

b-391. Coeuré, Sophie; and Monier, Frédéric. “De l'ombre a la lumière: Les archives françaises de retour de Moscow (1940–2002).” In Archives ‘secrètes', secrets d'Archives? Historiens et archivistes face aux archives sensibles, edited by S. Laurent, pp. 133–48. Paris: CNRS Editions, 2003.

A well-researched overview of the French archives returned with reference to other available descriptions and finding aids, but now updated in Coeuré's 2007 book (see above).

b-392. Coeuré, Sophie; Monier, Frédéric; and Naud, Gérard. “Le retour de Russie des archives françaises. Le cas du fond de la Sûreté.” Vingtième siècle. Revue d'Histoire 45 (Jan.–Mar. 1995), pp. 133-39.

b-393. Sibille, Claire. “Les Archives du ministère de la Guerre recupérées de Russie.” Gazette des Archives, 1997, no. 176, pp. 64–77.
        Devaus, Dominique. “Les Archives de la direction de la Sûreté rapatriées de Russie.” Ibid. pp. 78–86. (Lib: DLC; IU; MH).

Describes the French military archives, including the military intelligence (Dieuxième Bureau) and the records of the French security service (Sûreté Générale) and other police records that had been captured first by the Nazis in 1940 and then by Soviet authorities after World War II and restituted to France (December 1993–May 1994). Microfilms of some of the materials remain in RGVA.

b-394. Sibille, Claire. “Les archives du 2è Bureau SR-SCR récupérées de Russie.” In L'Exploitation du renseignement en Europe et aux Etats-Unis des années 1930 aux années 1960, edited by O. Forcade and G.H. Soutou, pp. 27–47. Paris: Economica, 2001.

b-395. Inventaire des archives de la Guerre. Supplément de la série N (1872–1940). Compiled by A. Guéna, C. Ponnou and C. Sibille. 4 vols. Vincennes: Service historique de l'Armée de terre, 1997. [Ministere de la defense; Etat-major de l'Armée de terre; Service historique].

b-398. Oursou, Dmitri. “Les archives de l'histoire coloniale française en Russie.” Revue française d'histoire d'outre-mer 80 (1993), no. 300, pp. 457–65.

A brief survey of archival sources relating to the French colonial empire in several archives of Moscow and St. Petersburg, including ‘trophy’ fonds of French prevenance in TsKhIDK. Including the Ministère français des Colonies (fond 2), Ligue des droits de li'homme (fond 9), and the personal papers of Emile Chautemps (fond 59) and Georges Mandel (fond 216).

b-399. Cingal, Grégory; and Combe, Sonia. Retour de Moscou: Les archives de la Ligue des droits de l'homme, 1898–1940. Edited by S. Combe. Paris: La Découverte/BDIC, 2004. Preface by Michel Tubiana. Collection “Recherches”.

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Fonds of German Provenance
 
See more details in Sonderarchiv guide (b–348) and the Aly and Heim guide (b–349).
 

b-400. Jena, Kai von. “Die Rückführung deutscher Akten aus Russland—eine unerledigte Aufgabe.” In Archiv und Geschichte: Festschrift für Friedrich P. Kahlenberg, edited by K. Oldenhage, H. Schreyer and W. Werner, pp. 391–420. Dusseldorf, Droste Verlag, 2000.

b-401. Jena, Kai von; and Lenz, Wilhelm. “Die deutschen Bestände im Sonderakhiv in Moskau.” Der Archivar 45 (1992), no. 3, pp. 457–67. (Lib: DLC; IU; MH).

A list with the present fond number and number of archival units for the extensive holdings of German origin, those of Austrian origin, and holdings identified from other countries, including some from Finland, Norway, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Romania, Greece, and France. Major subdivisions under German and Austrian records separate out sections for government records (predominantly Nazi records), religious groups (including records of religious societies and organizations, churches, Jewish agencies, and Free Masons), business records, records of editorial offices other social and political organizations, documentary collections, and personal papers.

b-402. Wegner, Bernd. “Deutsche Aktenbestände im Moskauer Zentralen Staatsarchiv: Ein Erfahrungsbericht.” Vierteljahreshefte für Zeitgeschichte 40 (1992), no. 2, pp. 311–19. (Lib: DLC; IU; MH).

A survey of predominantly German-related holdings in the former Special Archive with helpful annotations characterizing some of the most important fonds.

b-403. Form, Wolfgang; and Poljan, Pavel (Polian). “Das Zentrum für die Aufbewahrung historisch-dokumentarischer Sammlungen in Moskau—ein Erfahrungsbericht.” Informationen aus der Forschung [Bundesinstitut für ostwissenschaftliche und internationale Studien], 20 October 1992, no. 7, pp. 1–8.

A brief report on a research visit to TsKhIDK in 1992. Includes a helpful survey of the records of the Reich Secret Police Headquarters (Reichssicherheitshauptamt) (fond 500K).

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Records of the Third Reich

b-404. Boberach, Heinz. Inventar archivalischer Quellen des NS Staates: Die Überlieferung von Behörden und Einrichtungen des Reichs, der Länder und der NSDAP, Part 2: Regionale Behörden und wissenschaftliche Hochschulen für die fünf ostdeutschen Länder, die ehemaligen preussischen Östprovinzen und eingegliederte Gebiete in Polen, Esterreich und der Tshechischen Republik mit Nachträgen zu Teil 1. Compiled by O. Sladek, G. Weber and W. Weisslede. Edited by H. Boberach. Munich: K. G. Saur, 1995. 396 p. [Institut fur Zeitgeschichte] “Texte und Materialen zur Zeitgeschichte,” vol. 3/2. (Lib: DLC; IU; MH).

An annotated survey of records of the Nazi regime throughout Germany and Eastern Europe, which includes references to many of the fonds or parts of fonds held in the former Special Archive. The inventory thus serves to correlate many of the Nazi records in the former Special Archive with those held elsewhere, although annotations in many cases are exceedingly brief and incomplete for for the Special Archive holdings. The first volume (Munich, 1991; “Texte und Materialien zur Zeitgeschichte,” vol. 3/1) does not include any Russian holdings, but describes the contingent parts of record groups (fonds) held in other repositories in Germany, including those captured by the Western Allies and subsequently restituted to West Germany.

b-405. Fleming, Gerald. “The Auschwitz Archives in Moscow.” Jewish Quarterly, Autumn 1991, no. 143, pp. 9–12. (Lib: DLC; MH).

A short popularized account of the author's visit and findings among the archival remains from the Auschwitz (Pol. Oświęcim) concentration camp during World War II, now held by the former Special Archive. These materials were the subject of a BBC documentary for which the author served as a consultant.

b-406. Knigi smerti Osventsima: Deti Belorussii, Rossii, Ukrainy, pogibshie v Osventsime v 1942–1943 gg.: (Po knigam registratsii smerti uznikov Osventsima). Compiled by L.I. Kudriavtseva, B.B. Levakov, A.P. Naganov and T.A. Vasil'eva. Moscow, 1995. [Rosarkhiv; TsKhIDK].

A name index prepared from the Auschwitz (Pol. Oświęcim) deathbooks on the basis of a database in the former Special Archive. Note that these records do not include those who perished in the gas chambers, whose identities were not recorded.

b-406A. Gorbacheva, Ol'ga. Mesta soderzhaniia voennoplennykh vermakhta na territorii byvshego Sovetskogo Soiuza,1941–1956 gg.: Putevoditel'. Moscow, 2008. xvi, 457 p. + ill. [Rosarkhiv; RGVA] (Lib: DLC; MH).

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Fonds of Polish Provenance

b-407. Archiwalia polskiej proweniencii terytorialnej przechowywane w Państwowym Archiwum Federacji Rosyjskiej i Rosyjskim Państwowym Archiwum Wojskowym (Archiwalia wladz rosyjskich 1813–1918, archiwalia niemieckie z ziemzachodnich i polnocnych Polski do 1945, archiwalia Senatu WM Gadańska1920–1939). Edited by W. Stepniak. Warsaw: Naczelna Dyrekcja Archiwó w Państwowych, 2000. 144 p. Also listed as b–40. (Lib: MH).

Part II, compiled by Ewa Rosowska, provides annotated descriptions of the fonds of captured records from the interwar Republic of Poland and the Gdansk (Ger. Danzig) region in the former Special Archive that are now part of RGVA (pp. 107–44).

b-408. Indeks repressirovannykh. Warsaw: “KARTA”, 1995–. 15 issues (vyp.) published through 2005. [RGVA; NIPTs “Memorial”] (Lib: MH).
Text in Polish, preface in Polish and Russian.

Individual issues provide an alphabetical index to documentation relating to Polish citizens repressed in the USSR with indication of archival locations.

b-409. Katalog rukopisei i arkhivnykh materialov iz Evreiskoi teologicheskoi seminarii goroda Breslau v rossiiskikh khranilishchakh/Catalogue of Manuscripts and Archival Materials of Juedisch-Theologisches Seminar in Breslau held in Russian Depositories. Compiled by K.A. Dmitrieva, T.A. Vasil'eva, M.V. Volkova, et al. Moscow: “Rudomino”, 2003. 72 p. Preface by Ekaterina Genieva. [Ministerstvo kul'tury RF; VGBIL; RGB; Rosarkhiv; RGVA; The Research Project on Art and Archives, Inc. (USA)].
Proekt “Obretennoe nasledie”/ Project “Heritage Revealed”.

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Fonds Relating to Jewish History and Culture
 
For some of the Jewish-related holdings, see Dok. ist. evreev (1997), pp. 265–81, 411–12.
 

b-410. Dokumenty po istorii i kul'ture evreev v trofeinykh kollektsiiakh Rossiiskogo gosudarstvennogo voennogo arkhiva. Compiled by D.E. Fishman, M.S. Kupovetskii and V.N. Kuzelenkov. Edited by D.E. Fishman, M.S. Kupovetskii and V.N. Kuzelenkov. Moscow, 2005. 211 p. Publication of Project Judaica. Added title page and introduction in English. [Rosarkhiv; RGGU; RGVA; Jewish Theological Seminary of America; YIVO Institute for Jewish Research] (Lib: DLC; MH).

Unfortunately, the original Russian edition does not include all of the Jewish fonds in the archive, especially many personal papers of Jews from different countries. It was not updated with respect to restitution transfers to France, Belgium, and the Netherlands in 2000–2003. Nor does it reference microfilms retained for some of those files now available in RGVA in Moscow. Survey annotations lack reference to prewar descriptions available for some of the collections.

b-410.1. Nazi-Looted Jewish Archives in Moscow: A Guide to Jewish Historical and Cultural Collections in the Russian State Military Archive. Edited by D.E. Fishman, M. Kupovetsky and V. Kuzelenkov. Scranton: University of Scranton Press, 2010. 291 p. Published in association with the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and The Jewish Theological Seminary. (Lib: DLC; MH).

The English edition is reorganized to list fonds by country of origin, but is only partially updated from the Russian edition. Unfortunately, it still does not include all of the Jewish fonds in the archive, especially many personal papers of Jews from different countries. It was not updated with respect to many of the Jewish fonds returned to France, Belgium, and the Netherlands, as listed in detail in Returned from Russia (b–353 and 353.1). Nor does it reference microfilms retained for some of those files now available in RGVA in Moscow. Survey annotations lack reference to prewar descriptions available for some of the collections and additional published descriptions.

b-411. Tarantul, Elijahu. “Raub oder Rettung? Jüdische Akten im Moskauer Sonderarchiv.” In Jüdisches Archivwesen: Beiträge zum Kolloquiumaus Anlass des 100. Jahrestags der Gründung des Gesamtarchivs der deutschen Juden, zugleich 10. Archivwissenschaftliches Kolloquium der Archivschule Marburg, 13.-15. September 2005, edited by F.M. Bischoff and P. Honigmann, pp. 111–41. Marburg, 2007.

b-412. Mayorek, Yoram. Guide to Jewish Archives in Moscow: The Jewish Holdings of the Center for Preservation of Historico-Documentary Collections (former ‘Special Archive’) in Moscow. 1999.

The web page has not been updated since the archive was absorbed by RGVA in June 1999 and many of the French, Belgian, and Dutch fonds listed have been returned, but it provides helpful annotations for several Jewish-related fonds in Moscow. See also Mayorek's initial report: “Arkhiyon meyuhad beyoter”, Ha'aretz, 30 Oct. 1992, p. B6 (in Hebrew).

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Masonic Fonds

b-413. Die deutschen und österreichischen Freimaurerbestände im Deutschen Sonderarchiv in Moskau (heute Aufbewahrungszentrum der historisch-dokumentarischen Kollektionen). Edited by H. Reinalter. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang, 2002. “Schriftenreihe der Internationalen Forschungsstelle, Demokratische Bewegungen in Mitteleuropa 1770–1850,” vol. 35.

A translation of the Russian finding aids (opisi) for fond 1412, the extensive general collection of Masonic files from various European countries, predominantly Germany and Austria, but also including many others.

b-414. Hoffman, Serge. “Luxembourg. Restitution of Luxembourg Masonic Archives to the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.” In Returned from Russia: Nazi Archival Plunder in Western Europe and Recent Restitution Issues, edited by P.K. Grimsted, F.J. Hoogewoud and E. Ketelaar, pp. 283–85. Institute of Art and Law, UK, 2007.

b-415. Arnaud, Bernadette. “Les archives volées des francs-maçons. Pillées par les nazis, récupérées par les Soviétiques.” Sciences et avenir, Feb. 2003, pp. 38-59.

b-416. Beaurepaire, Pierre-Yves. L'Espace des francs-maçons. Une sociabilité européenne au 18 siècle. Rennes: Presses Universitaires de Rennes, 2003. Collection ‘Histoire’.

Includes many references to Masonic materials from Russian archives, with a separate section ‘Les archives “russes” du Grand Orient de France', pp. 93–97, and an appended inventory of the first 150 files from fond 113, the main fond of the Grand Orient.

b-417. Mollier, Pierre. “Paris-Berlin-Moscou: Les archives retrouvées.” L'Histoire, July-Aug. 2001, no. 256, pp. 78-81.

See also the subsequent section, Grimsted (interview by Pierre Mollier), ‘Les prises de guerre de l'Armée rouge: Témoignage de Patricia Kennedy Grimsted', ibid. pp. 84–85.

b-418. Mollier, Pierre. “Le voile levé sur les archives ‘secrètes' de la Franc-maçonnerie.” In Archives ‘secrètes', secrets d'Archives? Historiens et archivistes face aux archives sensibles, edited by S. Laurent, pp. 124–32. Paris: CNRS Editions, 2003.

b-419. Mollier, Pierre (ed.). “Trésors de la Bibliothèque du Grand Orient de France.” Renaissance Traditionnelle, July–Oct. 2002, no. 131–32 (special issue).

The volume includes an important introductory article by Pierre Mollier, ‘Histoire des archives et la Bibliothèque du Grand Orient de France', pp. 153–67; and several publications of important groups of documents from the Grand Orient files received from Moscow (especially fond 113).

b-420. Porset, Charles. “27,000 dossiers gelés à Moscou.” Humanisme: Revue des Francs-Maçons du Grand Orient de France, Mar. 1997, no. 232–233, pp. 157–63.

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ABB ArcheoBiblioBase Archeo Biblio Base Patricia Kennedy Grimsted