Call Number:

Ms. Coll. 1618

Repository:

University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts

Extent:

.4 linear feet ((1 box))

Language Note:

This collection is primarily in French, but there is a small selection of material in Hebrew, German, and English.

Preferred Citation:

Franco-Judaica collection, 1709-1914, Ms. Coll. 1618, Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, University of Pennsylvania

Date:

1709-1914 (inclusive)

Abstract:

The Franco-Judaica collection measures .4 linear feet in one box and dates from 1709 to 1914. It contains a collection of documents regarding Jewish people and religion in France, many of which are related to or generated by the Israelite Central Consistory of France. It provides insight to and examples of France's governance of the Jewish population in the era of Napoleon I's 1808 emancipation of Jews and subsequent establishment of the French Israelite Consistories.

The material in this collection relates to the Jewish population in France in the early era of Jewish emancipation and governance starting around the French revolution, following into Napoleon I's 17 March 1808 decree formalizing emancipation, and the era during and following the establishment of the Israelite Central Consistory of France.

Per a 1394 decree and 1615 confirmation, the Jewish population of Paris was banished by expulsion and had no legal status. The Jewish population re-established itself in Metz, France in the 16th century and, by the time of the revolution, the Jewish population in Metz had grown to 1,200 families. Metz became a cultural center for Jews in France and was home to an early Talmudic academy, Hebrew printing works, and synagogue.

The first step towards Jewish emancipation in France occurred during the French Revolution with the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, which implied Jewish equality. The Constituent Assembly passed a law on September 27, 1791, that became the first full emancipation of Jews by a Christian state.

On March 17, 1808, Napoleon I announced a decree that established a consistory and synagogue in every French department with two thousand or more Jews. The role of these regional consistories was to, "[advise] the public in accordance with the decisions of the Grand Sanhedrin, [maintain] order in the synagogue, [collect] the worship duties and above all [encourage] their congregations to take up useful professions and [promote] a patriotic spirit." (MAHJ) The thirteen original consistories were in Bordeaux, Casal, Coblence, Crefeld, Marseille, Mayence, Metz, Paris, Strasbourg, Trèves, Turin, Nancy and Wintzenheim and there was a central consistory in Paris.

While the March 17, 1808, decree formalized Jewish emancipation in France, some measures of the decree were discriminatory. For example, there were restrictions on where Jews could live in the départements of Alsace, Jewish shopkeepers and traders had to be issued an annual trading license, and conscription became compulsory.

Despite Jewish emancipation in France, antisemitism persisted, as evidenced by the Dreyfus Affair, a political affair involving the wrongful conviction of a Jewish Alsatian French artillery officer for treason. The conflict lasted from 1894 until 1906.

Sources:

"10. the Emancipation: The French Model." Musée d'Art et d'Histoire Du Judaïsme, 25 June 2024, www.mahj.org/en/permanent-collection/10-emancipation-french-model.

Barnavi, Eli. "Jewish Emancipation in Western Europe." My Jewish Learning, web.archive.org/web/20150319035213/www.myjewishlearning.com/history/Modern_History/1700-1914/Emancipation_and_Enlightenment/In_the_West.shtml. Accessed 1 Nov. 2024.

Seelig, Surella Evanor. Consistoire Central Israélite de France Collection, Brandeis University, 2011, www.brandeis.edu/library/archives/essays/special-collections/consistoire-central-israelite.html#:~:text=The%20Consistoire%20Central%20Isra%C3%A9lite%20de%20France%20was%20an%20administrative%20body,interacted%20with%20the%20French%20state.

The Franco-Judaica collection measures .4 linear feet in one box and dates from 1709 to 1914. It contains a collection of documents regarding Jewish people and religion in France, many of which are related to or generated by the Israelite Central Consistory of France and its many regional consistories.

The collection is organized into three series, I. Organizations; II. Regions, cities, and towns; and III. Other material.

Series I. Organizations contains material relating to the Alliance Israélite Universelle and the Consistoire General in addition to several membership lists from Jewish organizations in France. Most of the membership lists include the individual's name, date and place of birth, profession, and address.

Series II. Regions, cities, and towns contains a variety of material from specific location in France. Much of the material is from the regional consistories, but there is also financial material, mortgage information, censuses, legal documents, synagogue material, and pamphlets. There is material from across France, but most of the material comes from the Grand-Est region, specifically from the departments of Moselle and Bas-Rhin in the historical provinces of Alsace and Lorraine.

Series III. Other material contains correspondence, conference minutes, newspapers, pamphlets, prayers, a report, and an illegible document.

Much of the material in this collection is unrelated, even though much of it is related to or was generated by the French consistories. The material itself serves as evidence of numerous organizations, provides some information on the members of the Jewish populations across France, and provides limited insight into certain aspects of Jewish history and life in France in the late 18th and 19th centuries. More generally, this collection provides insight to and examples of France's governance of the Jewish population in the early era of Jewish emancipation and consistory governance.

It is unclear when or by whom the material in this collection was compiled. All material is in French unless otherwise noted in the inventory.