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Keschales, Haim

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Haim Keschales (1907 Plovdiv – 1977 Bat Yam) was a historian of Bulgarian Jewry and a prominent activist of the Labor Zionist “Po‘ale Tsiyon” (Workers of Zion) organization in Bulgaria. In Plovdiv, as a young man, he joined the Zionist youth organization "Association for Hebrew Language and Culture", and in 1925 joined the Zionist socialist youth movement “Ha-Shomer ha-Tsa‘ir” (The Young Guard). In 1936 he joined the“Po‘ale Tsiyon”. During WWII Haim Keschales maintained contacts with the delegation of the Rescue Committee of the Jewish Agency in Istanbul to carry out aid and rescue operations in the occupied territories. From 1944 he was one of the leaders of the “Po‘ale Tsiyon” in Bulgaria, and for several months in 1948, until his immigration to Israel, he served as the representative of the Jewish Agency in Bulgaria. After immigrating to Israel, he was engaged in researching the history of Bulgarian Jewry. The private collection of Haim Keschales contains documents on the history of Bulgarian Jewry including: memories and testimonies; copies of laws, instructions, orders, letters and proclamations from the period of the fascist regime; records on immigration of the Bulgarian Jews to Eretz Israel at the end of World War II and their absorption in the State of Israel in 1950-1951; press clippings from the late 1950s and 1960s on the rescue of Bulgarian Jews; documents from the period of the beginning of the communist regime in Bulgaria concerning its attitude to the immigration; records relating to Zionist organizations and parties (“Poalei Zion”, United Zionist Party, Jewish National Fund-KKL). An important part of the collection contains Haim Keschales's correspondence on different issues including his Zionist activities in Bulgaria and his books. There are also documents from Plovdiv on the Keschales family and articles about his literary and historical works --

Reference Code
P109
Dates
1939-1954
Consists of
24 files..
Languages
bul; Hebrew; French; German; English;
Description
The collection is composed of records on the history of Bulgarian Jewry, personal documents and correspondence of Haim Keschales related to his political, public and scholarly activities. Materials on Bulgarian Jewry’s history include: memories and testimonies of different persons; copies of laws, instructions, orders, letters and proclamations from the period of the fascist regime in Bulgaria; German documents and letters from the period of the WWII; records on emigration of Bulgarian Jews at the end of WW II; press clippings from the late 1950s and 1960s on the rescue of Bulgarian Jews. The collection contains materials (protocols and circulars) from the beginning of the communist regime related to the emigration of Jews. Documents about emigration include correspondence on the subject of preparations for the Aliyah, lists of immigrants to Eretz Israel on the ship "Transylvania" in 1945, and list of children (dated 1946) who immigrated to Eretz Israel. The collection holds documents about Zionist activities including records about the United Zionist Party and Jewish National Fund (KKL). There is also correspondence regarding reparations for Bulgarian Jews and their absorption in Israel in 1950-1951. Personal documents and correspondence of Haim Keschales include articles about his literary and historical works, documents from Plovdiv on the Keschales family, and correspondence regarding his book.
Title Keschales, Haim.
Contributors Poʻale Tsiyon (Bulgaria)
ha-Shomer ha-tsaʻir (Bulgaria)
Jewish Agency for Israel. Rescue Committee
Jewish Agency for Israel
Jewish National Fund
Yad ṿa-shem, rashut ha-zikaron la-Shoʼah ṿela-gevurah. ha-Arkhiyon ha-merkazi la-Shoʼah ṿela-gevurah
Notes Haim Keschales' documents are also kept in the Yad Vashem archives
Host Item Keschales, Haim - Private Collection
Level of Description Fonds Record
Biographical summary Haim Keschales was born in Plovdiv (Bulgaria) in 1907. His father was a Hebrew teacher. As a young man, Haim Keschales joined the youth organization "Association for Hebrew Language and Culture" that was headed by Zionist activist Albert Romano. In 1925 Keschales joined Zionist socialist youth movement “Ha-Shomer ha-Tsa‘ir” (The Young Guard) and in 1936 joined the“Po‘ale Tsiyon”. During WWII Haim Keschales maintained contacts with the delegation of the Rescue Committee of the Jewish Agency in Istanbul to carry out aid and rescue operations in the occupied territories. From 1944 he was one of the leaders of the “Po‘ale Tsiyon” in Bulgaria, and for several months in 1948, until his immigration to Israel, he served as the representative of the Jewish Agency in Bulgaria. After immigrating to Israel, he researched the history of Bulgarian Jewry. Haim Keschales died in Bat Yam in 1977.
Language Note Bulgarian
Hebrew
French
German
English
Credits With Assistance from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims AgainstGermany Sponsored by the Foundation "Remembrance, Responsibility and Future" Supported by the German Federal Ministry of Finance
National Library system number 990043439120205171
Links פרטים על מיקום החומר/Location&access
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When using this material, please acknowledge the source of the material as follows:

With Assistance from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims AgainstGermany Sponsored by the Foundation "Remembrance, Responsibility and Future" Supported by the German Federal Ministry of Finance

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