Copyright Holder: Rossiĭskiĭ gosudarstvennyĭ voennyĭ arkhiv
In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the jurisdiction of district 11 of the Independent Order of B’nai B’rith included the entire Eastern Mediterranean region. A lodge was established in Belgrade in 1911, with Adolf Resovski as president. The Zagreb lodge, founded in 1927, was Zionist in orientation, as was the Sarajevo lodge, founded in 1933. In 1935, Yugoslav lodges succeeded in breaking away from B’nai B’rith district 11 and forming district 18 for the Yugoslav Kingdom. Its grand master was Dr. Bukic Pijade. The lodges’ members consisted of the social elite of Yugoslav Jewish communities. They sponsored lectures, discussions of current Jewish issues, and donated money to local, national, and foreign Jewish institutions. In August 1940, a decree of the Ministry of Interior dissolved all B’nai B’rith lodges in Yugoslavia. [Source: EHRI catalog]
Rossiĭskiĭ gosudarstvennyĭ voennyĭ arkhiv
5 microfilm reels (digitized), 16 mm digital images,
Fond 1225 (1875-1941). Opis 1-2; Dela 60. Selected records arranged in three groups: 1. Activities of the Grand Lodge of B'nai B'rith in Yugoslavia and its affiliated lodges" Serbi","Sarajev" and" Zagre"; 2. Activities of the B'nai B'rith lodges in Greece; 3. Archival records of the non B'nai B'rith provenance related to Jewish community of Belgrade and the Union of Jewish Religious Communities in Yugoslavia. Note: New microfilm reels #1-5, this is a replacement in 2017 of Dela 1-60, Not all records were duplicated for this replacment. Dela 1-7, and 13-18 exist only on the previous microfilms: Dela 1 and 7, Reel #194 (Starts on an image #956); Dela 13-18, Reels # 199 and 200. All previously selected records are located on microfilm reels #194, 199, and #200.
Records relating to the activities of the Grand Lodge of B'nai B'rith in Yugoslavia and its affiliated lodges"Serbi","Sarajev" and “Zagreb" Consists of circular letters, register of proceedings "Serbi" lodge), list of board members, biographical information on the leaders, letters of recommendation and application of candidates, bylaws, minutes and agendas of the meetings (“Zagre" and"Sarajev"), list of members and leaders of the"Menora" lodges in Osijek and"Manat Ya" in Subotica; correspondence with the Yugoslav authorities, various reports on activities (struggle against antisemitism, fundraising for the relief efforts for Jewish refugees from Germany, Austria, Romania and other countries during and after 1938-1939). Also contains records related to the activities of the B'nai B'rith lodges in Greece. It consists of general reports, applications for membership (Lodge"Salonik"), and financial records of the lodges"Acropoli", “Byzantiu", correspondence files with other lodges, reports on fundraising activities. Other group of records in this collection constitute archival records of the non B'nai B'rith provenance, originating from the archival collections of the Jewish community of Belgrade (see also: RG-11.001M.96, Jewish Community in Belgrade (Fond 1429). Includes speeches, correspondence, materials related to the construction of the synagogue in Belgrade, lists of cultural, charitable, educational and religious Jewish organizations active in Yugoslavia, the list of Belgrade Jewish community electors (1931), minutes of the meetings of the Executive Committee of the Union of Jewish Religious Communities in Yugoslavia, articles, texts of lectures, printouts of newspaper publications on Jewish emigration etc. The entire collection was copied in 2017.
The Grand Lodges of B'nai B'rith in Yugoslavia and Greece and their affiliated lodges [Consolidated collection] Velikie lozhi evreiskogo ordena"Bnei-Bri" v lugoslavii i Gretsii i ikh dochernie lozhi Bnei Brith-Großloge und Tochterlogen Griechenlands und Jugoslawiens (Fond 1225)