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2003 Fire at the Kamenets Podolskiy Archives in Ukraine!










Press release from the Ukraine Archives dated April 10
Suppemental report from Miriam Weiner dated April 13
Supplemental report from Ukraine Archives dated April 18
Supplemental report from Miriam Weiner dated April 18
Supplemental Report dated April 25, 2003

Photographs taken by Ukrainian archivists following the fire











Press release from the Ukraine Archives dated April 10

PRESS-RELEASE / Humanitarian tragedy:
Fire exterminated one of the Kamianets Podilsky Archives' Warehouses

On April 10, 2003, at 12:30 PM, a fire broke out in Warehouse #1 of the Kamianets-Podilsky Archives. Five of the most valuable fonds (record collections) were ablaze: f.226, Podolia State Chamber (Kazennaia Palata) (1796-1919), f.228, Office of Governor of Podolia (1795-1917), f. 112, Office for peasant affairs of Podolia Gubernia (1861-1919), f. 678, Kamianets city office (1875-1920), f. 249, Office of Military Governor (1795-1845). These historical fonds (about 100,000 files) cover the history of Podolia Gubernia from the end of the XVIII century through the beginning of the XX century. So far about 2 tons of archival material were evacuated from the destroyed warehouse. More than 1200 items (wet but not ablaze) are being dried in three special rooms for drying. In a few days these records hopefully will be in a good condition. About 10 000 other items were transferred into the refrigerator and frozen at -30C. These should be restored after the drying rooms are empty from the first line of records.

In addition to those documents that were completely destroyed, many unique historical documents were water-damaged. Excavations inside the destroyed building are continuing.

The Chairman of the State Archives Committee, Dr. Hennadii Boriak, immediately went from Kyiv to Kamianets Podilsky to survey the damage, take photographs and to formulate a plan for the rescue and recovery of documents. Since the fire, hundreds of people local archivists together with cadets, policeman, fireman and other municipal personnel, of students, ordinary people have been working around the clock to save whatever is possible.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Press-Service of the State Committee
Kyiv, Ukraine
www.archives.gov.ua/Eng/

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Supplemental report from Miriam Weiner dated April 13

In the official press release from the State Committee on Archives of Ukraine issued today, the record groups referred to include many different types of documents, including Revision Lists (lists of inhabitants), some Jewish vital records, Kahal records, school records, tax lists, voter lists, immigration records, recruit lists, property records and other types of documents. I leave for Ukraine on May 1 and expect to be in this archive shortly after my arrival. Hopefully, I will be able to make a supplemental report upon my return.


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Supplemental report from Ukraine Archives dated April 18, 2003

“Due to the catastrophic fire on April 10 that destroyed or severely damaged (both by fire and water damage) no less than 70% of the archival documents which were kept at the damaged warehouse, the Kamenets Podolskiy archives is closed to the general public. This archive is not able to respond to research inquiries at all and it will be many months before the restoration of surviving documents can be completed. Following that, it will be a long time before a complete of listing can be made of exactly which books survived. Please keep in mind that in some cases, only fragments of books survived. We are hopeful that we can find some funds through humanitarian aid efforts to assist us in this monumental preservation work.

P.S. Let your archives be kept safely! God bless your personal and family papers and also the public archives in your country!"


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Supplemental report from Miriam Weiner dated April 18

I have been told by some archivists in Kamenets Podolskiy that it is believed that the Jewish metrical books did survive the fire. I hope to confirm this during my upcoming trip in May. However, for genealogical purposes, one of the main resources for research was the revision lists (Reviskiy Skaskiy or lists of inhabitants). Fond (record group) 226 (which included these books) was one of the fonds that was known to be severely damaged by fire. These books have not been microfilmed or copied in any manner. There are no known duplicates books. Since all archivists and other employees of the KP archives are concentrating solely on the preservation of damaged books, no genealogical research services are available at all, even with surviving books. Archivists in Kamenets Podolskiy have asked that we all be patient until they can complete their vital work with these surviving books.


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Supplemental Report dated April 25, 2003

According to a message received April 25, 2003 from Hennadii Boriak, director, State Committee of Archives of Ukraine , "Until further notice, this archive is closed to the general public. Some archive books are being restored and when the restoration process is complete, the restored books and surviving books will be transferred to the Khmelnitskiy Oblast Archive for further restoration and preservation. For some time, they will be kept separately for recovery and acclimatization purposes. The transferred records will be completely inaccessible through 2003."





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