The Moscow Papers (58 series)
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The Moscow Papers (58 series): papers of the French Rothschild family
The Moscow Papers comprise two separate series: The Moscow Papers (58 series) and The Moscow Papers (637 series). The papers were seized during the Second World War and returned to the family, who then deposited them with the Trustees of the Rothschild Archive.
The Moscow Papers (58 series) were transferred to the Archive in 1994, and 2000. Until that date they had been housed in the Centre for the Preservation of Historico-Documentary Collections (Tsentr khranenii a istoriko dokumental'nykh kollekstsii) in Moscow. This Centre, known simply until 1992 as The Special Archive (Osobyi arkhiv), was established in 1946 to house documents captured during the Second World War. The papers listed here, which formed Fond No. 58 in the Centre, had clearly been seized from the family in France by the Germans and subsequently captured and taken to the USSR by advancing Soviet forces. While precise details of the locations from which they had originally been seized in France and of the place in which they had been stored by the Germans are not as yet known, the archivists of the Special Archive recorded in 1985 that the bulk of the papers had been transferred to their custody in 1945 from the Central Archive of the Ministry of Internal of the USSR. A few documents (now no longer separately identifiable) arrived subsequently, in 1960, from the Central Archive of the Ukrainian Republic.
The transfer of the papers to The Rothschild Archive in 1994 was achieved with the full co-operation of the Chairman of the Committee for Archival Affairs of the Government of the Russian Federation (Roskomarkhiv) and through the good offices of the French Government, with a shipment of whose archives, also held in the Centre, they were transported to Paris in the Spring of 1994 and subsequently transferred to London.
The original consignment of files was accessioned as 000/930; file 58-1-691 was not transferred and is missing. Five further files, 58-1-1396-1400, as scheduled by The Special Archive, were not received as part of the original consignment. These files were transferred to The Rothschild Archive in 2000, and accessioned as 000/796.
The Moscow Papers (58 series), papers of the French Rothschild family, 1870-1940
000/0796 and 000/0930, 1,401 files
Papers of the French Rothschild family, formerly held by The Centre for the Preservation of Historico-Documentary Collections (Tsentr khranenii a istoriko dokumental'nykh kollekstsii) in Moscow. Many of the business and family interests of the French Rothschilds are reflected in the files in the 58 series.
System of arrangement and description
The divisions of this collection of files made by the Russian archivists has largely been maintained; please consult the index below to identify papers relating to a particular Rothschild family member. Where papers could not be allocated by the Russian archivists to a particular family member, they have been grouped under the heading of ‘Sundry Rothschild family papers’. A small number of files relate to ‘Ernst Leonard’ who is not a member of the Rothschild family; it is believed that these files were originally included in fonds 58 in error by the Russian archivists. Researchers should note that the files have not been catalogued in date order; the original order within each subject grouping in not known.
The collection consists of 1,401 files relating to 26 members of the Rothschild family and their relatives. It includes many business papers relating to the Paris house, including Accounts of the Paris house, 1914-1925, sundry letter copy books, railway business and the nationalisation of the French railways in the 1930s. Other files are concerned with private affairs of members of the Rothschild family including private financial matters; estates and houses, art collections, motoring, horse breeding and racing, private family correspondence, births, marriages and deaths. Included in the collection are files concerning the artistic endeavours of the family as playwrights and authors, and their work in the political sphere, both locally and nationally. Other files concern philanthropic endeavours of the French family and there are papers concerning the Fondation Ophtalmologique Adolphe de Rothschild, the Rothschild Hospital, Paris, and the Maison de Convalescence, Chantilly. Other files concern the work of Baron Edmond de Rothschild (1845-1934) in Palestine. Of the total number of files, 1,233 are concerned with six members of the family: Henri de Rothschild (1872-1946), Alexandrine de Rothschild (1884-1965), Maurice de Rothschild (1881-1957), Robert de Rothschild (1880-1946), Edmond de Rothschild (1845-1934) and Edouard de Rothschild (1868-1949).
Arrangement of the files in Fonds 58-1
Alphonse (Mayer Alphonse) de Rothschild (1827-1905)
See 222-228
Henri James Nathaniel Charles de Rothschild (1872-1947)
See 221, 229, 406-446. Henri's files include drafts and proofs of his plays, many of which were written under the name Andre Pascal, but there is also general correspondence with companies regarding Henri's medical and pharmaceutical interests.
Edouard Alphonse James de Rothschild (1868-1949)
See 878-1296, 1336. A heavily business oriented group of records, containing minutes of meetings of the boards of the seven major railway networks, 1928-1937, and a number of reports on various railways. Some cash accounts of the Paris house 1914-1917, and 1924-1925 also survive here, and some private business and personal correspondence.
Miriam Alexandrine de Rothschild (1884-1965)
See 230-381; 741. Alexandrine's files are largely concerned with the estates at Château de Boulogne, Iverny and Annaie.
James Gustave Jules (Alain) de Rothschild (1910-1982)
See 382.
James Mayer de Rothschild (1792-1868)
See 403-404.
Gustave Samuel James de Rothschild (1829-1911)
See 383-390.
Guy Edouard Alphonse Paul de Rothschild (1909-2007)
See 391-392.
Alix, Baroness Guy de Rothschild (1911-1982)
See 393-402; 1374-1388.
Laura (Thérèse), Baroness James Edouard de Rothschild (1847-1931)
See 405.
James Armand de Rothschild (1878-1957)
See 447.
Diane Cécile Alice Juliette de Rothschild (1907-1996)
See 448-450.
Caroline (Julie), Baroness Adolphe von Rothschild (1830-1907)
See 451.
Maurice Edmond Charles de Rothschild (1881-1957)
See 452-690; 692-740; 1397-1399. The majority of Maurice's files are concerned with his senatorial responsibilities in the Hautes Alpes,but the activities of the Fondation Ophthalmologique Adolphe de Rothschild are also represented.
Robert Phillippe Gustav de Rothschild (1880-1946)
See 742-787. Robert's files, along with Edouard's , represent more of the Rothschilds' business activities than the majority of the papers in the collection. There are a number of business reports on areas of Rothschild interest, such as nickel, silver and railways, as well as a few charitable interests.
Caroline, Baroness Salomon Mayer de Rothschild (1782-1854)
See 788.
Cécile Léonie Eugénie Gudule Lucie de Rothschild (1913-1995)
See 789-791.
Philippe Georges de Rothschild (1902-1988)
See 792-805.
Charlotte, Baroness Anselm von Rothschild) (1807-1859)
See 806.
Edmond James de Rothschild (1845-1934)
See 807-877; 1322-1335; 1337. Edmond's papers are virtually all dedicated to his collections of art and furniture and his concern with exhibitions of Judaica in the 1890s, a small number of files contain information about Edmond's work in Palestine.
Eugène Daniel von Rothschild (1884-1976)
See 1297-1298.
Elie Robert de Rothschild (1917-2007)
See 1299-1305.
Sundry Rothschild family papers
See 1338-1373; 1396; 1400.
(Charlotte) Béatrice, Baroness Maurice Ephrussi (1864-1934)
See 1389-1395.
List available: A full listing of these files can be found on the Rothschild Business microsite. A Rothschild Research Forum account is required to access this site. Apply for membership of the Rothschild Research Forum here.
The Moscow Papers (58 series), papers of the French Rothschild family , c.1914
000/0813, 18 items
This accession consists of 18 black and white photographs produced from negatives found in File 58-1-773: private documents, photos, letters of Robert de Rothschild showing scenes from the Western Front, (possibly the Netherlands), in the First World War. Robert trained as a mining engineer, and played a major role in the management of the Paris House, de Rothschild Frères. During the First World War, he served as a Lieutenant, receiving two citations. Robert shared the family's love of music and art, and experimented with early photography.
The Moscow Papers (58 series), papers of the French Rothschild family , c.1950
000/1808, 1 item
Copy of the original Russian catalogue of Fonds 58 from the Moscow Special Archive.