The Moscow Papers (637 series)
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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 in 1994 and 2001, and deposited with the Trustees of the Rothschild Archive.
Access to some of these collections is restricted at the request of the donors and depositors. All papers later than 1945 are currently closed to researchers; for further information please contact The Rothschild Archive »
The Moscow Papers (637 series): Frankfurt & Vienna
These records were removed from family ownership during the Second World War by the Nazis and were eventually seized by the Soviet Red Army and placed in the Moscow State Archive. These records were released following lengthy negotiations to Mrs Bettina Looram, heir of the Viennese Rothschild family in 2001. Mrs Looram transferred the records to The Rothschild Archive in 2002. These papers primarily relate to the Vienna banking house and Austrian family, but also contain early material relating to the Frankfurt business.
Further information
A discussion of the content can be found in Frank Trentmann's article, New sources on an old family: the Rothschild papers at the Special Archive, Moscow - and a letter from Metternich in Financial History Review vol. 2, part 1, April 1995 (Cambridge University Press, 1995).
See also 'The Return of the Austrian Rothschild Archive' in The Rothschild Archive Annual Review 2001-2002 for more information about the history of these records.
A full list 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 (637 series), papers of the Austrian Rothschild business and family, 1769-1939
000/1059, 61 boxes and 1 small tin box
S M von Rothschild
The Viennese bank, S. M. von Rothschild, was established by Salomon von Rothschild and directed by him until the revolution of 1848. Thereafter he confined himself to his French château, and the firm was managed by his only son, Anselm. Anselm recognised that only one of his sons, Albert, would succeed him in the business. Three of Albert's sons, Alphonse, Louis and Eugène succeeded him on his death in 1911. Alphonse and Eugène escaped from Vienna at the Anschluß in 1938, while Louis, a former chairman of the Creditanstalt, was held prisoner for a year before finally settling in the USA. The business of the Viennese bank was eventually taken over by the firm S. Nicolai.
The Moscow Papers (637) series
These papers primarily relate to the Vienna banking house and Austrian family, but also contain early material relating to the Frankfurt business. The files are arranged in order of the ‘637’ series reference given to them by the Moscow State Archive. There are two series: 637-1 series and 637-2 series. Microform copies of files 637-1-1 to 637-1-357 (created by the Moscow State Archive) were included in this collection, but these will not usually be made available to researchers. Files 637-1-19 to 22, 30 and 316 were transferred to the Austrian Government in June 1960 by the Moscow State Archive. (The Archive has digital and print-out copies of the papers in 637-1-30). File 637-1-287 is noted as number not used; it is not known if this file was missing from the original consignment.
These records were removed from family ownership during the Second World War by the Nazis and were eventually seized by the Soviet Red Army and placed in the Moscow State Archive. These records were released following lengthy negotiations to Mrs Bettina Looram, heir of the Viennese Rothschild family in 2001. Mrs Looram transferred the records to The Rothschild Archive in 2002. The 28 original boxes, in which the collection was placed by the archivists of the Moscow State Archive, and in which the collection arrived at The Rothschild Archive have been retained, but the collection has now been re-boxed into 61 modern archive boxes (of which 6 are oversize). Item 637/1/18, which contains papers concerning loans to Prince Metternich is retained in its original tin box.
Arrangement of these papers
The original order of these papers is not known. It is believed that archivists of the Moscow State Archive imposed a subject order on the files (which may have been based on the original order of the papers as received by them) and arranged them in order of a ‘637’ series reference number. There are two series: 637-1 series and 637-2 series. This arrangement grouped files by subject (listed alphabetically) below. Some files which were originally listed as ‘Miscellaneous’ have been assigned to relevant subjects:
637-1
M.A. Rothschild, Frankfurt, sundry business, 1769-1819: 1-5, 308
Rothschild family business Partnerships: 6-9
Balance sheets of Rothschild businesses: 10-17
Private loans, 1829-1868: 18-36
Austrian state loans, 1863-1902: 37-44
Hungarian state loans, 1863-1902: 45-57
Sundry Government loans, 1823-1906: 58-66
Boden Creditanstalt mortgage bonds, 1890-1906: 67-72
Imperial South Austrian Railway Company credit, 1888-1904: 73-89a
Buschtéhrad Railway Company credit, 1845-1902: 90-95
Sundry railway preference loans, 1845-1892: 96-110
Italian Electricity Trust Company credit, 1898-1909: 111-116
(Salomon) Albert von Rothschild (1844-1911): private correspondence: 117-121, 318, 322
Sundry private family business: 122-125, 310-316, 324-331, 333-335, 337-347, 353
Sundry business matters: 126-165, 309, 319, 332
Rothschild estates and properties, 1874-1938: 166-201a
Rothschild philanthropy and benefactions, 1840-1934: 202-248
Public honours and awards, 1769-1918: 249-261
Congratulations and salutations, 1843-1846: 262-267
Marriage contracts, 1801-1912: 268-273
Wills and related papers, 1836-1917: 274-292
Condolences and obituaries, 1892-1915: 293-300
Clarice von Rothschild (1894-1967): private correspondence: 301-307
Birth certificates: 317, 321
School and university certificates: 320
Alphonse von Rothschild (1878-1942): private correspondence: 323, 336
Family photographs: 348-352
637-2
S.M. von Rothschild & Söhne, Vienna: sundry business, 1888-1932: 1-7
Rothschild estates and properties, 1888-1920: 8-37, 40
Goldschmidt-Rothschild family private papers: 38-39
Eugéne von Rothschild (1884-1976): private papers: 41-46