LUDI: Digitisation and recording of refugee files VSJF Lucerne

Aim of the project

Digitisation of the archive of the Jewish Refugee Aid Lucerne.
Facilitating access to the files and their scientific evaluation.

Description of the project

The archives of the Association of Swiss Jewish Welfare/Refugee Aid (VSJF) have been held by the Archives of Contemporary History (AfZ) since the 1990s. They are among the most frequently used holdings. In addition to the national archives, the AfZ also took over the archives of the local VSJF committee in Lucerne in 2011. This covers the years 1943 to 1961 and contains around 1,000 refugee files in 4.75 linear metres of files. A random check showed that no records are available in the national VSJF archives for half of these individuals and that the VSJF Lucerne files differ in content from those in the main VSJF collection. For example, there are hardly any questionnaires in Lucerne, but there is information about more personal and intensive refugee care locally.

In the 1990s, the AfZ created a research database for the more than 20,000 people whose fates are documented in the VSJF archives. This makes it possible to search the refugee files according to a variety of parameters. For this reason, the personal information from the VSJF Lucerne was integrated into the existing AfZ internal refugee database (see the EFAF project).

Synergies and context

The digitisation of the VSJF Lucerne archive has made valuable cultural property more accessible and the original files can be preserved in the future. Now, the care of predominantly Jewish refugees during and after the Second World War can also be examined at the local level.

Time frame

The VSJF Lucerne archive was digitised in close cooperation between the Archives of Contemporary History and the DigiCenter of the ETH Library from July to November 2020. The AfZ then integrated the information from the refugee files into its database.