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STATUTEN DER ZENTRALBANK ZUR FÖRDERUNG DES JÜDISCHEN GENOSSENSCHAFTSWESENS IN LITAUEN

No Place [Kovno/Kaunas, Lithuania]: No Publisher [The Bank? Printed by A. Bako spaustuve], 1926?

No Date [1926?]. Presume 1st edition thus, revised following the Central Bank Collapse of 1925. Original printed paper wrappers, 16mo (small), 27 pages. In German. Title translates as, “Statutes of the Central Bank for the Promotion of Jewish Cooperatives in Lithuania.” Cover also includes title in Lithuanian: “Centrinio Žydu Banko Kooperacijai Remti Lietuvoje Istatai.” Reference is made on the first page to an Aug 6, 1926 decision by the national ministerial cabinet; these statutes probably represent revisions made in response to the Central Bank collapse in 1925 (see below). “Prior to the [First World] war, there were many Jewish credit co-operatives and loan and savings societies in Lithuania. After the war, the Jews did not initially deem it advisable to re-establish these societies because of the new currency and the difficulties involved in repaying old debts and collecting loans. But at the beginning of 1920, some banks were reorganized. The Kovno Folksbank started functioning in two rooms secured from the Jewish community on January 25, 1920, with a capital of 52,500 marks. Paid workers were not employed during the initial develop- ment of the institution which was open two evenings a week. By the end of 1921, the bank had 2,376 accounts. That year it had granted 2,657 loans totaling 10,235,824 marks. The Jewish credit co-operatives of Lithuania, known as People's Banks (Folksbenk), belonged to a Union (Farband fun di Yidishe Folksbenk). During the period of national Jewish autonomy in Lithuania, the credit co-operatives and the Central Bank flourished. In 1923, Joseph Marcus, representative of the JDC, obtained $50,000 for the People's Bank from the Lithuanian govern- ment, a sum equal to the JDC contribution. In Lithuania the Jewish banks, besides granting loans, also assisted producers' and consumers' co-operatives, and cultural and other activities. There was no lack of conflicts however. The local People's Bank of Schaulen complained that the Central Bank charged unbelievable interest for dead capitals.’ The People's Bank of Kovno, which had 4,500 clients, complained that the Central Bank had become a political weapon and did not take the needs of the people into consideration. The collapse of the Central Bank in Lithuania at the end of 1925 threatened the existence of the entire chain of eighty-four People's Banks. The AJRF and banking institutions came to the aid of the Central Bank which was reorganized in 1925. A year later the AJRF undertook the reorganization of the local banks, ‘not without some friction and resistance,’ which was aggravated by crop failure and other economic difficulties. At the end of 1931, the occupational classification of the members of the 757 kassas in eastern Europe was: petty traders and merchants-55 percent; artisans and small manufacturers-25 percent; other occupations-20 percent. This was typical of the general occupational structure of east European Jews. Naturally, this distribution varied in individual countries, regions, and cities.” [Szajkowski, "Reconstruction" vs. "Palliative Relief" In American Jewish Overseas Work (1919-1939) (Part II) Jewish Social Studies, Vol. 32, No. 2 (Apr., 1970), p. 114] SUBJECT(S): Banks and banking -- Lithuania. Jews Cooperative societies. -- Economic conditions. We could find no copies of this booklet anywhere. Not on OCLC, and a title search on google turned up an amazing zero matches (!). Faint English-language acquisition stamp on rear dated 1929. Otherwise extremely clean, a beautiful copy, Very Good+ Condition. Perhaps a unique surviving copy. (Yid-43-24)

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