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Gretz, who was responsible for the Zionist Library and the Journalism Section. This was also the year in which the catalogue of Jewish newspaper was first produced.
From Berlin to Jerusalem
By the mid-Twenties of the 20th century, thoughts had already arisen as to the proper location of the archive. Dr. Lauterbach believed that the archive should be located near the Head Office in London, which had made much use of it in those days. Herlitz actually preferred moving it to Jerusalem, and we have found practical expressions for his ambitions in the "Archive of the Archive." It is possible that the location in the basement was burdensome to Herlitz and he tried, on at least two occasions – in 1924 and in 1928 – to move the archive to Jerusalem. He searched for suitable spaces in the Jewish National and University Library in Jerusalem as well as for an apartment for himself but these moves had unfortunately failed.
In December 1931, due to the instability in Germany, Herlitz contacted Lauterbach and warned him of the Communists or Hitler's Nazis coming into power: "I need not explain the ramifications of such a move. We believe that if this scenario comes to pass, then Zionist activity is no longer possible here." Due to the required caution, Herlitz used a cipher and in an interview he gave on the eightieth birthday of journalist Avraham Elhanani, he told of code words he used in his contacts on this matter: "The climate in our country is not good for the goods I handle. Perhaps it is better to move it to a warmer country" ("Davar", March 11, 1965).
Several months later, a decision was made to transfer the archive to Jerusalem. In the spring of 1933, just after the Nazis' rise to power, Herlitz contacted the authorities with an official request to do so. He later told in his memoirs that in response, a Gestapo officer appeared in the archive and took an interest in its content. When he noted the various languages, he asked Herlitz to fill out the report instead of him and he signed it. Several days later that longed-for certificate arrived, and in September 1933, the archive was packed up into 154 large crates and sent off. In the meantime, the basement in the Keren Hayesod Building in Jerusalem was prepared for the archive and there, in the fall of 1934, it was once again opened for the public.
Its reopening in Jerusalem raised a series of questions and ideas regarding the goals of the archive and its future vision. A specialist committee, comprised of representatives of the Hebrew University, representatives of the World Zionist Organization and specialists in the field of study and management of archives including Dr. Alex Bein, was established in order to discuss ways of continuing to operate the Zionist Archive. It submitted its recommendation to the Organizational Department of the World Zionist Organization. Dr. Bein, who was asked to express an opinion regarding the status of the archives in the Land of Israel, submitted a detailed report in early 1935, which included criticism on the one hand, and a recommendation to establish an archive for the history of the Zionist settlement in the Land of Israel on the other. In February 1936,
Dr. Herlitz produced (in cooperation with Dr. Bein) a recommendation document backed by a budget proposal to expand the operations of the Zionist Archive. By the way, the name "Central Zionist Archive" appears for the first time in Herlitz's handwriting on this document, titled "Archive of the World Zionist Organization and the Yishuv in the Land of Israel."
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