VHR Coordinator's Blog
Have a question about the household registers? Send them to the coordinator at vhrproject@litvaksig.org. Questions of general interest will be discussed in the blog.
How are the registers organized?
I have to answer this in two parts, depending on the dates. Up to early 1931, each house maintained a single list in which residents were entered as they arrived. Thus, the order in the list generally reflects the order in which people arrived to the building. Starting in 1931, separate lists were maintained for each apartment within a building. The entries were generally chronological within each apartment listing.
In presenting the batch data, we follow the same scheme. For early books, the entries are presented in the order they appear in the book. For later books, we go systematically through the apartments, presenting each apartment fully before going on to the next apartment.
How did the registration system work?
This is best explained in their own words. During the early years of the system, blank register books came with a page of instructions for apartment managers. Read the instructions (translated to English) here.