Zachować srebra rodowe. Zezwolenia na wywóz zabytków oraz instrumentów muzycznych za granicę jako źródło do historii Żydów po II wojnie światowej
To keep the “family silver”. Permits for exportation of antiques and musical instruments as a source to the post-war history of Jews

Summary/Abstract: This article is a fruit of author’s work about the contribution of Polish Jews to creation of independent Israel. The reader’s attention is focused on the issue of Jewish survivors from the Holocaust who emigrated and who wanted to take with them their goods saved from the interwar period, e.g. antiques and musical instruments. An analysis of collected source materials preserved in the National Archives in Krakow, allows to draw the conclusion that after the end of the war, what remained in the hands of Jews, were only remnants of their goods. In addition, they encountered a serious obstacle – a long and formalised procedure (connected with the requirement of charges), which had to be conducted to legally export saved material goods. Many Jews left Poland in a hurry, we can assume that not all of them managed or wanted to legalize the export of the things. Thus, some of them tried to do it illegally or to turn it into cash or give to cultural institutions.The analysed archival material, although incomplete and referring only to a single issue (export of goods and musical instruments), constitutes an important source of information about the situation of Polish Jews in the post-war period. These are the archives which can interest not only historians but also art historians (due to rich technical and photographic documentation).

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