02:00pm - 05:00pm  Was My Ancestor Rich or Poor: What We Can Find from Polish Business Court Records?

Speakers: Anna Wiernicka; Hadassah Lipsius Polish business court records began in 1916 and continued into the 1940’s. From 1915 until November 1918 Poland was under Prussian rule, which began with the appointment of a governor – Hans Hartwig von Beseler. One of his decrees issued in August 1916 required residents to register every business activity. Those commercial and industrial enterprises under his rule, both small, single person and larger enterprises, were subject to taxation. Poland attained independence in 1918, and the new head of state, Józef Piłsudski, decreed in February 1919 the establishment of a Commercial Register, thus continuing the requirement for ...