Mapping shelters and prepping for war: State Archives publishes 1948 Jerusalem census files

The Israel State Archives unveiled on Wednesday, Jerusalem Day in Israel, some 10,189 files of the population census in Jerusalem compiled in 1948 by Mishmar Ha’am.

As part of the census, Jerusalem was divided into 16 districts; each was subsequently divided into sectors, units, and house overseers.

The census counted a total of 5,500 houses and 100,000 residents, which constituted some 80% of the city’s Jewish population at the time.  

Census provided important information during wartime

The census documented, among others, detailed descriptions of buildings, stores, and offices, among other structures. The files also show that the census mapped the bomb shelters in every building and the existence of incendiary materials or ways of extinguishing fires. 

Furthermore, the census recorded particulars such as residents’ names, their country of birth, occupation, community, and year of immigration.

Some neighborhoods weren’t counted due to the security situation in their area at the time. 

According to the archives, the information compiled in the census served to facilitate the war preparations on the home front. As such, the information helped to enable the distribution of food and water and facilitate the efficient enlistment of forces into the military, among other things. 

Of notable mention in the census are the prime minister at the time, David Ben-Gurion, and Rabbi Abraham Isaac Hakohen Kook.

The archives noted that Mishmar Ha’am, which conducted the census, was formed in 1947 to maintain order in the city and take care of the civilian challenges that should arise in the event of a war.