Baeck, Leo, 1873-1956

This collection holds the papers of publisher and rare book dealer Felix I. Kauffmann, and contains documents relating to the family publishing house, his military service in World War I, and membership in Jewish organizations. The collection includes some correspondence with Leo Baeck as well as other correspondence, official documents such as military, vital and legal papers, curricula vitae, newspaper clippings and articles, and other papers.

The collection consists of material pertaining to Rabbi Leo Baeck. The material, mostly secondary, was collected by the Leo Baeck Institute’s staff and in some cases bear markings and notes by the Institute’s staff.

The Leo Baeck Family Collection documents the lives and influential events of members of the Baeck and Berlak families, specifically Leo Baeck, Ruth and Hermann Berlak, and Marianne and A. Stanley Dreyfus. Most prominent is the documentation on Leo Baeck's life; other salient themes include the World War I experience of Hermann Berlak and the Dreyfuses' involvement in preserving the memory of Leo Baeck's life and teachings. The collection includes extensive correspondence; a large accumulation of articles, especially those focused on Leo Baeck; a smaller amount of personal papers, manuscripts, drafts and notes; and a few photographs and slides.

Series I of the collection pertains to Rabbi Leopold Rosenak's work as a field chaplain during World War I in Kaunas (Kowno) in Lithuania. It contains manuscripts by Rosenak including a report on his work as field chaplain in 1915, private and official correspondence (letters, cables) with individuals and institutions such as "Ausschuss fuer fahrbare Kriegsbuechereien an der Front", Leo Baeck, "Hilfsverein der deutschen Juden", "Kriegsministerium" (Prussian War Office), "Kaiserlich Tuerkisches Generalkonsulat zu Bremen" (Turkish Consulate in Bremen), and Erich Ludendorff. The correspondence documents in particular his activities for the native Jewish population in Lithuania in particular regarding food supplies and education, his service as a field chaplain, and his efforts to support and supply libraries for Prussian soldiers. The series contains, furthermore, various certificates of L. Rosenak, a typescript by L. Hoppe, Protestant field chaplain, titled "Ein Ostermorgen im Grossen Hauptquartier" (typescript, 3 pp.), and flyers in German and Yiddish inviting to services of L. Rosenak in Lida.