Benjamin Eichler was a rabbi and leader of the Jewish community in Bratislava, Slovakia. This collection includes Rabbi Eichler’s memoirs and some of his personal papers, as well as materials he collected documenting Jewish life in Slovakia. Notable among these is the pinkas (community record book) of Liptovsky Mikulas, also known as Liptau, and the records of cemeteries and mass graves in Slovakia.

This collection contains documents relating to Isaac A. Hourwich’s role as an economist, publicist, statistician, lawyer, author, and authority on immigration, as well as his involvement with the labor movement and the formation of the American Jewish Congress. There are reports, minutes of meetings, memoranda, clippings and correspondence, and manuscripts and articles about Jewish labor, Socialism, Russia, Marxism, immigration, and other subjects. These materials demonstrate Hourwich’s important role in American labor, immigration theory, and political and economic theory.

This collection contains the personal and professional papers of Isaac Nachman Steinberg, a Russian-Jewish political writer, leader of the Left Socialist Revolutionary Party during the 1917 revolution in Russia, People’s Commissar of Justice in the first Bolshevik government, leader of the Jewish Territorialist Movement and of the Freeland League for Jewish Territorial Colonization, and a founding member of the YIVO Institute in Vilna. These materials include Steinberg’s writings, personal correspondence, clippings, journals, meeting announcements, and some photographs. These materials relate mainly to Steinberg’s work with the Freeland League and plans for the large-scale settlement of Jews in various places around the world.

This collection contains the papers of Julian Hirszhaut, a Yiddish journalist and author of several works about the Holocaust in Poland. He collected a great number of historical documents on this topic, including hundreds of eyewitness accounts, which make up an important part of this collection. The materials in this collection relate to Hirszhaut’s important work gathering documents and testimonies of the Holocaust, as well as to his other professional activities as a journalist.

This collection, which is a sub-group of RG 294 Displaced Persons Camps, consists of the records of Leo W. Schwarz, the Director of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (AJDC/JDC) for the U.S. Occupation Zone in Germany during the years 1946-1947. The papers pertain to his work with the JDC in Germany and to the history of the Jewish displaced persons in Germany after World War II.

Maxim Vinawer Papers consist of materials pertaining to Maxim Vinawer’s activities as a political and a communal leader. The collection covers the period between 1915 and 1926. These materials illuminate Vinawer’s participation in Russian politics as one of the leaders of the liberal Constitutional Democratic Party (Kadets), his appointment as a Minister of Foreign Affairs for the Crimean Regional Government in 1919, and his activities as a prominent figure among Zionist and émigré groups in Paris. The collection consists of correspondence, circular letters, memoranda, bulletins, clippings, minutes of meetings, essays, manuscripts, drafts and notes

This collection contains the personal and professional papers of historian and bibliographer Philip Friedman. These materials include correspondence with individuals and with organizations, newspaper clippings, subject files, manuscripts of works by Friedman and by others, and some of Friedman’s personal documents. These materials relate to Friedman’s work on the histories of various Jewish communities, particularly those in Poland, and his work gathering source documents about the Holocaust.

This collection contains the personal and professional papers of William Edlin, editor of The Day and a prominent Socialist. It includes correspondence with individuals and with organizations, newspaper clippings, manuscripts of works by Edlin and by others as well as translations done by Edlin, and some of Edlin’s personal documents. These materials relate to Edlin’s involvement with The Day, with the Socialist Party, the Workmen’s Circle, various labor and Zionist organizations, literary clubs and activities, and with music, art and drama.

This collection documents the lives of Saul Pepper (1910-1979) and his wife Dora née Eisen Pepper (1918-1987); it focuses on restitution, with extensive compensatory financial documents.

This record group contains personal papers and special collections documenting individuals, both Hadassah members and non-Hadassah members, who were important to Hadassah. Much of the material forming the collections in this record group came from the administrative files of the national office of Hadassah, though some of the material was donated to Hadassah. Key individuals represented within this record group include Hadassah national board members Anna Tulin Elyachar, Bertha S. Schoolman, and Denise Tourover Ezekiel, as well as Jesse Zel Lurie who served as the first professional editor of Hadassah Magazine (originally Hadassah Newsletter) from 1947 to 1980.

The papers of Jewish civic leader Philip Bernstein contain writings and professional papers related to his career with the Council of Jewish Federations and Welfare Funds, including his participation in the establishment of the National Foundation for Jewish Culture and the National Jewish Community Relations Council, and his work with many other Jewish communal organizations, including the Jewish Agency for Israel, the Joint Distribution Committee, the United Jewish Appeal, and the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies of New York.

The papers of Philip Lax document his work with four major organizations: the American Jewish Historical Society, B'nai B'rith International, National Conference on Soviet Jewry, and Ellis Island Restoration Commission. The collection documents the years 1915 to 2008, with the bulk of the material dating from the 1970s and 1980s. The papers contain photographs, correspondence, speeches, publications, subject files, and organizational records, such as minutes, financials, memorandums, agendas, and reports.

This Collection contains personal papers, correspondence, and other material relating to the Phillips family, 1733-1954. The majority of the materials are in regard to the following family members: Jonas Phillips (1733-1802), Naphtali Phillips (1815-1868), Joseph Phillips (1811), Rebecca Hart Phillips (1812), Joshua Phillips (1852-1858), Isaac Phillips (1830-1884), Roslie Solomons Phillips (1872-1945), Naphtali Taylor Phillips (1895-1954).

Notable objects in this collection include Jonas Phillips' copy of a book on the laws and practice of shehita, printed in Wandsbeck, Germany, in 1733; Naphtali Phillips' letters regarding Congregation Shearith Israel; Isaac Phillips' correspondence relating to his position as Appraiser of Merchandise for the Port of New York; Roslie Solomons Phillips' letters from Eleanor Roosevelt; and Naphtali Taylor Phillips' correspondence relating to Congregation Shearith Israel, the Touro Synagogue, the Federation of American Zionists, the National Conference of Jewish Charities (Committee on Palestinian Charities), and Adolphus S. Solomons. Collection also contains published Masonic materials, political memorabilia, and a letter from George Mifflin Dallas to an unidentified member of the Phillips family, 1856.

Founded in 1969, the American Association for Ethiopian Jews (AAEJ) was instrumental in the international effort to promote recognition of the Beta Israel (known among non-Jewish Ethiopians as "Falashas") by Israeli authorities, and to assist Jewish emigration from Ethiopia to Israel. The extensive files of the AAEJ include case work files, research materials and Jewish artifacts collected in Ethiopia by AAEJ workers. In the wake of the successful evacuation of Ethiopian Jewry to Israel in 1993, the AAEJ decided to disband and voted to deposit its records at the American Jewish Historical Society. Included are correspondence, office files, photographs, slides, videotapes, audiocassettes and other materials which pertain to AAEJ's efforts to raise the consciousness of the American Jewish community about this unique Jewish subculture. The organization's papers supplement those of its founder, Graenum Berger, which are also held at the American Jewish Historical Society.

The records of the American Jewish Congress, a national Jewish agency, concerned primarily with Jewish and other minority civil rights, include the constitution, by-laws, and minutes of the Administrative and Executive Committees and Governing Council of the Congress. The collection has materials generated by the National Biennial Conventions, Executive Directors, including Phil Baum and Henry Siegman, and the General Counsel files of Will Maslow, Commissions and the Jerusalem Conferences of Mayors, Regional Chapters, National Women's Division, Business and Professional Chapters, Public Relations, and miscellaneous activities conducted by American Jewish Congress.

This collection contains annual reports, board minutes, case studies, correspondence, newsletters, survey reports, and other items.

This collection, which is a sub-group of RG 245 HIAS, includes the records of the main HICEM office in Europe prior to and during World War II. There are also some records from the post-war period relating to the dissolution of HICEM, HIAS’s taking over of HICEM’s operations and HIAS’s work with displaced persons.

The records of Temple Beth El offer a valuable insight into a small town Southern Jewish community. The community members, composed mainly of German Jews devoted to the Reform movement, participated actively in charity work and mutual benefit societies, and maintained a close relationship with Jewish communities throughout the South. Temple Beth El was one of the first members of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations. Its history reflects the struggles a small town Jewish community experienced in maintaining their Jewish identity as well as the cooperation and acceptance of their non-Jewish neighbors. A significant part of the collection concerns the activities of women in the Helena Jewish community, who were a tight knit group that conducted extensive charity work. The Sisterhood took an active role as member of the Mississippi-Arkansas Federation of Temple Sisterhoods. The records also include minute books for the B'nai B'rith Esther Lodge. The collection contains correspondence, real estate deeds, financial ledgers, minute meetings, news clippings, a scrapbook, and photographs.

This collection consists of general reference files from the New York City headquarters of the American Jewish Committee (AJC). Materials originated in various AJC departments and were maintained by a Central Records office until 1962, when records retention policy was decentralized. Document types include correspondence, memoranda, reports, clippings, and published materials concerning individuals, businesses, government agencies, and other organizations related to the work of the AJC.

This collection contains the records of the American Jewish Public Relations Society (AJPRS), the professional association of publicists in the Jewish communal field. It contains correspondence, meeting minutes, memoranda, society publications, memoirs about the society’s founding, photographs, publicity materials, and newspaper clippings.

This collection contains the office records of the American Sephardi Federation. Documents focus on the daily functioning, annual conventions, finances, events, and activities of the ASF. The records consist mainly of correspondence, but also include memoranda, reports, financial records, and other organizational documents, as well as newspaper clippings, publications, and photographic media.

The records of the Association of Jewish Community Organization Personnel (AJCOP) cover the years 1969 to 1990 (although there is less material for the fiscal year 1989/1990). Though the collection does not preserve the total volume of papers produced by AJCOP, it is valuable to researchers studying the Jewish Community Center movement, especially in the area of the growing professionalization of Jewish community work.

The Baron de Hirsch Fund Records document the organization's involvement in the planning of agricultural communities across the United States and to some extent in South America; the founding and administrative dealings of agricultural and trade schools; the establishment of the Jewish Agricultural Society; and the business records of the Fund itself. In addition, the collection documents the protection offered to immigrants through port work, relief, temporary aid, promotion of suburban industrial enterprises and removal from urban centers through the Industrial Removal Office, land settlement, agricultural training, and trade and general education. In this respect, the collection is of major interest for Jewish genealogists as it documents a number of individual immigrants. In addition, the collection contains documentation on the administration and organization of the fund, documentation on Jewish farming colonies such as the Jewish Agricultural Society, Woodbine Colony and Agricultural School, and documentation on the Baron de Hirsch Trade School. In addition, the collection contains blueprints and photographs of facilities.

This collection contains histories of the Asylum (1878-1939), Certificate of Incorporation (1878, 1900, 1926), Constitution and By-Laws (1894), Board of Directors Minutes (1921-1953), Annual Reports (1878-1958), Admission and Discharge Records (1899-1960), Women's Auxiliary Minutes (1922-1955), a statistical report (1957), papers re the Asylum's merger with the Jewish Child Care Association (1960), and various Alumni Society Publications and Scrapbooks (1912-1940).

The records in this subgroup belong to the Records of the Central Sephardic Jewish Community of America, and document activities of the Community's Women's Division. The materials include correspondence, minutes of meetings, annual reports, budgets, records related to planning of annual events, publications and clippings, membership lists, financial papers, and photographs. See Guide to the Records of the Central Sephardic Jewish Community of America.

This collection contains incomplete annual convention programs (1922-1986), organizational minutes (1912-1973), newsletters (1967-1981), constitution and by-laws, plaques, awards and citations. Also contains newspaper articles about the Federation and correspondence with affiliated organizations and hospitals.

The Records of the Forward Association collection consists of the administrative records of the Office of the General Manager of the Forward Association, publisher of the Jewish Daily Forward. The collection contains correspondence, financial materials, minutes, reports, and information related to various anniversary celebrations. These materials serve to illustrate the professional activities of the Forward Association and its General Manager and show the Forward’s importance.

The Friends of Ida Kaminska Foundation, Inc. was formed in 1969, shortly after the world-renowned Yiddish actress, Ida Kaminska, immigrated to the United States. The purpose of the foundation was to establish, fund, and promote the Ida Kaminska Theatre in New York. Though the foundation managed to put together one theatrical production, financial difficulties forced the foundation to stop its activities in 1973.

The Grand Street Boys' Association began in 1916 as a reunion of men who had grown up on or near Grand Street in the Lower East Side neighborhood of Manhattan and quickly grew into an active club, open to all men (and eventually women) regardless of religion, ethnicity, or social class. The Association promoted welfare projects, acts of fellowship and tolerance, scholarships, youth employment, war efforts, and the elimination of discrimination in sports, among other projects. The collection documents the activities of the Association, as well as the Grand Street Boys' Foundation, its financial arm established in 1945, and its Hobbycraft Program, a charitable program tasked with collecting and redistributing donated items to charitable and nonprofit organizations. Materials include administrative records, financial records, correspondence, minutes, membership records, newsletters, yearbooks, artifacts, and photographs.

This collection contains the administrative records of the Hebrew Actors’ Union (HAU), the professional union of Yiddish theater performers, which was based in New York City. Materials include correspondence, membership materials, financial records and members’ dues information, meeting minutes, and a great deal of sheet music and play scripts of performances from the Yiddish theater. A majority of these performances were in New York City, but there are also materials from Philadelphia, Chicago, Boston, Toronto, and Montreal, as well as various locations in Israel and South America.