Correspondence

The AVI CHAI Collection contains a breadth of files relating to the administrative and outreach activities of the organization, from its founding in 1984 through 2019.

The AVI CHAI records stored at the AJHS relate to the foundation's activities in North America. The records relating to the AVI CHAI's activities in Israel are stored at the archives of the National Library of Israel.

The records consist of correspondence, reports, minutes, financial documents, digital files, and printed materials that chronicle AVI CHAI’s administrative communication and outreach programming. The collection consists of physical paper records (see detailed breakdown below), born-digital files (including computer files), as well as audiovisual materials such as audiocassettes, microcassettes and DVDs. There are some 35mm slides, but otherwise very few photographic prints or negatives. Of note in the collection are materials that outline the foundation’s research on, and enthusiastic support of, Jewish day schools, camps, teacher training and libraries.

Administration files include by-laws, incorporation documents, and insurance policies, among others.

Board records are comprised of meeting materials, such as minutes and agendas. They document the philosophy, direction and activities of the organization.

Communications files consist primarily the files of Deena K. Fuchs. They include media kits, graphics, working files for annual reports, and other materials.

Files related to AVI CHAI finances include investment portfolio documentation as well as quarterly and annual reports.

The core of the foundation’s history can be found in its Programs files which document the various programs initiated or supported by AVI CHAI. They include detailed files on the foundation’s loans to schools (including building programs) and to summer camps. Also included in this series are files relating to AVI CHAI communications activities, such as media kits, graphics, working files for annual reports, and other materials.

The Babette B. Buch Collection documents the life, philosophies, and literary career of the writer Babette B. Buch. Included in this collection are numerous unpublished manuscripts, some personal correspondence, and a small amount of clippings and photographs.

This collection contains the papers of Babette Wampold and the Alabama Council to Save Soviet Jews and documents their activities on behalf of the American Soviet Jewry Movement. The collection is comprised of correspondence, case files, clippings, newsletters, photographs, and trip reports.

The Baerwald Family Correspondence Collection primarily consists of a bound volume of handwritten correspondence of members of the Baerwald and related families. The correspondence is arranged chronologically, and dates from 1889 through 1919, with a gap between 1908 and 1919 and only a few letters from each year. The bulk of the correspondence is from Hermann Baerwald, director of the Philanthropin School in Frankfurt am Main, to his sons Paul and Emil and especially to his son-in-law Johannes Behrendt (called Hans) and daughter Elise (called Lieschen), although letters of other extended family members are also present.

Correspondence to the Bamberger family in Fort Scott, Kansas, 1931-1942.

This collection holds the papers of members of the Bär and Oppenheimer families from Bruchsal, Germany. It documents the history of the two families as well as the Bär leather distribution company and Oppenheimer woolens factory. Included in this collection are business and personal correspondence, personal papers, financial records, family trees and a few newspaper clippings.

The collection contains materials pertaining to the Zionist theater "Barak" ("Zionistische Propagandatruppe").

The Barbara and Peter Rothholz Family Collection contains documents and photographs of the families of Peter Rothholz and his wife, Barbara Peters Rothholz (originally Baerbel Gruenpeter), along with papers of the extended family.

Baron Horace (Naftali Herz) de Gunzburg Collection consists of diverse materials that pertain to the state of Jews in the Russian Empire in the second half of the 19th century and to the philanthropic activities of Horace and Joseph Gunzburgs. Materials comprising the collection shed light on the Gunzburg family's involvement in improving Jewish education, civil rights movement, and their efforts to improve general well being of the Jews in the Russian Empire. Bulk of the collections consists of materials pertaining to the activities of the Hevrah Mefitsei Haskalah (Society for the Promotion of Culture Among the Jews of Russia, Rus. Обшество для Распространения Просвещения Между Евреями в России) and to the Committee for the Improvement of Daily Life of Jews in the North-West Region (Комиссия по Улучшению Повседневной Жизни Евреев в Северо-Западном Регионе)

Personal papers of the Soviet Jewry Movement activist Rabbi Barry Marks, a spiritual leader of Temple Israel of Springfield, IL and a founder of the Greater Springfield Interfaith Association. The collection reflects Rabbi Marks' and the Springfield, IL Jewish community's involvement in the Soviet Jewry movement. The materials include clippings, correspondence, memoranda, newsletters, and speeches.

The collection contains various materials pertaining to the historical research conducted by Baruch Ophir, and comprises three folders.

The Bauer-Gross Family collection consists of family papers, various documents, and photographs. Prominent topics are emigration from Germany, the family history, and Meta Bauer. The collection comprises correspondence, immigration papers, an academic confirmation, newspapers, a report, a manuscript, medical documents, identification documents, military papers, a birth certificate, an award certificate, obituaries, and a prenuptial agreement.

The Beigel Family Collection holds materials about the Beigel family members from Berlin. The collection consists of post-war personal correspondence between the various family members and documents on restitution claims. It includes original handwritten letters and papers from the time Liane Beigel (née Bick) was in Sweden, as well as official correspondence with the United Restitution Organization after she immigrated to the United States. Also included are her husband Horst Beigel’s restitution claims against Interessengemeinschaft Farbenindustrie AG.

The collection contains documents of Ernst Beiner and his family, including documents pertaining to his studies and work in pharmacy and dentistry, family photographs, and a file of material regarding his restitution claim against Germany after World War II. Also included are documents of the family of Biener's wife Fanny Beiner née Karpf.

This collection contains family trees and other materials related to the Benario family history and genealogy.

The collection consists of personal letters that Benjamin ("Benno") and Pesha Bermann exchanged between 1926-1927 from Frankfurt to Jerusalem; official documents and passports of Germany, America and Palestine pertaining to the couple; family trees; and copies of photographs.

This contains some of the literary critic Benno Jacob's writings and correspondence.

The Berend & Co. Collection holds information about the Berend & Co. banking house and later sugar refining company and the Berend family itself. Prominent topics are business matters and Samuel Bacher Berend's son Herz Berend. The collection consists of correspondence, bank checks, birth certificates, military documents, protection papers, royal recognitions, academic documents, and other certificates.

This collection contains scripts, newspaper clippings, musical scores, playbills, correspondence, reviews, advertisements, photographs, and other documents pertaining to the production of “Berlin to Broadway with Kurt Weill: A Musical Voyage.” The show was written and produced by Hank Kaufman and Gene Lerner who created the show to honor the life of Kurt Weill through his music. Also included are musical scores of various pieces by Kurt Weill.

Bernard Bernstein Collection documents professional activities of Bernard Bernstein, a jeweler, metal smith, writer, and teacher. The collection includes artifacts, correspondence, documents, manuscripts, printed materials, photographs and other visual materials, and sketches.

The Bernard Blum Family Collection consists of materials pertaining to the members of the Blum family and includes correspondence, printed materials, photographs, and vital and business documents.

The Bernard Eckstein Addenda Collection focuses on providing documentation of the life of the chemist Bernard Eckstein, especially his early life in Ulm, Germany, his education in England and the United States, and his military service during World War II. Documentation of the lives of his parents, brother, and other family members are also present. The collection includes official and personal documents, scrapbooks, family correspondence, biographical and autobiographical narratives, photographs, military documents, newspaper clippings, and other documents.

The collection contains Bernard G. Richards personal and official correspondence, papers from his involvement with the American Jewish Congress and Jewish Information Bureau, published and unpublished writings, publications collected by Richards, articles about Richards and his activities, correspondence and articles from testimonial dinners in honor of Richards, and photographs. Significant correspondents include Joseph Barondess, Louis D. Brandeis, Vladimir Jabotinsky, J.L. Magnes, Louis Marshall, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Jacob H. Schiff, Philip Slomovitz, Arthur Hays Sulzberger, Morris Winchovsky, and Stephen S. Wise.

The Bernd and Annorte Zondek Family Collection holds papers of members of the extended Zondek family of Berlin, Jerusalem, and New York. Included are documents of Bernd and Annorte (née Kraschewski) Zondek; Birgit Zondek; and Hermann, Elly (née Lewy), and Gerda (née Wolfsohn) Zondek, along with a few others. Much of the collection consists of photographs of people and of artwork produced by family members. In addition, there are educational and a few official documents, some writings and professional documents, and biographical articles and obituaries.

The collection holds papers, photographs, documents and correspondence pertaining to four generations of the Altmann family. Topics of the collection are, among others, the lives of the family members in Austria-Hungary, in pre-war Austria, in the emigration process and in the United States. Part of the material focuses on the family’s genealogy. The collection comprises correspondence, memoirs, personal and official papers, family photographs, postcards and some notes.

Legal files, receipts, and correspondence concerning property in Brandenburg and restitution. The material is arranged in chronological order within each folder.

The Bernhard Family collection contains a small amount of family papers, government documents, photographs, genealogical information, and postcards. These documents include birth and marriage certificates and a passport from 1938. The postcards make up the majority of the collection and date from 1877-1890.

This Collection consists primarily of English, German, Hebrew, and French language correspondence concerning Reform Judaism, Zionism; the founding of the American Jewish Historical Society; the Jewish Publication Society; B'nai B'rith; the legal position of Jews in England and the United States with particular reference to the Naturalization Acts; the religious and social life and the history of Jews in Russia and Poland; Bible readings in public schools; the study of Jesus in Jewish Sabbath Schools; anti-slavery issues in the Fremont Campaign in 1856; and other correspondence pertaining to his numerous activities.

Bernhard Kahn dedicated 50 years of his life to welfare activities in order to help distressed Jews. Among others he worked for the Hilfsverein der deutschen Juden, the American Jewish Joint Distribution Comittee and the American Joint Reconstruction Foundation .The collection contains personal as well as professional correspondence, articles on Bernhard Kahn’s work and biography, lectures and speeches by him and a number of official documents such as letters of consignment, citizenship papers and educational and professional certificates.

This collection holds the papers of Bernhard Kolb, the business manager of the Jewish Community of Nuremberg. Among the material here are personal papers with some information on the Kolb family as well as a small amount of papers of Hans and Käte Bruck and some material on Jewish communities, especially that of Nuremberg. However, the collection is largely comprised of records from Theresienstadt and the offices of Der Stürmer, the Nazi newspaper. The collection includes official records such as lists, reports and announcements; correspondence; unpublished manuscripts; notes; and some photographs and drawings.