Zionism

This collection documents the family history of art historian Julius S. Held (1905-2002), who was born in Mosbach, Germany and immigrated to the United States in 1934. The bulk of the collection consists of personal family correspondence. Other materials include genealogical tables, a few business and educational records, personal notes, a few anti-Semitic flyers, clippings, a ketubah, and a portrait of Rabbi David Sinzheim.

The collection contains documents and correspondence related to the Jung-Juedischer Club from Leipzig. Prominent topics in this collection are the organizational structures of the club, its activities and membership. The collection comprises organizational documents, such as bylaws, a vast amount of minutes from the Club's monthly meetings and an ample amount of correspondence to and from the club.

This collection contains the proceedings of the 1. Allgemeiner Jüdischer Studententag (First Jewish Students’ Conference: Vienna, Austria: 1919), as well as two speeches delivered on the 50th anniversary of the student Zionist association Kadimah (1933) and an exchange of letters regarding the unseating of Weizmann as head of the Zionist World Organization.

The Leo Breslauer Collection documents the professional career of Rabbi Leo Breslauer, and to a smaller extent, his personal life, especially in relation to his and his family’s departure from Germany. Prominent topics include his rabbinical work at congregations in Fürth, Germany and in New York City, his writings, and his thoughts on Zionism.

The collection contains letters and postcards to Leo Herrmann, his wife Lola Herrmann, and daughter Ruth Herrmann from various senders, including Max Brod, Franz Werfel, George Bernard Shaw, Martin Buber, and Albert Einstein.

The collection contains 3 typescripts pertaining to the Zionist functionary Leo Lauterbach and to his family.

The Leo Wolff Collection consists of personal documents of Leo Wolff and of papers pertaining to the organizations and communities in which he was engaged. Prominent topics are his work for Jewish communities in Germany and the negative influence of Zionism. The documents include biographical articles, family history articles, newspaper issues and clippings, minutes, correspondence, newsletters, notes, and by-laws.

Collection consists of correspondence, speeches, photographs, clippings, and memorabilia relating to Crestohl's activities as a lawyer and as a member of the House of Commons in the Parliament of Canada representing Montreal-Cartier, 1950-1963. It includes material relating to Canadian immigration policies, German rearmament, humane slaughtering, and citizen reactions to these issues; correspondence with members of the Israeli Parliament, and correspondence and speeches relating to his numerous activities in communal and Jewish affairs in general and Zionist organizations and The ORT in particular; and personal writings and memoirs in typescript and published material by and about Leon Crestohl.

The collection also contains correspondence in English and Yiddish between members of the Crestohl family, primarily his mother Rose (Weitzman) Crestohl, 1926-1941, and published and manuscript material, both original and copies, relating to the career of his father Hyman Meyer Crestohl, 1904-1921.

The Lithuanian Jewish Communities Collection is comprised of documents relating to Jewish cultural, religious, social, political, and economic life in approximately 150 towns in Lithuania. The bulk of the collection pertains to the period between 1919 and 1926, when elements of a system of Jewish national autonomy existed within the Lithuanian state, including a Ministry of Jewish Affairs and governmentally empowered Jewish community councils. Smaller parts of the collection relate to the periods before (1860-1918) and after (1927-1940) the autonomy.

Correspondence with individuals, including Alexander Altmann, Werner Cahnmann, Guido Kisch, Raphael Straus, and Max Warburg; business correspondence with publishers and organizations; correspondence with family members, including his brother, the novelist Lion Feuchtwanger.

Collection contains a typescript of memoirs (some sections in several drafts) covering the period until 1907, describing Lisan's youth in Russia, his journey to America, his early years in Philadelphia, and his travels throughout Pennsylvania. The memoirs also relate in some detail Lisan's Zionist activities in Russia and America, and his reaction to world Jewish events.

Materials include: correspondence covering the years 1902-1969 dealing with Lisan's Zionist activities, announcements (1909-1910) of the Maccabean Zionist Society in Philadelphia, receipts and a Land Certificate from the American Zion Commonwealth, and a share certificate from the Jewish Colonial Trust.

Collection contains Maurice Samuel's writings and speeches, as honors and testimonials regarding his work and career.

In this memorial article, Herzfeld offers deep insight into the problems and the predicament for German Jews from 1933 to 1938. He especially describes the creation and the work of “Reichsvertretung der deutschen Juden”, the new organization for German Jews, facing the Nazi-regime.

Contains 21 typescripts from oral history interviews with individuals associated with Stephen S. Wise. The interviews were conducted primarily by Melvin Urofsky for a biography and transcribed at the Institute for Contemporary Jewry at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Also includes over 300 photocopies of correspondence to and from Stephen S. Wise, found in the Yale University Library, Princeton University Library, Herbert Hoover Presidential Library, Franklin D. Roosevelt Library, American Jewish Archives and the Harry S. Truman Library.

The Milton Steinberg (1903-1950) Papers documents the personal and intellectual life of the American author, philosopher, rabbi, teacher, and theologian. The collection contains correspondence, writings, photographs, audio recordings, and memorabilia. In addition to numerous articles, he authored several books including, The Making of the Modern Jew (1934), As A Driven Leaf (1939), A Partisan Guide to the Jewish Problem (1945), Basic Judaism (1947), A Believing Jew (1951), Anatomy of Faith (1960), and A Prophet’s Wife (2010). In a professional career that lasted a little over twenty years, he served as rabbi at three synagogues, primarily at the Park Avenue Synagogue. In addition, he was active in the community at large, and worked with many Jewish community and civic organizations. As a disciple of Mordecai Kaplan, he and others helped to establish the Reconstructionist movement of American Jewry.

Sermons (over six hundred), 1860-1918, organized chronologically and given by Guedemann on Sabbaths, holidays, and other occasions, including confirmations, weddings, funerals, and the Kaiser's birthday

The collection contains papers of one of the pioneers of the American Soviet Jewry Movement. Starting in the early 1960s Moshe Decter instigated broad publicity campaigns to raise global awareness about the persecution of Soviet Jews and authored hundreds of articles on the subject in a variety of publications. Mr. Decter established and directed the Jewish Minorities Research bureau, served as the executive secretary of the Conference on the Status of Soviet Jews and as a director of research at the American Jewish Congress. Moshe Decter Papers consist of materials dating from the late 1950s to the early 2000s, with the bulk of the collection dating in 1960s-1970s. The documents include articles, correspondence, transcripts, notes, memoranda, publications, news clippings, broadsides and photographs.

Collection contains 3 DVDs comprising "Witness to History, Nell Ziff Pekarsky." Background information written by Ms. Pekarsky's niece, Jane Feinberg-Kaplan is also included.

This collection contains material relating to Norman Salit's activities with various organizations, including the Synagogue Council of America, the Rabbinical Assembly of America, the Wartime Emergency Commission for Conservative Judaism, the Boy Scouts of America, the Jewish Education Committee, the American Child Guidance Foundation, Religion in American Life, the Valley Forge Foundation, the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, and the National Community Relations Advisory Council. There are also speeches, writings, sermons, items related to Sharit's legal work and Zionist activities, as well as some letters from Mordecai Kaplan.

This collection contains materials by and about Ofra Core, her husband David Uriel Core, and her father-in-law, the noted German-Jewish and Israeli philosopher Hugo Bergmann (1883-1975). The collection contains correspondence from Hugo Bergmann as well as other materials about him and his family. Materials by Ofra and David Core are also found in this collection, and include a photo album, material about the Japanese religious group Mayuka, and some of Ofra's professional materials from her career as a records manager for the United Nations.

Collection consists of typewritten oral history transcripts of executives in the United Jewish Appeal and the Jewish Welfare Federation in Detroit. The interviewees are Herbert A. Friedman (1918- ), fomer Executive Chairman of the UJA; Lawrence H. Rubinstein (1940- ), former Executive Director of the UJA's National Young Leadership Cabinet; and Leonard N. Simons (1904- ), former Campaign Director for the Jewish Welfare Federation of Detroit and Detroit Civic Leader. Also includes inventories for oral histories available at the Federation of Jewish Agencies of Greater Philadelphia, and the Jewish Federation of Nashville and Middle Tennessee.

This collection contains pamphlets, fliers, invitations and programs for the following events: annual banquets, anniversary dinners and celebrations, Order Day celebrations, annual conventions and miscellaneous fraternity sponsored trips to Europe. Of special interest to researchers is a 1966 address given by Robert F. Kennedy at a federation award dinner. Also included are the following publications: Sons of Zion Gazette (1925) and The B’nai Zion Voice (1937).

Collection of rare original documents from the 18th century, such as a letter of protection, a passport, and three decrees from Berlin, Coburg, Dessau, Kassel, and Schweinfurt. Also included is a copy of the periodical Juedische Rundschau from Dec. 28, 1937.

This collection contains correspondence between Horace M. Kallen and many important individuals and organizations, as well as manuscripts, notes and other materials for speeches, financial documents, research materials, academic records, and various other assorted items. These materials serve to illustrate Kallen’s important role in philosophy, education, religion, and politics and his deep involvement with consumer rights, environmental controls, Jewish issues, and civil liberties.

This collection contains the personal and professional papers of rabbi, Hebrew scholar, author, and editor Israel Elfenbein. These materials include correspondence with and relating to congregations, Hebrew periodicals, organizations, Elfenbein’s writings, personal correspondence, sermons, clippings, and manuscripts by Elfenbein and by other writers.

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 documents of journalist and left-wing political activist Paul Novick, consisting mainly of correspondence, subject files, manuscripts, photographs, and newspaper clippings. These materials relate to Novick’s career as long-time editor of the Morning Freiheit (Morning Freedom), his important role in the worldwide Communist movement, the history of the Freiheit itself, and Jewish and general politics. These materials demonstrate Novick’s important, and changing, role in the history of Communism, as well as his career as a Yiddish journalist and author.

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 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.