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German-Jewish Americans at Home at the Turn of the Last Century: A Late 19th-Century Photo Album

“. . . the [Jewish) religion which was to be prized and saved is fast becoming a watery Unitarianism, and its adherents are allowing themselves, where permitted, to become completely assimilated. Reform Judaism which began as a compromise is ending as surrender.” —Marvin Lowenthal, “Zionism: A Menorah Prize Essay [part 1],” Menorah Journal vol. 1:2 (1915): 118-19 Marvin Marx Lowenthal (1890-1969), a leading Jewish…

Stiftung Neue Synagoge Berlin

A short walk from some of the most well-known Berlin attractions is the Neue Synagoge (“New Synagogue”), a 19th century Moorish-style building on Oranienburger Straße. In 1859, the Neue Synagoge was built in order to serve the growing Berlin Jewish community, and became, at its completion in 1866, the largest synagogue in Germany at the time, seating 3,000 people. Now, the Neue Synagoge continues…

Highlight from the Sidney Lapidus Collection of Judaica: Difesa Contro gli Attacchi Fatti alla Nazione Ebrea…

Over the past few years, AJHS Board Chairman and CJH Board Member Sid Lapidus has donated a total of 125 rare books and pamphlets to the Center for Jewish History. This wealth of historical material, which is housed in the David Berg Rare Book Room, largely focuses on the 18th and 19th century intersection of Jewish life and Enlightenment ideals, documenting the gradual expansion…

The NYPL Librarian Who Spied on the Nazis

Florence Mendheim was a Jewish librarian for the New York Public Library, and in 1933 she went undercover to spy on Nazi-associated groups in the United States. Her collection, featuring a large amount of antisemitic propaganda, is held by the Leo Baeck Institute, and is an invaluable window into the spread of fascist propaganda in America leading up to World War II. Florence, the…

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The Records of HIAS (I-363) are officially live!

AJHS and CJH Archivists are happy to announce that the finding aid for the records of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS) I-363 is online and ready to use! After three years of surveying, organizing, rehousing, and encoding, the American Jewish Historical Society and the Center for Jewish History are proud to present a processed collection of documents, photographs, and audio/visual materials representing nearly 100…

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Mind the Gap: Transition from Traditional to Contemporary

October 24 -25, the Center for Jewish History will host the Conservation Center for Art & Historic Artifacts (CCAHA) annual conference. This year is titled, Now! And Then? Preserving Modern and Contemporary Collections in Libraries and Archives. From CCAHA, “this two-day conference will explore ways to anticipate, plan for, and address preservation concerns in modern and contemporary collections.” As part of the conference, two…

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Israel Independence Day

16thstreet: Israel. Black and white photograph. Albert Salomon Collection, Leo Baeck Institute. In celebration of Yom Ha’atzmaut (Israel Independence Day): two books and an archival collection, relating to Israel, from each of our five partners. compiled by David P. Rosenberg, M.P.A., Senior Reference Librarian – Collections, Center for Jewish History   American Jewish Historical Society: Attitudes of American Jews toward Israel and Israelis :…

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#JewsInSpace Launches at the Center for Jewish History!

Join the Center for Jewish History and YIVO Institute for Jewish Research on a quest to examine the #Jewish exploration of the heavens as we present our new exhibition: From as early as Genesis, Jews have pondered the expanse that surrounds our planet, as well as their place in them. Astronomy, mathematics, and other sciences appear frequently in books published by rabbis and scholars…

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#1Lib1Ref

This week, CJH Archivists participated in #1Lib1Ref, a collaborative Wikipedia project encouraging all information professionals around the country to edit one page, add at least one new link or citation, or start a brand new page to further the reach of their archival holdings. Here’s a breakdown of the amazing CJH partner collections that are now immeasurably more accessible thanks to their efforts!: Georg…

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The Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society: Its Organizational History and Internal Historiography

By Elizabeth Hyman, former Assistant Processing Archivist, HIAS Archives Project; current Photo & Reference Archivist, American Jewish Historical Society Over the course of three years, in a project funded by HIAS in partnership with the American Jewish Historical Society, archivists at AJHS will organize, describe and make available to the public more than a thousand boxes of historical administrative files (primarily 1955-1990s). These files…

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Folktale Friday

Do you want to read some Jewish Folktales? Well, you are in luck… we have plenty in the collections at the Center for Jewish History! There are over 400 books categorized under the “Jews—Folklore” category; and nearly 700 under the “Folklore” category. Some highlights you can read here at the Center for Jewish History –  (Note these are all in English. We have many…

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