by Kevin Schlottmann, Archival Services Manager, Center for Jewish History The Leo Baeck Institute’s Milli Frank correspondence (AR 6686) contains dozens of letters and postcards sent to Milli Frank in Brooklyn, New York, between 1937 and 1944, by her parents, aunts and uncles in Germany. Later, some of these relatives wrote to her from the concentration camps of France. None of them appears to…
We continue Sarah Ganton’s story of Molly Picon, for decades a household name in Yiddish theater and vaudeville, then a Broadway star and performer with the USO, then a radio personality. We’re very fortunate to have a rich record of her life through the archives of the American Jewish Historical Society, one of the five partners of the Center of Jewish History. Join us…
Adah Isaacs Menken. Photo: American Jewish Historical Society. She flew on fake horses above the stage, wore nude bodysuits so audiences would think she was naked, married four men (and divorced three)—and was surrounded by rumors of affairs with dozens of famous writers. Actress Adah Menken (1835-1868) was one of the first international celebrities, due more to her daring exploits and shrewd publicity than her…
Poster from the Union of Councils for Soviet Jews Records: “Mr. Gorbachev, before you talk arms, let’s talk bodies.” For the march and rally for Soviet Jews Pre-Summit, December 6, 1987. American Jewish Historical Society. Thanks to generous support from the National Historical Publications & Records Commission (NHPRC), the Center for Jewish History began digitizing more than 75,000 objects from the American Jewish Historical Society’s Soviet…