The far-reaching impact of World War II resulted in massive destruction, decimation, deprivation, and the unparalleled displacement of people across and far beyond the European continent. In commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the end of the war, After the War uses photographs, artifacts, and archival material to document and provide insights into the end of the war and post-war disorder and revitalization in…
The Issue is Silence: An Address by Rabbi Joachim Prinz, President of the American Jewish Congress, at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, 1963 From American Jewish Congress records Courtesy of American Jewish Historical Society Allied in the Fight: Jews, Blacks and the Struggle for Civil Rights is on view through October 09, 2015 A new exhibit on display in The David…
The First Female Ordained Rabbi: Regina Jonas By Jackie Brettschneider, Research Intern, Center for Jewish History As early as high school, Regina Jonas talked about becoming a rabbi. At the time not one woman was ordained to the position. Jonas’s pursuit came with many hardships and obstacles because she was a woman. Jonas, however, pursued ordination whole-heartedly because of her dedication to Jewish history,…
Photos from the exhibit opening of Allied in the Fight: Jews, Blacks and the Struggle for Civil Rights Allied in the Fight: Jews, Blacks and the Struggle for Civil Rights is on view through October 09, 2015 A new exhibit on display in The David Berg Rare Book Room at the Center for Jewish History recounts the efforts made by American Jews and African…
Exhibition on view through October 25, 2014at the Center for Jewish History (15 West 16th Street, NYC) (Above image fabricated with maps from the David Rumsey Map Collection: www.davidrumsey.com.) In the mid-to-late 19th century, many German-born rabbis left Germany to practice their faith in the United States. Isaac Leeser, Isaac Mayer Wise, David Einhorn, Max Lilienthal, and Bernard Felsenthal educated congregants from the pulpit, spread…
Out of the Archives: Serendipity by Kevin Schlottmann, Archival Services Manager, Center for Jewish History Today is International Cat Day. This morning, one of our archival fellows was processing a collection from the Leo Baeck Institute, when she came across a diary/sketchbook. Inside she discovered a small glassine envelope containing little white chips. Upon closer inspection, the chips turned out to be nail (well, claw) clippings from…
Visiting card with photograph of Albert Einstein shoveling snow in Montréal (Québec). 1929. Montréal Portraits Men. From the Leo Baeck Institute’s Albert Einstein Collection.
by David P. Rosenberg, M.P.A., Reference Services Research Coordinator, Center for Jewish History The UN General Assembly designated January 27—the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau—as International Holocaust Remembrance Day. The children of today will be the last generation to meet Holocaust survivors. The Center for Jewish History houses countless artifacts and archives concerning this horrific period in history. However, learning about what happened…
Remembering Kristallnachtby David P. Rosenberg, M.P.A., Reference Services Research Coordinator, Center for Jewish History November 9th -10th marks the 75th anniversary of Kristallnacht, a series of attacks on Jews in Germany and Austria that was a turning point for the Nazi Party. Kristallnacht is often looked at as the beginning of the Holocaust. Each of the five partners of the Center for Jewish History has material on Kristallnacht or…
Out of the Archives: War Heroismby Kevin Schlottmann, Processing Archivist, Center for Jewish History Fred Lederman (born Manfred Ledermann, 1918-2003) was a baker by trade. After he fled Neckarsteinach, Germany for the United States, he was drafted into the Army and returned to Europe in 1944, where he earned a Bronze Star for convincing a German unit to surrender. The details of his heroic act…