How to find your ancestors in Germany 1984

Paper presented at the Fourth National Seminar on Jewish genealogy, Evanston, IL, July 22-25, 1984.

Aus meinem Leben 1899-1918

The memoir was written between 1899 and 1918. Family history going back to the early 18th century. Recollection of the author's childhood in Hildesheim. Moritz was the youngest child of Joseph and Bena Guedemann. Early death of his father in 1847. Moritz attended the Jewish elementary school prior to the age of five. In 1843 he was enrolled in the episcopal "Josephinum Gymnasium", where he was the only Jewish student in the entire school. He had friendly relationships with students and teachers and was not confronted with antisemitism during his school years. Moritz Guedemann graduated in 1853 and enrolled in the newly established Jewish Theological Seminary in Breslau. Description of teachers and colleagues in the seminary. Doctorate in 1858 and continuation of rabbinic studies. Occasional invitation to preach at the high holidays in Berlin, where Moritz got acquainted with the famous rabbi Dr. Michael Sachs. Position as a rabbi in Magdeburg in 1862. Small publications of studies in Jewish history. Engagement with Fanny Spiegel. In 1863 Moritz and Fanny Guedemann got married. Offer to succeed rabbi Michael Sachs in Berlin. Division and intrigues in the Jewish community and withdrawing from the position. Invitation to give a sermon in Vienna. In 1866 Moritz Guedemann was nominated to succeed rabbi Mannheimer at the Leopoldstadt synagogue in Vienna. Austro-Prussian war and defeat of Austria in Koeniggraetz. Initial difficulties and cultural differences. Criticism toward his orthodox conduct in the Vienna Jewish press ("Neuzeit"). Cultural life in Vienna. Welfare institutions and philanthropists. Difference within the Jewish community. Crash of the stock exchange and rise of antisemitism. Publication of sermons and studies in Jewish history. In 1891 Max Guedemann became chief rabbi of Vienna. Speeches against antisemitism and blood libel trials. He was awarded with the title "Ritter" of the Kaiser Franz Joseph order for these achievements. Death of his wife in

Visionary Portrait.

The expressionist head of a young man emerges from the dark shadows. His face is a long oval, with full lips and strongly flared nostrils, framed by black hair and small black beard.

Golem

Steiner-Prag, was partial to tales of the fantastic, illustrated the Gustav Meyrink novel, The Golem, published in a luxury edition in Leipzig by Kurt Wolff, 1916. In most of the illustrations of the old Jeiwsh quarter of Prague is the protagonist as much as the Golem. In this later drawing, however the bulky figure of the Golem looms on the page in isolation accompanied only by what appear to be a double shadow.

K. u. K. Landsturm : Erinnerungen aus dem Weltkriege in vier Bildern /

Manuscript: "K. u. K. Landsturm. Erinnerungen aus dem Weltkriege in vier Bildern". Autobiographical play, in four acts, recalling life in the Imperial Austrian Army in a Hungarian village in 1916.

Lucien Wolf and David Mowshowitch papers, [ca. 1869-1959]

Correspondence, reports, minutes, manuscripts, and clippings relating to the activities of Wolf, Mowshowitch, and the Joint Foreign Committee, as well as to the political situation of Jews in various countries and to the Paris Peace Conference. Papers of Lucien Wolf include his diary, lectures on English-German relations and English-Russian relations; bibliography of Wolf's works on Jewish themes; clippings of Wolf's articles; congratulations on his seventieth birthday; article on his last interview with Chamberlain; and correspondence with parents, 1869-1882, A. Abrahams, 1914-1925, Chief Rabbi Dr. J.H. Hertz, 1892-1923, Clara Melchior, 1913-1929, Jacob Schiff, 1910, Maxim Vinawer, 1917, Mark Wischnitzer, 1926-1928, Lord Robert Cecil, 1916-1919, Lord Rothschild, 1906, Cyrus Adler, Count J. Bernstorff, Szymon Ashkenazy, Solomon Dingol, Louis Marshall, Claude G. Montefiore, Sir Edward Sassoon, Jacob Schiff, Lord William Selborne, Nakhum Sokolow, Oscar Straus, Chaim Weizmann, the American Jewish Congress, 1916-1923, Hilfsverein der Deutschen Juden, 1913, and Jewish Historical Society of England.

Schoolman family papers, undated, 1889-1994

The Schoolman Papers reflect Dr. Albert P. and Mrs. Bertha Schoolmans' staunch dedication to Jewish education, Jewish causes, and Israel. Bertha Schoolman, a lifelong member of Hadassah, assisted thousands of Israeli youth as chairman of the Youth Aliyah Committee. Her diaries, photos, scrapbooks, and correspondence record her numerous visits to Israel on which she helped set up schools, met with Israeli dignitaries, and participated in Zionist Conferences and events. The collection includes a 1936 letter from Hadassah founder, Henrietta Szold, praising Mrs. Schoolman's work as well as a letter from the father of Anne Frank, thanking Mrs. Schoolman for naming a Youth Aliyah center the "Anne Frank Haven" after his later daughter.

Michaelson family papers, undated, 1892-1920, 1943-1944, 1965, 1992, 1994, 1999-2000.

The Michaelson family papers include early family correspondence, documents, and ephemera; genealogical research conducted by Ms. Appleby, Anna’s granddaughter; copies of New York City marriage certificates kept by Louis B. Michaelson, Rabbi, between 1906-1907; and Anna Michaelson’s copies of original birth records that she kept as midwife in the Lower East Side in New York City between 1892-1916.

Grand Street Boys' Association (New York, N.Y.) Records, undated, 1907-1968, bulk 1940-2000.

The Grand Street Boys' Association began in 1916 as a reunion of men who had grown up on or near Grand Street in the Lower East Side neighborhood of Manhattan and quickly grew into an active club, open to all men (and eventually women) regardless of religion, ethnicity, or social class. The Association promoted welfare projects, acts of fellowship and tolerance, scholarships, youth employment, war efforts, and the elimination of discrimination in sports, among other projects. The collection documents the activities of the Association, as well as the Grand Street Boys' Foundation, its financial arm established in 1945, and its Hobbycraft Program, a charitable program tasked with collecting and redistributing donated items to charitable and nonprofit organizations. Materials include administrative records, financial records, correspondence, minutes, membership records, newsletters, yearbooks, artifacts, speeches, and photographs relating to both the New York Grand Street Boys' Association and the Association's Grand Street House in England. Series I, comprising the majority of the collection, contains the records of the Grand Street Boys' Association. In it are extensive membership records, meeting minutes, annual yearbooks, financial records, administrative material, newsletters, and artifacts. Series II documents the Grand Street Boys' Foundation and contains administrative records and financial records. Some overlap of material will be found in Series I and II such as material pertaining to the relationship between the Association and Foundation. Series III consists of photographs documenting both the Association and Foundation. The photographs show members and highlight the activities of the Grand Street Boys.

Noah Benevolent Society records, undated, 1852-1979.

Collection consists of several versions of the constitution; minute books of the membership meetings (1852-1856, 1868-1907, 1914-1971; until 1907 in German, afterwards in English); minute books of meetings of the trustees (1852-1858, 1876-1974, until 1912 in German); an index to and summary of the trustees minutes (1927-1944); several anniversary journals starting with the 50th, which was also "the first extant history of the Noah Benevolent Society"; membership books (1861-1892, 1930-1965, until 1892 in German; the books after 1930 contain detailed information concerning each member's age, occupation, family, military service, etc.); financial records (1862-1870, 1964-1967, 1972); quarterly accountant's reports (bound with the membership minutes); monthly financial and statistical reports of the Mordechai Federal Credit Union (March 1959-June 1960) established by the Society; lists and addresses of members; newsletters (1927-1979) and other material and photographs reflecting the Society's activities.

Lt. Colonel Rachel (Rae) Diane Landy papers undated, 1913-2000

Rachel Diane Landy Papers consist of correspondence, reminiscences, legal documents, journal, newspaper and magazine articles and color Xerox copies of photographs as well as original photographs. This collection is of value to researchers studying the history of Hadassah and the living conditions and state of medical care in Palestine during the second decade of the 20th century. It is also of interest to researchers studying women in America during the first half of the 20th century who were able to pursue a challenging and productive career and become a leader and innovator in their chosen field. In addition it will be of interest to those researching the graduates of the Cleveland public and professional schools at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, and the Cleveland Jewish community and the George Crile U.S. Army Hospital in Cleveland during the 1940's.

Baron de Hirsch Fund records undated, 1870-1991.

Contains Deed of Trust, By-Laws, Annual Reports, Corporation Minutes (1909, 1913-1919, 1923-1924, 1926-1933), Minutes of the Board of Trustees (1893, 1899, 1907, 1910, 1915-1916, 1918, 1923, 1926-1927, 1930-1933), and the minutes, correspondence, and reports of the various national and local committees. Financial materials include income and expenditure records (1891-1933), audits (1919-1923, 1926-1928), the records of agricultural loans and mortgages, bond and real estate holdings, and bequests. Includes also correspondence and other materials regarding the establishment of the Fund, correspondence of and other papers concerning the Baron and Baroness de Hirsch, and several histories of the Fund. Included in the wide range of activities are material on the work of the Agriculture Bureau and the Jewish Agriculture Society, Housing, English Classes, Immigration (including monthly reports for several ports of entry 1885-1916) and Immigrant Aid, German Refugee Aid in the early years of the Holocaust, Kings Park, N.Y. Test Farm, the Laundry Project, Peekskill Farm, Public Baths, Student Loans, the Baron de Hirsch Trade School, and the Woodbine Colony and Baron De Hirsch Agricultural & Industrial School. Contains also materials on the Colonization attempts made in Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Galveston, Texas, The Southwest, Washington, Canada, and Mexico.

Beth Israel Hospital (Boston, MA) Records, undated, 1923, 1930-1964, 1988, 1991-1992

In 1916, the Jewish community of Boston established Beth Israel Hospital on Townsend Street in Roxbury to provide health care to immigrants in the area. Although accessible to everyone, the hospital provided Yiddish-speaking services for Eastern European Jewish immigrants and served kosher food, as well as conducted Jewish religious services. In 1928 the hospital entered into a teaching agreement with Harvard Medical School, Tufts University, and Simmons College. Shortly thereafter, the hospital moved to its current location in the Longwood area of Boston and expanded to a 220-bed operation. During 1935-1936, at the height of the Depression, Beth Israel spent 1.5 million dollars in free patient care and was only one of two local hospitals to offer health care to people on welfare. In 1996, Beth Israel Hospital merged with Deaconess Medical Center and became Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. This collection contains reports, pamphlets and hospital publications.

Temple Beth El Providence, Rhode Island collection, 1940-1969

In 1916, the Jewish community of Boston established Beth Israel Temple Beth-El, located on the East Side of Providence, dates back to 1849, with the creation of the group "Sons of Israel." On September 10, 1849, Solomon Pareira, Leonard Gavitts and Morris Steinberg were granted an acre of land along the New London Turnpike (now Reservoir Avenue) to establish a cemetery. In 1854, the Congregation of the Sons of Israel and David was established, leading to president Solomon Pareira's deeding of the cemetery land in 1857 for the sole utilization of the congregation. This collection contains programs, sermons and newsletters. Although the congregation was originally Orthodox, it affiliated with the Union of American Hebrew Congregations (Union for Reform Judaism) in 1877.

Schauplatz Fürstin-Bismarck-Schule.

An article (clipping) about a Jewish high school for girls in Berlin Charlottenburg, 1916-1939.