1933-1953 German Jewish Children's Aid

The records of the GJCA relate to the entire range of activities involved in receiving and placing refugee children from 1933 through the 1950s. The later materials are records of the European Jewish Children's Aid. Activities included: maintaining the reception center in New Jersey; transportation arrangements; placement in homes; issuing affidavits and passports; granting scholarships; naturalization of children; setting of GJCA policy. By-laws, minutes, reports, correspondence and certificate of incorporation. Correspondence of executive officers, mainly Cecilia Razovsky, 1930s. Correspondence between William Haber and Lotte Marcuse, 1939-40. File of Dr. Solomon Lowenstein. Minutes of meetings of the Finance Committee. Field reports, inter-office memoranda, financial and statistical reports. Correspondence with organizations and governmental agencies: Society of Friends (Quakers) in Vienna; Israelitische Kultusgemeinde of Vienna; Reichsvereinigung der Juden in Deutschland; Federation for the Support of Jewish Philanthropic Societies; Department of Justice; New York State Department of Social Welfare; U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service; American Friends Service Committee; American Jewish Congress; B'nai Brith; National Council of Jewish Women. Correspondence with individuals: Max S. Perlman, William Rosenwald, Paul Felix Warburg. In addition to the general administrative records, there are thousands of case files.

Immigrants Mutual Aid Society, Inc. records, undated, 1938-1980.

Contains the papers of the Society founded in 1938 by recent German speaking Jewish immigrants to Boston to assist their initial adjustment to the economic, cultural, spiritual, and social life of the American community and subsequently, to provide mutual assistance to its membership and aid to other immigrants.

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.

Naomi Block Manners Stern collection of Eleanor Roosevelt correspondence undated, 1941-1962, 1972, 1974, 1976, 1984, 2003

This collection is mainly composed of correspondence between Ms. Stern and Mrs. Roosevelt, spanning the years from their first acquaintance in 1941 to Mrs. Roosevelt's decease in 1962. Letters that hold particular interest concern Ms. Stern's experience at the Summer Student Leadership Institute, and the White House. Additional material in the collection encompasses articles, newsclippings, programs, press releases, and photographs. The articles and newsclippings folder contains information pertaining to Ms. Stern's college career, the first Summer Student Leadership Institute, Mrs. Roosevelt's talk at Community Day, National Youth Association, and a donation of an ambulance to the war effort by Hunter college students. Naomi Block Manners Stern personal folder contains an article Naomi Block wrote in her college magazine, "Echo," describing her perceptions of President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Winston Churchill during her first visit at the White House. Also included is her graduation program, listing Mrs. Roosevelt as the main speaker, a commemoration of President Roosevelt in 1972 in which Ms. Stern took part, an article and press release describing Ms. Stern's career at Revlon, and a 2003 written summary of Ms. Stern's relationship with Mrs. Roosevelt. Photographs were taken by Naomi Block and others at the Summer Leadership Institute in 1941 portray identified fellow students, Mrs. Roosevelt, James Roosevelt, the Roosevelt home in Campobello, and Felix Frankfurter.

Temple Beth El (Helena, Ark.) records, undated, 1875-2006.

The records of Temple Beth El offer a valuable insight into a small town Southern Jewish community. The community members, composed mainly of German Jews devoted to Reform movement, participated actively in charity work and mutual benefit societies, and maintained a close relationship with Jewish communities throughout the South. Contributors to the Southern economy, their synagogue activities often reflect their business interests; a bale of cotton was once used in a fundraising auction. The strength of their Jewish commitment is reflected in their efforts to keep the synagogue active, despite difficulties in hiring and maintaining Rabbis for the pulpit.