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Center for Jewish History: General Information
Lillian Goldman Reading Room
Ackman and Ziff Family Genealogy Institute
In this milieu, private Jewish foundations are emerging as one of the most critical elements in the changing face of Jewish communal life in America. Foundations provide a catalyst for change by funding new and creative approaches to old problems. They can promote inter-organizational collaboration and non-bureaucratic structures to address the growing complexity of human needs. Collaboration among several funders can focus attention and provide the necessary funds to see a project through to its conclusion. Working to expand the impact of local Jewish Federations, foundations can complement the allocation process, providing the experimentation that can lead to institutionalized change.
Hadassah Archives on Long-term Deposit at the American Jewish Historical Society (I-578)
Hadassah, the Women's Zionist Organization of America, was founded in 1912 by Henrietta Szold. Over the past century, the organization has engaged hundreds of thousands of American Jewish women in the Zionist project. Two nurses sent to Jerusalem in 1913 grew into a network of hospitals, clinics, health stations, public health initiatives and school-based programs that represent key segments of Israel’s health system. In addition to health care, Hadassah has also supported other projects in Palestine and later Israel, primarily focused on education and children.
Hebrew Orphan Asylum of the City of New York Records (I-42)
Hebrew Orphan Asylum founded 1822 as the Hebrew Benevolent Society; underwent various changes of name until 1906; merged into The Jewish Child Care Association of New York in 1940.
Records of the Sephardic Jewish Brotherhood of America (ASF AR-33)
The Sephardic Jewish Brotherhood of America began as the Salonican Brotherhood of America, Inc. which was founded in Manhattan in 1915 as a society to help Sephardic immigrants from Salonica become accustomed to life in the United States, as well as to have a place of Sephardic worship and community.
ORT Photograph Collection (RG-380) [Collection is digitized and available online.]
Established in 1922 by Leon Bramson and Aron Syngalowski as the national organization of the ORT in the U.S. ORT, which was established in Russia in 1880, is an international Jewish organization for vocational training. The Federation conducts fundraising activities in support of ORT work worldwide. The photograph collection consists of photographs of ORT vocational programs in Europe (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, England, France, Germany, Holland, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Rumania, Spain, Switzerland), the United States, Canada, South Africa, the former Soviet countries (Latvia, Lithuania, Ukraine, Belarus), the Middle East and northern Africa (Iran, Israel, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia), China, India, and Latin America (Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay). There are also photographs from Displaced Persons camps, of World ORT conferences and congresses and of various individuals connected with ORT.
Records of the Workmen's Circle (I-304)
Collection consists of material from the administration, services, individual branches, and schools of the Workmen's Circle. The majority of the collection are publications of the Workmen's Circle relating to conventions and education. The collection also includes annual reports, newsletters, bulletins, and pamphlets.
United Jewish Appeal-Federation of New York Collection (I-433) [Collection is stored off-site and needs to be requested in advance]
United Jewish Appeal-Federation of Jewish Philanthropies of New York has been a central force for communal planning and philanthropy in the New York Jewish community since 1917. More than 60,000 donors pool their resources to help people in need, inspire a passion for Jewish life and learning, and strengthen Jewish communities around the world. Projects relate to health and human services, aging and vulnerable populations, Jewish education, and disaster relief.
Records of the National Jewish Welfare Board (I-298)
The collection documents the National Jewish Welfare Board's (JWB) evolution from an organization founded in 1917 to provide support for soldiers in times of war to an agency involved in all aspects of Jewish life both in the United States and abroad.
United States Territorial Collection (RG-117)
Miscellaneous materials on Jewish life in the United States, including philanthropic organizations such as American Jewish Committee, American Jewish Conference, Conference of Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, National Conference of Jewish Social Welfare, New York Kehillah, Rabbinical Alliance, United Poalei Zion, Zionist Organization of America, and other various anarchist, revisionist, socialist and Zionist groups.
OSE Photograph Collection (RG 494) [Collection is digitized and available online.]
OSE was a worldwide organization for childcare, health and hygiene among Jews, with headquarters in Paris. Founded in 1912 in St. Petersburg, Russia. The name OSE was an acronym for Obshchestvo Zdravokhraneniya Yevreyev (Society for the Protection of the Health of the Jews). The Photograph Collection consists of photos of OSE medical and nutrition programs, children’s homes, summer camps, public lectures on health topics, clinics, educational programs, and official visits of OSE staff. There are also pictures of leisure activities, care homes, vocational training, and education. The photos portray OSE activities in Argentina, Australia, Canada, Czechoslovakia, France, Hungary, Iran, Israel, Italy, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, Rumania, Switzerland, Tunisia, United States, and Uruguay, and various individuals and conference of the World OSE Union. The majority of these photos date from WWII and years just following. There is also a series of photos of German Refugees in the OSE Children's Home in Montmorency, France, circa 1937.
Records of the Baron de Hirsch Fund (I-80)
The Baron de Hirsch Fund Records document the organization's involvement in the planning of agricultural communities across the United States and to some extent in South America; the founding and administrative dealings of agricultural and trade schools; the establishment of the Jewish Agricultural Society; and the business records of the Fund itself. In addition, the collection documents the protection offered to immigrants through port work, relief, temporary aid, promotion of suburban industrial enterprises and removal from urban centers through the Industrial Removal Office, land settlement, agricultural training, and trade and general education.
Since its founding at the turn of the 20th century, HIAS has been the worldwide arm of the American Jewish community for the rescue, relocation, family reunification, and resettlement of refugees and other migrants. Several partners at the Center hold collections related to HIAS' activities:
HIAS-ICA Emigration Association HICEM Collection (AR-4729) [Collection is digitized and available online.]
The United HIAS Service was an international Jewish immigrant and refugee service, formed in New York City in 1909. This collection consists of the records of the HIAS-ICA Emigration Association HICEM, an organization that supported the emigration of European Jews. It was created in 1927 by the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS), the Jewish Colonization Association (ICA), and Emig-Direkt. Materials include minutes, correspondence, administrative records, and reports on the situation of Jews in various parts of Europe.
Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS) Records (I-363) [Collection is stored off-site and needs to be requested in advance.]
The records of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, now known as HIAS, comprise much of the history of HIAS through the second half of the 20th century, primarily through the files created by leadership based in the New York headquarters. Since the 1880s HIAS has worked with immigrants and refugees to help them emigrate legally from their home countries to safe resettlement in the United States and elsewhere, and they continue this work today.
Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS) Records at YIVO [Collections are digitized and available online.]
This is a guide containing links to digitized HIAS archival collections at YIVO, mostly material from HIAS Offices, case files, and clippings.