Subject Guide: Military History

ARCHIVAL HIGHLIGHTS

David Cedarbaum (1903-1987) Papers (P-914)

The collection documents the time David Cedarbaum spent serving as a Jewish military chaplain in the Marianas during World War II.

Informal Committee on Commemoration of the Jewish Military Chaplaincy records​ (I-44)

Contains the correspondence, minutes, and activities of the Informal Committee, coordinated by the National Jewish Welfare Board and composed of ten national Jewish organizations involved in the planning of the celebration of the centennial of the appointment of the first Jewish chaplain in the Armed Forces of the United States in 1862, in various cities of the U.S.

Joseph Shubow Collection (P-881)

The Joseph Shubow Collection documents the life and professional activities of Joseph Shubow, military Chaplain, leader of the Congregation B’nai Moshe, Boston, MA and a prominent American Zionist leader. The collection includes correspondence, documents, lists, writings, speeches and sermons notes, photographs, and printed materials. 

Morris Gordon Papers (P-910)

This collection documents the life of Rabbi Morris Gordon, particularly the time he spent serving as a chaplain in Burma and China during World War II. Of particular interest are letters written to Gordon's wife while he was stationed in the Pacific detailing his daily activities, as well as essays written by German refugee children in Shanghai entitled "Home is Where My Heart Is."

National Jewish Welfare Board military chaplaincy records (I-249)

This collection documents the evolution of CANRA-DRA-CJC and more broadly illustrates Jewish chaplaincy and Jewish participation in the U.S. military effort from WWII to the Vietnam War. The materials, which include minutes, reports, correspondence, speeches, sermons, autobiographical writings, photographs and printed materials, primarily derive from the office of the Executive Director of CANRA-DRA-CJC during the tenure of Aryeh Lev, 1946-1975, and his predecessor Philip S. Bernstein, 1942-1946.

Rabbi Abraham Haselkorn (1905-1982) World War II collection (P-994)

Rabbi Abraham Haselkorn (1905-1982) was a Jewish military chaplain in World War II. A Reform rabbi, he graduated from the Jewish Institute of Religion in New York City. He served as rabbi of Temple Beth-El in Poughkeepsie, NY before enlisting in the army in 1942. He was stationed in France in 1944 and Germany in 1945. He worked with Jewish displaced persons, many of them survivors of concentration camps.

Rabbi Emery Glancz, World War II Rabbi/ Cantor Military Kit with Flag (I-517)

This collection contains the chaplain's kit used by Rabbi Emery Glancz during his service as an army chaplain during World War II. Included in the kit is a flag with the Ten Commandments; one Ten Commandments plaque; two brass candlesticks, one marked "US;" two brass communion plates marked "US;" one brass priest's communion cup with cross; and three silver-plated cups.

LIBRARY HIGHLIGHTS

Barish, L. (1962). Rabbis in uniform : The story of the American Jewish military chaplain. New York: J. David.

Eichhorn, D., & Military Chaplains Association of the United States. (1962). The story of the Jewish chaplains in the Armed Forces of the United States : Full text of paper presented to MCA convention.

Slomovitz, A. (1999). The fighting rabbis : Jewish military chaplains and American history. New York: New York University Press.

Stahl, R. (2017). Enlisting faith : How the military chaplaincy shaped religion and state in modern America.

ARCHIVAL HIGHLIGHTS

Arnold Lazarus Collection [Digitized] (AR 4497)

This collection contains personal and family documents of the noted rabbi and scholar Arnold Lazarus, and is particularly strong in documenting his time as a German field chaplain in World War I. Included are newspapers that feature photos of Lazarus on duty as field chaplain and documents pertaining to his field service (including identification, assignments, the award of the Iron Cross, and an instructional pamphlet for Jewish field chaplains).

Arnold Taenzer Collection [Digitized] (AR 485)

The Arnold Taenzer Collection documents the work and life of this German rabbi. Prominent topics of this collection include Moritz Lazarus, Jews in the German military, and the Jewish communities of Goeppingen and Wuerttemberg. The papers consist of manuscripts, official documents, diaries, correspondence, clippings, and a few photographs.

Kriegserinnerungen : [1914-1916] [Digitized] (ME 640)

Arnold (Aron) Taenzer (1871-1937) was the rabbi of Goeppingen (Wuerttemberg) and a military chaplain in World War I. Collection includes Rabbi's memories of World War I in Poland and Russia; encounter with East European Jewry.

Emil Schorsch JTS Collection [Digitzed]  (AR 25103)

The Emil Schorsch Collections documents the professional activities of Emil Schorsch, a Rabbi and a communal leader, after his emigration from Germany in 1939. The collection includes brochures, booklets, clippings, correspondence, notes, immigration documents, printed materials, and writings. At the heart of the collections lies a large number of Emil Schorsch’s sermons and other homilies. Also included are articles and lectures that Emil Schorsch gave at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York during the 1960s.

[Notes for sermons, articles, speeches] undated, 1962-1964 [Digitized] (MS 1029)

This is a collection of notes and short essays for sermons, speeches, and articles by Rabbi Emil Schorsch, organized loosely according to ideas, touching on topics of the Bible; daily synagogue service; laughter; monotheism; survival, and the teaching of religion in the US and in Germany. Schorsch served as a rabbi in Pottstown, Pennsylvania from 1940 until 1964, as well as a military chaplain in the Pottstown area throughout the Second World War.

LIBRARY HIGHLIGHTS

Barish, L. (1962). Rabbis in uniform; the story of the American Jewish military chaplain. New York: J. David.

Klee, E., Dressen, Willi, & Riess, Volker. (1988). "The good old days" : The Holocaust as seen by its perpetrators and bystanders. (This edition published by arrangement with The Free Press, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, Inc.. ed.).

ARCHIVAL HIGHLIGHTS

(Rabbiner) Rene Hirschler Correspondence (RG 221)

Rabbi Hirschler was a chaplain of French Foreign Legion (1939-1943), Chief Chaplain for foreign-born Jews in internment camps in the French free zone (1943), performed relief work in concentration camps, detention and forced labor camps, and was active in underground efforts for Jews in hiding. Collection includes correspondence with individuals in camps concerning relief packages, supplies for Jewish holidays, location of relatives, efforts to secure funds. Includes letters to French government officials and Jewish leaders concerning Jewish situation.

LIBRARY HIGHLIGHTS

Gordon, H., & Zahavy, Zev. (1981). Chaplain on wings : The wartime memoirs of Rabbi Harold H. Gordon : Appended with selected invocations given on various notable occasions. New York, NY: Shengold.

​Klein, I. (1974). The anguish and the ecstasy of a Jewish chaplain (1st ed.). New York: Vantage Press.

Kraft, J., Kraft, Leah, & Young, Toni. (2001). Reflections on World War II : Chaplain Jacob Kraft's letters to Leah. Wilmington, DE: Rabbi Jacob Kraft Educational Foundation, Congregation Beth Shalom.

Martin, H. (1984). United States Navy chaplains, 1972-1981 : Biographical and service record sketches of chaplains on active duty during the period 1 January 1972-31 December 1981 (History of the Chaplain Corps, United States Navy ; v. 8). Washington]: U.S. Govt. Print, Off.

Nussbaum, C. (1988). Chaplain on the River Kwai : Story of a prisoner of war (1st ed.). New York, NY: Shapolsky.