American Council for Judaism records, 1938-1988

Author / Creator

American Council for Judaism

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Physical

Summary

Records of an organization formed near the end of World War II by American Jews opposed to Zionism. Primarily the files of the Executive Director, Elmer Berger, the records include correspondence w...

Records of an organization formed near the end of World War II by American Jews opposed to Zionism. Primarily the files of the Executive Director, Elmer Berger, the records include correspondence with officers and members and with editors, educators, and others such as Virginia Gildersleeve, William E. Hocking, Paul Hutchinson, Judah L. Magnes, Kermit Roosevelt, Vincent Sheean, Norman Thomas, Dorothy Thompson, Humphrey Walz, George Weller, William L. White, and William Zukerman. Also present are materials from annual conferences, committee files, public relations and fundraising papers, speeches, and publications.

The records document the group's efforts to promote acceptance of Judaism as a religion rather than a nationality, to expand U.S. immigration regulations, to aid non-Zionist refugee relief organizations, to urge compromise in Palestine by all faiths and ethnic groups, to expand its own membership, and to conduct other activities.

Photographs (1947-1967) consist primarily of images depicting Lessing J. Rosenwald, president of the organization from 1943 to 1955. Photographs in an album document a Bavarian Relief Action, including images of school children, villages, and folklife events in Germany.

The processed portion of this collection is summarized above, dates 1938-1967 (though primarily 1943-1953), and is described in the register. Additional accessions date 1939-1988 and are described below.

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