Rochester (NY) Jewish Community Oral History Project

Other Views:  Print/PDF  |  EAD Note: You may browse using the navigation on the left, or use Ctrl-F to search within this finding aid.

Rochester NY Jewish community oral history project
Creator: Karp, Abraham J.
Call Number: D.259
Dates: 1925-1975
Physical Description: 15 boxes
Language(s): Materials are in English
Repository: Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation, River Campus Libraries, University of Rochester

Table of Contents:

Biographical/Historical Note
Scope and Content
Subject(s)
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Access
Use
Citation
Content List
Series I: Information on the project
Series II: Re-mastered CD's of interviews
Series III: Transcripts
Collection Overview
Title: Rochester NY Jewish community oral history project
Creator: Karp, Abraham J.
Call Number: D.259
Dates: 1925-1975
Physical Description: 15 boxes
Language(s): Materials are in English
Repository: Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation, River Campus Libraries, University of Rochester

Biographical/Historical Note
In 1976, a study was undertaken by the University of Rochester's Department of History and the Jewish Community Federation of Rochester to document Jewish life in Rochester from 1925 to 1975. Rabbi Abraham Karp, Professor of history and religion conceived and oversaw the project that consisted of conducting interviews with more than 100 members of the Jewish Community. People were identified as possible candidates for the project and a framework of questions was developed. Most interviewees were interviewed twice [two sessions]. Six advanced doctoral students undertook the interviews: Mark Friedrich, Tina Isaacs, Maurice Isserman, Dennis Klein, Brian Mitchell and Nancy Rosenbloom. The Max. A. Adler Charitable Foundation funded the project.

Professor Karp said that the project attempted to select and interview subjects that would reflect a cross-section of the Rochester Jewish community. Categories included leaders of the Jewish community, representatives of industry, mercantile trades, politicians, civic leaders, labor leaders, plus randomly selected rank and file Jewish people.

According to Milton Berman, Professor of History, who advised the interviewers, the study was a "glimpse of what it was like to live and grow up in a period of significant change for America as well as for Jews." He also observed that the study shows that "the Jewish Community in Rochester has changed from a community of small business workers to a community of highly educated professionals."

Scope and Content
The collection is made up of the original audiotapes, upgrades of these to compact disc, the transcriptions of many of the interviews and the legal agreements entered into by the interview subjects. At this point in time [2005] a little more than 50% of the interviews have been transcribed.

Subject(s):
New York (State)--Rochester
Jews
Interviews
Interviews (Sound recordings)
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Professor Karp delivered the audiotapes to the Department of Rare Books and Special Collections on August 15, 1977. In addition, four boxes of audiotapes and transcriptions were received from Rabbi Karp through Professor Harold Wechsler, Warner School of Education on April 14, 1997.Access
The Rochester NY Jewish community oral history project is open for research use. Researchers are advised to contact Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation prior to visiting. Upon arrival, researchers will also be asked to fill out a registration form and provide photo identification.Use
Reproductions are made upon request but can be subject to restrictions. Permission to publish materials from the collection must currently be requested. Please note that some materials may be copyrighted or restricted. It is the researcher's obligation to determine and satisfy copyright or other case restrictions when publishing or otherwise distributing materials found in the collections. For more information contact rarebks@library.rochester.eduCitation
[Item title, item date], Rochester NY Jewish community oral history project, D.259, Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation, River Campus Libraries, University of Rochester
Administrative Information
Author: Finding aid prepared by Rare Books and Special Collections staff
Publisher: Rare Books, Special Collections, and Preservation, River Campus Libraries, University of Rochester
Address:
Rush Rhees Library
Second Floor, Room 225
Rochester, NY 14627-0055
rarebks@library.rochester.edu
URL:


Content List
Series I: Information on the project
Box 1, Folder 1Correspondence, 1976-1978
Box 1, Folder 2Meeting: Professor Karp and interviewers, August 16, 1976
Box 1, Folder 3Index of logs
Box 1, Folder 4Interviewer lists, 1976-1977
Box 1, Folder 5Interviewers' evaluations, 1976
Box 1, Folder 6Neil Norry interview, page 30
Box 1, Folder 7General background
Box 1, Folder 8Proposed questionnaire, 1976
Box 1, Folder 9Project interview forms, blank
Box 1, Folder 10Summary statistics, 1977(?)
Box 1, Folder 11Financial material, 1976-1977
Box 1, Folder 12-21Legal agreements and interview summaries
Box 1, Folder 22Plans for project interviews
Box 1, Folder 23Speeches
Series II: Re-mastered CD's of interviews
Transferred from original tapes in 2005

Box 2Ahitow, Haim
Box 2Atwell, Father Henry
Box 2Barasch, Philip
Box 2Berger, Hanon
Box 2Berlove, Julia
Box 2Berman, Bob
Box 2Berman, Libbie
Box 2Bernstein, Rabbi
Box 2Bieber, Herman
Box 2Bittker, Mr. & Mrs. Clayton
Box 2Blanchard, Dr. Murray
Box 2Boyer, Michael
Box 2Braun, Wilhelm
Box 2Brown, Myrtle
Box 2Buff-Segal, Evelyn
Box 2Chatman, Abe
Box 3Cohen, Esther
Box 3Cohen, Jack Bess
Box 3Cohen, Pincus
Box 3Cohen, Solomon
Box 3Dankner, Hyman
Box 3Edelman, Lester
Box 3Emiot, Israel
Box 3Ergas, Victor
Box 3Finteshel, Louis
Box 3Foreman, Maurice
Box 3Freeman, Hy
Box 3Gaby, Alex
Box 3Germanow, Leon
Box 3Gissen, Sonia and Robert
Box 3Goldberg, Arthur
Box 3Goldberg, Emanuel
Box 3Goldberg, Nathan
Box 3Goldman, Judge Harry
Box 3Goldman, Manuel
Box 3Goldman, Reuben
Box 3Goldstein, Dr. JD
Box 3Goldstein, Joseph
Box 3Gordon, Jerome
Box 3Gordon, Phillip
Box 4Goronkin, Irving
Box 4Greenberg, William
Box 4Greenhouse, Goldie
Box 4Harrison, Les
Box 4Hecker, Harold and Helen
Box 4Herz, Arthur
Box 4Hoffman, Manuel
Box 4Hollander, Abe
Box 4Hollander, Jennie
Box 4Horn, Dr. & Mrs. Leonard
Box 4Hudson, Winthrop
Box 4Kaplan, Goldie
Box 4Kirschenbaum, Nelson Anne
Box 4Kolko, Harold
Box 4Kominz, Dr. Louis
Box 4Kravitz, Fred
Box 4Kreag, Anna
Box 4Krieger, Seymor
Box 4Kroll, Mr. & Mrs. Merwyn
Box 5Lebovics, Ruth
Box 5Levin, Rose
Box 5Levinson, Morris
Box 5Liebschutz, Philip
Box 5Lipski, Helen
Box 5London, Alfred
Box 5London, Joseph
Box 5Louis, Elmer
Box 5Lovenheim, Clifford
Box 5Lowenthal, Arthur M.
Box 5Lurie, Mordecai
Box 5Mandell, Freda
Box 5Mandell, Hyman
Box 5Meyer, Garson
Box 6Mindel, Fanny
Box 6Neisner, Fred
Box 6Noble, Joseph
Box 6Norry, Irving
Box 6Norry, Neil J.
Box 6Nusbaum, Shephard Fan
Box 6Ouzer, Louis
Box 6Owerback, Ben
Box 6Poze, Samuel
Box 6Rapowitz, Bert
Box 6Rappaport, Jacob
Box 6Rasnick, Meyer
Box 6Reich, Charlotte Sturman
Box 6Richardson, Miriam
Box 6Robfogel, Nathan
Box 6Rock, Julius
Box 6Rock, Miriam
Box 6Rogan, Morris
Box 6Rosenbaum, Cantor
Box 6Rosenbloom, Harvey
Box 6Rosenbloom, Nancy
Box 7Rosenstein, Mr. & Mrs. Louis
Box 7Ruderman, Irving Eugenia
Box 7Sarachan, Herman
Box 7Savedoff, Malcolm
Box 7Schuster, Bernard
Box 7Schwartz, Elisabeth
Box 7Segal, Dr. Harry
Box 7Shapiro, Dr. Morris
Box 7Silverstein, Joseph
Box 7Solomon, Rabbi Aaron
Box 7Solomon, Rabbi Abraham
Box 7Sturman, Florence (Mrs. Leo)
Box 7Sturman, Leon
Box 7Suskind, Harry
Box 8Vigdor, Justin
Box 8Weidenfeld, Mariam Dov
Box 8Wolsky, Jack
Box 8Zelter, Bessie
Series III: Transcripts
Box 9, Folder 3Barasch, Philip
Box 10, Folder 1Cohen, Pincus
Box 10, Folder 9Gissen, Sonia and Robert
Box 10, Folder 20Greenberg, William
Box 11, Folder 3Hecker, Harold and Helen
Box 11, Folder 18Kroll, Mr. & Mrs. Merwyn
Box 12, Folder 6Lipski, Helen
Box 13, Folder 11-12Rapowitz, Bertram A.
Box 14, Folder 3Robfogel, Nathan
Box 14, Folder 8Rosenstein, Mr. & Mrs. Louis
Box 14, Folder 12Savedoff, Malcolm
Box 15, Folder 2Shapiro, Dr. Morris
Box 15, Folder 3Silverstein, Joseph
Box 15, Folder 9Vigdor, Justin
Box 15, Folder 10Weidenfeld, Mariam Dov
Box 15, Folder 11Wolsky, Jack


Other Views:  Print/PDF  |  EAD