The Filson Historical Society Digital Projects

Browse Items (37 total)

  • https://filsonhistoricalimages.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/mssa_l668_f08_002.pdf

    Newspaper of the Louisville, Kentucky, Jewish Community Center and National Council of Jewish Women's Club 60. The publication includes an article beginning on page 3 that details the youth, immigration, and subsequent settling of Jewish Frenchman Jacques Wolff (1903-1977) in the United States. Includes his service in the French army, and his personal losses to the German army and the Holocaust, after which he was able to work in wholesale business in Louisville, Kentucky. Jacques was the husband of Denise Wolff, one of the founders of Club 60.

    Pages 6-8 are missing from the original version in the Filson's collection.
  • https://filsonhistoricalimages.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/mssa_l668_f08_003.pdf

    Autobiography written in English by Denise Wolff (1909-2000), a Jewish French American that immigrated to the United States during World War II. She describes her youth in France, hardship during German occupation during World War II, and immigration to the United States via Spain and Portugal, and activities she took part in at the Temple in Louisville, Kentucky.
  • https://filsonhistoricalimages.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/mssbj_n277a_f105_001.pdf

    The November 1933 newsletter of the Louisville Section of the National Council of Jewish Women. Portions of the newsletter reflect concerns for Jews following Adolph Hitler's rise to power and the increase of antisemitism in Germany. The bulletin announces that the organization donated $300 from the emergency fund "for the relief of German Jews." It informs that the National Board of Directors approved an official boycott of German goods and that the Louisville, Kentucky, section will formally consider the boycott at the next board meeting. The newsletter notes that "In the Interim, the Advisory Committee of the Council urges you and your friends to refrain from purchasing goods made in Germany and from stores who continue to buy in Germany." The bulletin also encourages Jews "to obtain their citizenship papers" and details the requirements.
  • https://filsonhistoricalimages.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/mssbj_n277a_f105_002.pdf

    September 1934 issue of the newsletter of the Louisville Section of the National Council of Jewish Women. The President's Report includes references to German emergency relief, boycott of German goods and stores that buy from German merchants, immigrant aid, and citizenship programs.
  • MssA_L668_F06_002g.jpg

    World War II era French passport and additional documents such as a Remitter's receipt and a ticket owned by Denise Hirsch Wolff (1909-2000), a French Jewish woman. She was married to Jacques Wolff (1903-1977). The passport includes photographs of their young children, Francis Wolff (1931- ) and Hubert Wolff (1938- ). Blank visa pages were not scanned.

    Denise's uncle Sol Levy arranged for her family's immigration to Louisville, Kentucky, to escape German occupation and the Holocaust. The passport shows that in 1941, the family traveled in Spain and Portugal before boarding a ship to New York City.
  • https://filsonhistoricalimages.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/mssa_l668_f05_010.pdf

    Declaration of change of residence for Eugénie Baer Hirsch, a French Jewish woman. She was married to Jacques Hirsch and the mother of Denise Hirsch Wolff (1909-2000). She immigrated to the United States and moved to Louisville, Kentucky, where her daughter had moved during World War II.
  • MssA_L668_F06_003d.jpg

    French passport for Eugénie Baer Hirsch (1880-1967), a French Jewish woman. She was married to Jacques Hirsch and the mother of Denise Hirsch Wolff (1909-2000). She immigrated to the United States and moved to Louisville, Kentucky, where her daughter had moved during World War II. Blank visa pages were not scanned.
  • https://filsonhistoricalimages.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/mssa_l668_f08_004.pdf

    Autobiography sharing the story of "Great-grandma Wolff" by Denise Wolff (1909-2000). She recounts living through multiple Germanic and German occupations in the 19th and 20th centuries, immigration to the United States, and her subsequent life as a Jewish American in Louisville, Kentucky.
  • 024x6_kleina_2009_ocr.pdf

    Summary of an oral history interview conducted with Ann Klein (1921-2012) on January 15, 2009. The interview was part of the Louisville Jewish Family and Career Services's project to document the lives of Jewish seniors in Louisville, Kentucky.

    Ann Klein was born and raised in Eger, Hungary, to a family that celebrated all holy days and attended Synagogue. A Holocaust survivor, she was assigned a job in an Auschwitz kitchen, and following a death march westward, was eventually freed in Wurzen, Germany. She came to America having accepted a marriage proposal from the man who would be her husband, and moved to Louisville when he took a post-doctorial fellowship at the University of Louisville. While in Louisville, she remained active in her faith, becoming a member of the National Council of Jewish Women, and fundraising for the Louisville Fund for the Arts, for which she shared experiences of the Holocaust. She enjoys music, playing piano, swimming, and hopes to leave behind a memory of promoting peace and being a moral human being.
  • 024x6_marxe_ocr.pdf

    Summary of an oral history interview conducted with Ernie Marx (1925-) on August 30, 2001. The interview was part of the Louisville Jewish Family and Career Services's project to document the lives of Jewish seniors in Louisville, Kentucky.
  • 024x6_lyalinf_ocr.pdf

    Summary of an oral history interview conducted with Felix Lyalin (1927-) on November 6, 2001. The interview was part of the Louisville Jewish Family and Career Services's project to document the lives of Jewish seniors in Louisville, Kentucky.
  • MssA_L668_F06_001c.jpg

    World War II era French passport for Jacques Wolff (1903-1977), a Jewish man. He was married to Denise Wolff (1909-2000). His uncle Sol Levy arranged for their family's immigration to Louisville, Kentucky, to escape German occupation and the Holocaust. The passport shows that in 1941, the family traveled to Spain and Portugal before taking a ship to New York City. Blank visa pages were not scanned.
  • https://filsonhistoricalimages.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/mssa_l668_f02_002.pdf

    A two-page letter from Jewish American B. J. Lee to A. H. Frenke, confirming to Frenke that the Wolff family will receive passage from Lisbon, Portugal to New York City, New York on May 2, 1941.
  • https://filsonhistoricalomekaimages.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/mssbj_n277a_f014_008.pdf

    National Council of Jewish Women, Louisville Section, annual meeting minutes, announcement, and election ticket for April 17, 1940. The minutes report on expenditures and remaining funds, including for specific immigrant and refugee aid projects like the establishment of the Council Workshop. A summary of Selma Kling's report notes "that approximately 250 emigrees are now residing in Louisville. These have been the responsibility and care of the [Americanization] committee from the time they arrive until their lives run in normal channels."
  • https://filsonhistoricalomekaimages.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/mssbj_n277a_f009_003.pdf

    National Council of Jewish Women, Louisville Section, Board meeting minutes for April 8, 1935. Mrs. Theresa Bernheim was announced as the new “Chairman of the local Jewish Committee on the placement of German Jewish Children in homes,” and it was reported that “five children are to be placed in this community.” The Council discussed changes in the bank used for a safety deposit box and contributions to the Hadassah. There was an extended discussion of the fourteenth Triennial Convention in New Orleans, which was themed “What Do We Owe the Next Generation.” The minutes refer to “resolutions concerning munitions, World Court, Military Training in Schools and Colleges, Disarmament, League of Nations and Racial Relation.” National dues were increased “to $1.50 per person in order to carry on a broader social program which embodied the field work, a Nat’l quarterly bulletin for each Council member, birth control clinics, radio programs, continuation in work for German Jewish Children, and a religious educational project for the home teaching of children by mothers.” Additional discussions concerned charitable funding for a Women’s Club float, a joint tea and musical event with the Adath Israel Sisterhood and Bi-state Sisterhood, and clothing donations for the Council birthday party at Waverly Hills Sanatorium. The Penny Lunch fund and the Committee on Ways and Means both reported positive financial situations for free lunches and cookbook sales. The correspondence read at this meeting concerned letters of appreciation to and from the Council, “changes in immigration and naturalization laws pending for consideration in Congress,” charitable contributions, and upcoming events. The minutes conclude with a reminder to Board Members “to keep secret all matters discussed at the Board meetings until presentation of these matters had been made at Open Meetings.”
  • https://filsonhistoricalomekaimages.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/mssbj_n277a_f009_004.pdf

    National Council of Jewish Women, Louisville Section, open meeting minutes for December 18, 1934. During the correspondence portion of the meeting, the Council read a letter from National President Fanny Brin “requesting further co-operation in securing additional passage money for Jewish children of Germany to this country and for the securing of private homes for the placement of the children.” The Council also received acknowledgement for the money already donated “for the passage of two German Jewish children.” The minutes also recount expenses and remaining Council funds for October through December. The Penny Lunch Committee reported that 38 lunches per week and 5 breakfasts per day were being served each day to children in the lunchroom. The total cost of the lunches per week was $9.50. Updates were given regarding the next book review meeting and “Contemporary Jewish Problems Class conducted by Rabbi Solomon N. Bazell.” Reports were also given by the Committee on Drives regarding the Red Cross Drive, the Student Loan fund, the Membership Committee, the Committee on Ways and Means regarding the Council cookbook, and the Memorial fund. The Council read letters relaying appreciation for various local efforts, including “jellies and preserves” donated to the Jewish Children’s Home, and updates on local happenings, including Y.M.H.A. performances and the availability of a report on Public Schools by Griffenhagen Associates. Many of the letters pertained to national matters. The Louisville Board of Trade, Civic and Welfare Endorsement Committee, sent a letter “advising the presence in the community of undesired individuals soliciting funds under false representations.” Letters also covered the National Conference on the Cause and Cure of War in Washington, D.C., National Council efforts to reach out to former members who may rejoin and non-members in small communities, and upcoming National Council elections.
  • https://filsonhistoricalomekaimages.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/mssbj_n277a_f014_004.pdf

    National Council of Jewish Women, Louisville Section, Board meeting minutes for March 11, 1940 (mislabeled as 1949 in original document). The minutes summarize Mrs. Selma Kling's report on the Americanization Committee, stating that "she had received a request from the Girl Scouts who wish to cooperate with her Committee," "that neither the Council Workshop nor the Nursery School are being run for profit," and that "volunteer English teachers" are needed.
  • https://filsonhistoricalomekaimages.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/mssbj_n277a_f008_002.pdf

    National Council of Jewish Women, Louisville Section, Board meeting minutes for March 12, 1934. Two letters discussed at the meeting relate to boycotting German goods and where to acquire items such as fabric gloves from other suppliers. A letter from National President Mrs. Fanny Brin provides updates about sanctioning the "the American Palestine Campaign to raise funds for the settlement of German Jews in Palestine." Other topics are an overview of funding and volunteer situations for the Penny Lunch Committee, Student Loan Committee, Committee on Social Welfare, and anti-Nazi propaganda efforts. The board decided to form a study group related to the anti-propaganda efforts. The minutes then turn to correspondence received by the board. The board decided to join the Louisville Conference of Jewish Organizations and discussed details of membership requirements. One letter requests that Mrs. J.M. Fuhrman join the Recreation Advisory Board and another is a letter of appreciation for donations of jellies to the Jewish Children's Home. The final letter concerns the movement to allow "delegates to the Kentucky federation of Women's Club to be empowered to act for the Council at meetings of the federation" in May.
  • https://filsonhistoricalomekaimages.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/mssbj_n277a_f009_001.pdf

    National Council of Jewish Women, Louisville Section, Board meeting minutes for May 14, 1934. The Committee on Service to the foreign Born reported on a Young Men's Hebrew Association (YMHA) citizenship class. The Council discussed sending delegates to the Convention of the Kentucky Federation of Women’s Clubs and budgets “for the relief of German Jewish Children.” During the correspondence part of the meeting, an extended discussion followed regarding the German Jewish Children’s Aid, Inc., and efforts “to bring approximately 250 German Jewish Children to the United States.” The National Council sent a letter “emphatically requesting that there be no solicitation or collection of small continuations from Sections or Section members for the transportation of German Jewish Children to this country." The minutes also recount expenses and remaining Council funds for March through May. The Committee on Social Welfare report requested donations to the Jewish Children’s Home and a Council birthday party at Waverly Hills Sanatorium. Additional reports were made by the Committee on Hospital Circles. Correspondence read in this meeting covers messages of appreciation, funding for YMHA camp attendance and other charitable causes, and discussions with the Retail Merchants Association regarding returned merchandise.
  • https://filsonhistoricalomekaimages.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/mssbj_n277a_f014_001.pdf

    National Council of Jewish Women, Louisville Section, Board meeting minutes for May 22, 1939. As the first major point of business, the Bank Committee (German Children's Aid, Inc.) was converted "into a Standing Committee, since it had been in existence for one year." The minutes describe ongoing events and programs for the benefit of new Americans, including teas, English lessons, youth recreation, and funding citizenship applications. The minutes summarize a letter from Mrs. Blanche Goldman, National President, “warning against the danger of allowing the cancellation of personal obligations which involves curtailment of cooperation, and advising the continued liberal support to the foreign-born.” Other correspondence concerns upcoming conferences, a thank-you letter for “ice-cream sent children of the Kosair Crippled Home,” a request for charitable donations to the Jewish Braille Institute, and various notes of appreciation. In terms of other topics, the minutes opened with a list of officers, directors, and committee chairs. They then recount expenses and remaining Council funds for March through April. 36 members attended the meeting, and 218 members total paid their dues for the year. In an update on the Student Loan Committee, Mrs. J.M. Fuhrman, Chairman, notes that a student's loan had been "charged off the books due to extreme illness of the man in question" and half was repaid when he recovered even though the repayment was "absolutely unsolicited."
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