Collection Full View
American Jewish Committee: Domestic Geographic Files (1936 - 1962)
Collection IDRG 347.17.13
Size48 boxes
Collection Description
The collection documents the work of the American Jewish Committee (AJC) and the contacts of its national staff, based in New York City, at the state and local level, across the country. Noteworthy are: reports of visits by AJC representatives to specific communities, describing local conditions and covering other matters of AJC interest; reports relating to Joint Defense Appeal fundraising efforts; correspondence, reports, and other papers on the origin and development of AJC field offices; correspondence, legal briefs, and other papers on court cases in which the AJC was involved as amicus curiae or otherwise, pertaining to such matters as civil liberties/civil rights, education, employment, housing, and public accommodations; and correspondence and other papers on relationships between AJC officials and those of kindred local Jewish and other organizations.
The AJC's New Jersey office was located at 45 Branford Place, Newark during most of this period. Sydney Kellner is New Jersey Area Director. Kellner maintained close relations with the
Essex County Intergroup Council (ECIC), 30 Clinton St., Newark (1948-1950s), an umbrella group of community organizations formed to improve intergroup relations. Rev. Theodore R. Ludlow was its Chairman, Arnold Harris its Executive Vice-Chairman, and Mrs. L. Hamilton Garner, Secretary. The ECIC seems to have preceded, and then worked in tandem with, the Mayor's Commission on Group Relations, established in the early 1950s. Kellner also worked closely with the Joint Council for Civil Rights, a statewide group, with offices at 30 Clinton St., Newark.
The AJC's New Jersey office was located at 45 Branford Place, Newark during most of this period. Sydney Kellner is New Jersey Area Director. Kellner maintained close relations with the
Essex County Intergroup Council (ECIC), 30 Clinton St., Newark (1948-1950s), an umbrella group of community organizations formed to improve intergroup relations. Rev. Theodore R. Ludlow was its Chairman, Arnold Harris its Executive Vice-Chairman, and Mrs. L. Hamilton Garner, Secretary. The ECIC seems to have preceded, and then worked in tandem with, the Mayor's Commission on Group Relations, established in the early 1950s. Kellner also worked closely with the Joint Council for Civil Rights, a statewide group, with offices at 30 Clinton St., Newark.
Collection Contents
The collection includes correspondence, reports, and subject files, arranged by state and then by locality and subject. Some of the subjects represented are: college admissions, antisemitism, the arts, discriminatory business practices, capital punishment, church/state relations, civil liberties, civil rights, communism, education, elections, employment, fraternities/sororities, hate groups, holiday observances, hospitals, intergroup relations, Jewish community councils, labor, loyalty/security, police training, politics, prayer in schools, public accommodations, refugees, Sunday closing, surveys of communities/programs, veterans programs, and youth activities. NOTE: A paper inventory is available in the Reading Room.
Newark-related content in the collection is as follows:
Box 23, Folder 60: New Jersey (1932-1963), includes a report by Sydney Kellner (Nov 1962), with his impressions of AJC work around the state, relations with Governor Hughes, relations with the Catholic Church, levels of discrimination against Jews, etc. Included are materials on support for "selling Channel 13 to become an educational tv station" (July 1961), with a long list of human relations and community activists from Newark).
Box 24: contains general files on civil rights and related issues in the state (1939-1961) . Folder 62 contains material on the New Jersey Good Will Commission, an anti-discrimination campaign, based at 1060 Broad St., Newark; and on the Newark Defense Council (1943). Folder 63, "Commission on Civil Liberties" (1948), includes a report, a press release, and a memorandum by Newark attorney J. Eisenberg submitted at a Commission hearing, Feb 17, 1948, on behalf of the Joint Council on Civil Rights. Folder 64, "Communal Issues," contains general material, with some mentions of Newark. For example, a Kellner memo of Oct 22, 1958 on anti-Semitic incidents around the state includes several in Newark and nearby communities, and the text of Rabbi Joachim Prinz's response to them. Folders 65-67, on specific issues such as church-state relations and censorship (1946-1961), include mentions of Newark.
Box 25, Folders 26-32 are "New Jersey - Essex County - Newark" (1936-1961).
Folder 26, includes a 1936 proposal drafted by Dr. Frank Kingdon, President of the University of Newark, advocating the establishment of a chair in human relations; two letters to the editor of the Newark Evening News (Mar 1 and 6, 1960) and related memos, concerning negative comments by Rev. David L. Coddington, pastor of Clinton Avenue Presbyterian Church, on an Interfaith Institute moderated by Rabbi Ely Pilchik and sponsored by the Women's Association of Temple B'nai Jeshurun in late February 1960; correspondence from Alan V. Lowenstein (1958); AJC correspondence and memos (1954-1955) on the work of the Mayor's Commission on Group Relations, including a list of 16 recommended appointees to the Commission, a clipping with a lengthy attack on the Commission by Dominic Spina (published in the "Police Post," Newark, Jan 1955), a report on an "Open Forum Meeting" held at the Board of Education by the Commission (May 27, 1953), and the Commission's first Annual Report (1953); a long memo re: presentation of an award to Mayor Carlin for his work on charter reform by the Essex County Chapter of the American Jewish Congress (with a photo of Carlin with Chapter officers); and a memo from Sydney Kellner to the AJC national office (Jun 15, 1956) re: the recent formation of an "Association of Citizens Councils of Newark," as a result of the riot of teenagers at the Newark Schools Stadium "a few weeks ago." This group met at the Van Buren St. Branch of the Newark Public Library. Kellner attaches a report by a librarian and an excerpt from "The Patriot," an anti-black, anti-Communist New Jersey publication that speaks of the "Communist-ridden NAACP." The Newark group elected Frank E. Koehler, a policeman, as president. About "150 young men" attended, mostly from the North Ward.
Folder 27: contains clippings re: Roy Wilkins' charges that Newark barred black principals in its schools (1962); America Jewish Congress reports on conditions/problems in Newark schools (1950-1961); correspondence and a confidential memo on a survey of group relations problems in Newark (1959); a report and memos on activity of Elijah Muhammed and the Black Muslims, vandalism in Jewish cemeteries, religion in schools, Catholic-Jewish relations, housing integration, etc. in Newark (1954-1959); reports on Mayor's Commission activities; a lengthy AJC memo on the introduction of racial and ethnic issues into the 1953 Newark municipal election; a memo criticizing Samuel Cohen article on the labor situation re: organizing Jewish social welfare workers in Newark, "Social Workers Win a Union Fight" in the March 1955 of Jewish Life (a Communist Party-influenced magazine; the article is attached); many examples of discriminatory classified ads from the Newark press (1950-51); and a report on a meeting with Rabbi David Wice (of Temple B'nai Jeshurun), with frank discussion of the tension between AJC and "the Zionists" in Newark (Dec 2, 1943)
Folder 28: "Newark-Communism" (1954-1958) contains Kellner memos re: the AJC's position on House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC) hearings in Newark in May 1955 and Sep 1958, with comments on the Jewishness of the victims of HUAC, on Bella Dodd's closed-session testimony regarding fellow teacher Robert Lowenstein's CP membership; memos re: the position of the AJC regarding defense of 3 dismissed Newark teachers (1955-1956); comment on the attitudes of local and state labor, of the American Jewish Congress, Councilman Samuel Cooper, Mayor Carlin, the Anti-Defamation League, and others on these issues. A June 1955 memo notes that Cooper was "hastily" replaced by Rabbi Joachim Prinz as state president of the American Jewish Congress.
Folder 29: "Newark - Employment" (1947-1954), contains a pamphlet, "Newark Points the Way to National F.E.P." (Mayor's Commission, 1954); and a memo, letters, and confidential report on department store discrimination in hiring (1947)
Folder 30: "Newark - Loyalty" (1953-1958), contains duplicates of material re: HUAC hearings; a copy of the State Commissioner of Education's Decision in the case of Estelle Laba [teacher] vs. Newark Board of Education (1956) , concluding that the Board should re-investigate or present more detailed charges. Also present is a memo, correspondence, and a draft of a statement on Loyalty Oaths, including a copy of the Newark Housing Authority oath for tenants in public housing (1952, 1955).
Folder 31: "Communal Organizations - Newark" (1946-1957), contains memos re: meetings; lists of organizations; and by-laws of the Newark Youth Council (1953)
Folder 32: "Visits" (1940-1943), contains a memo and copies of letters to the editor from Benjamin Epstein, principal of Weequahic High School and active in the American Jewish Congress, and Manuel G. Batshaw of the Jewish Community Council disputing an AJC speaker on the issue of "white flight" from Newark's Weequahic section (1962); and a series of lengthy memos, mostly by Solomon A. Fineberg of the AJC on his visits with communal leaders in Newark. These include very frank comments on and from Newark leaders such as Michael Stavitsky, Esther Jameson, Rabbi Louis Levitsky, Samuel I. Kessler, Daniel Shiman, and Julius H. Cohn. Topics include the general situation of Jews in Newark, the organizational structure of the Jewish community (and recommended changes), and relations between various Jewish organizations in Newark.
Folders 45-58, "New Jersey, Counties - Essex," with various subtitles (1946-1962) contain memos (many from Area Director Sydney Kellner to the AJC national office on meetings and activities in Essex County (centering on Newark); lists of AJC activists and contacts; material on issues such as religion in the schools, housing problems, police-community relations, etc.; minutes; studies; and some correspondence with local leaders, for example, a letter from Rabbi Ely Pilchik of Temple B'nai Jeshurun to Myron M. Ruby of the Essex County AJC, outlining Pilchik's assessment of the state of the local Jewish community and his suggestions for AJC activity (Dec 29, 1955, in Folder 46)
Box 26: contains "New Jersey" files. Folders 1-15 are Essex County subject files (1946-1962, arranged under various subheadings). Contents includes programs of Essex County AJC events (by the mid-fifties many chapter activities and members are in the suburbs); correspondence; newsletters; a charter and by-laws; reports to the national office; clippings, budget materials; officers and trustees lists (by 1958, of 60 none lives in Newark, but many have offices or businesses in Newark)
Folders 16-23, "New Jersey, Essex County Chapter - Reports" (1952-1961, filed by year), contain standardized monthly report forms sent by Area Director Sydney Kellner to the Community Activities Dept. of the AJC, listing meetings, contacts with individuals (face-to-face and by telephone) supplemented by lengthy narrative reports and memos on special projects and some copies of publicity materials and correspondence.
Folder 24, "New Jersey, Essex County Chapter - Self Survey" (1955), contains a report by Kellner on the results of a "Self Survey" recently undertaken by the Essex County Chapter, with examples of the AJC's behind-the-scenes and non-high-profile efforts to defuse racial tension between blacks and Jews and to deal with "church groups'" attempts to block sales of "indecent" material (a potential civil liberties issue).
Newark-related content in the collection is as follows:
Box 23, Folder 60: New Jersey (1932-1963), includes a report by Sydney Kellner (Nov 1962), with his impressions of AJC work around the state, relations with Governor Hughes, relations with the Catholic Church, levels of discrimination against Jews, etc. Included are materials on support for "selling Channel 13 to become an educational tv station" (July 1961), with a long list of human relations and community activists from Newark).
Box 24: contains general files on civil rights and related issues in the state (1939-1961) . Folder 62 contains material on the New Jersey Good Will Commission, an anti-discrimination campaign, based at 1060 Broad St., Newark; and on the Newark Defense Council (1943). Folder 63, "Commission on Civil Liberties" (1948), includes a report, a press release, and a memorandum by Newark attorney J. Eisenberg submitted at a Commission hearing, Feb 17, 1948, on behalf of the Joint Council on Civil Rights. Folder 64, "Communal Issues," contains general material, with some mentions of Newark. For example, a Kellner memo of Oct 22, 1958 on anti-Semitic incidents around the state includes several in Newark and nearby communities, and the text of Rabbi Joachim Prinz's response to them. Folders 65-67, on specific issues such as church-state relations and censorship (1946-1961), include mentions of Newark.
Box 25, Folders 26-32 are "New Jersey - Essex County - Newark" (1936-1961).
Folder 26, includes a 1936 proposal drafted by Dr. Frank Kingdon, President of the University of Newark, advocating the establishment of a chair in human relations; two letters to the editor of the Newark Evening News (Mar 1 and 6, 1960) and related memos, concerning negative comments by Rev. David L. Coddington, pastor of Clinton Avenue Presbyterian Church, on an Interfaith Institute moderated by Rabbi Ely Pilchik and sponsored by the Women's Association of Temple B'nai Jeshurun in late February 1960; correspondence from Alan V. Lowenstein (1958); AJC correspondence and memos (1954-1955) on the work of the Mayor's Commission on Group Relations, including a list of 16 recommended appointees to the Commission, a clipping with a lengthy attack on the Commission by Dominic Spina (published in the "Police Post," Newark, Jan 1955), a report on an "Open Forum Meeting" held at the Board of Education by the Commission (May 27, 1953), and the Commission's first Annual Report (1953); a long memo re: presentation of an award to Mayor Carlin for his work on charter reform by the Essex County Chapter of the American Jewish Congress (with a photo of Carlin with Chapter officers); and a memo from Sydney Kellner to the AJC national office (Jun 15, 1956) re: the recent formation of an "Association of Citizens Councils of Newark," as a result of the riot of teenagers at the Newark Schools Stadium "a few weeks ago." This group met at the Van Buren St. Branch of the Newark Public Library. Kellner attaches a report by a librarian and an excerpt from "The Patriot," an anti-black, anti-Communist New Jersey publication that speaks of the "Communist-ridden NAACP." The Newark group elected Frank E. Koehler, a policeman, as president. About "150 young men" attended, mostly from the North Ward.
Folder 27: contains clippings re: Roy Wilkins' charges that Newark barred black principals in its schools (1962); America Jewish Congress reports on conditions/problems in Newark schools (1950-1961); correspondence and a confidential memo on a survey of group relations problems in Newark (1959); a report and memos on activity of Elijah Muhammed and the Black Muslims, vandalism in Jewish cemeteries, religion in schools, Catholic-Jewish relations, housing integration, etc. in Newark (1954-1959); reports on Mayor's Commission activities; a lengthy AJC memo on the introduction of racial and ethnic issues into the 1953 Newark municipal election; a memo criticizing Samuel Cohen article on the labor situation re: organizing Jewish social welfare workers in Newark, "Social Workers Win a Union Fight" in the March 1955 of Jewish Life (a Communist Party-influenced magazine; the article is attached); many examples of discriminatory classified ads from the Newark press (1950-51); and a report on a meeting with Rabbi David Wice (of Temple B'nai Jeshurun), with frank discussion of the tension between AJC and "the Zionists" in Newark (Dec 2, 1943)
Folder 28: "Newark-Communism" (1954-1958) contains Kellner memos re: the AJC's position on House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC) hearings in Newark in May 1955 and Sep 1958, with comments on the Jewishness of the victims of HUAC, on Bella Dodd's closed-session testimony regarding fellow teacher Robert Lowenstein's CP membership; memos re: the position of the AJC regarding defense of 3 dismissed Newark teachers (1955-1956); comment on the attitudes of local and state labor, of the American Jewish Congress, Councilman Samuel Cooper, Mayor Carlin, the Anti-Defamation League, and others on these issues. A June 1955 memo notes that Cooper was "hastily" replaced by Rabbi Joachim Prinz as state president of the American Jewish Congress.
Folder 29: "Newark - Employment" (1947-1954), contains a pamphlet, "Newark Points the Way to National F.E.P." (Mayor's Commission, 1954); and a memo, letters, and confidential report on department store discrimination in hiring (1947)
Folder 30: "Newark - Loyalty" (1953-1958), contains duplicates of material re: HUAC hearings; a copy of the State Commissioner of Education's Decision in the case of Estelle Laba [teacher] vs. Newark Board of Education (1956) , concluding that the Board should re-investigate or present more detailed charges. Also present is a memo, correspondence, and a draft of a statement on Loyalty Oaths, including a copy of the Newark Housing Authority oath for tenants in public housing (1952, 1955).
Folder 31: "Communal Organizations - Newark" (1946-1957), contains memos re: meetings; lists of organizations; and by-laws of the Newark Youth Council (1953)
Folder 32: "Visits" (1940-1943), contains a memo and copies of letters to the editor from Benjamin Epstein, principal of Weequahic High School and active in the American Jewish Congress, and Manuel G. Batshaw of the Jewish Community Council disputing an AJC speaker on the issue of "white flight" from Newark's Weequahic section (1962); and a series of lengthy memos, mostly by Solomon A. Fineberg of the AJC on his visits with communal leaders in Newark. These include very frank comments on and from Newark leaders such as Michael Stavitsky, Esther Jameson, Rabbi Louis Levitsky, Samuel I. Kessler, Daniel Shiman, and Julius H. Cohn. Topics include the general situation of Jews in Newark, the organizational structure of the Jewish community (and recommended changes), and relations between various Jewish organizations in Newark.
Folders 45-58, "New Jersey, Counties - Essex," with various subtitles (1946-1962) contain memos (many from Area Director Sydney Kellner to the AJC national office on meetings and activities in Essex County (centering on Newark); lists of AJC activists and contacts; material on issues such as religion in the schools, housing problems, police-community relations, etc.; minutes; studies; and some correspondence with local leaders, for example, a letter from Rabbi Ely Pilchik of Temple B'nai Jeshurun to Myron M. Ruby of the Essex County AJC, outlining Pilchik's assessment of the state of the local Jewish community and his suggestions for AJC activity (Dec 29, 1955, in Folder 46)
Box 26: contains "New Jersey" files. Folders 1-15 are Essex County subject files (1946-1962, arranged under various subheadings). Contents includes programs of Essex County AJC events (by the mid-fifties many chapter activities and members are in the suburbs); correspondence; newsletters; a charter and by-laws; reports to the national office; clippings, budget materials; officers and trustees lists (by 1958, of 60 none lives in Newark, but many have offices or businesses in Newark)
Folders 16-23, "New Jersey, Essex County Chapter - Reports" (1952-1961, filed by year), contain standardized monthly report forms sent by Area Director Sydney Kellner to the Community Activities Dept. of the AJC, listing meetings, contacts with individuals (face-to-face and by telephone) supplemented by lengthy narrative reports and memos on special projects and some copies of publicity materials and correspondence.
Folder 24, "New Jersey, Essex County Chapter - Self Survey" (1955), contains a report by Kellner on the results of a "Self Survey" recently undertaken by the Essex County Chapter, with examples of the AJC's behind-the-scenes and non-high-profile efforts to defuse racial tension between blacks and Jews and to deal with "church groups'" attempts to block sales of "indecent" material (a potential civil liberties issue).
FormatTextual materials
SubjectsAfrican-American History / Civil Rights; Education; Jewish-American History; Politics and Government
Time Period20th Century
LanguageEnglish
Access policyOpen for research