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Guide to the Papers of Charlotte Gerber Turner, undated, 1976-1977, 1980, 1985, 1987

*P-907

Processed by Andrey Filimonov

American Jewish Historical Society

Center for Jewish History

15 West 16th Street

New York, N.Y. 10011

Phone: (212) 294-6160

Fax: (212) 294-6161

Email: reference@ajhs.org

URL: http://www.ajhs.org

© 2013, American Jewish Historical Society, Boston, MA and New York, NY. All Rights Reserved.
Electronic finding aid was encoded in EAD 2002 by Andrey Filimonov in May 2011. Description is in English.

Descriptive Summary

Creator: Turner, Charlotte Gerber
Title: Charlotte Gerber Turner Papers
Dates: undated, 1976-1977, 1980, 1985, 1987
Abstract: The papers of Charlotte Gerber Turner represent the activities of the American Soviet Jewry Movement activist. The collection contains reports on visiting Soviet Jews during Mrs. Turner’s visits to U.S.S.R., accompanied by a large number of photos and slides taken during those trips. The materials also include audio recordings from the events related to the Soviet Jewry Movement, including the Second World Conference of Jewish Communities on Soviet Jewry in 1976; a t-shirt, hat and scarf commemorating the Soviet Jewry Summit in Washington, D. C., metal bracelets stamped with names of Refuseniks, a collection of commemorative buttons and 4 posters. The papers of Charlotte Gerber Turner also contain notes, photographs, slides and audio recordings related to her work on behalf of Ethiopian Jewry.
Languages: The collection is in English.
Quantity: 1.25 linear feet (2 manuscript boxes, 1 oversize folder)
Identification: P-907
Repository: American Jewish Historical Society
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Historical Note

The Papers of Charlotte Gerber Turner represent one collection housed within the Archive of the American Soviet Jewry Movement (AASJM). These papers reflect the effort, beginning in the 1960s through the late 1980s, of thousands of American Jews of all denominations and political orientations to stop the persecution and discrimination of Jews in the Soviet Union. The American Soviet Jewry Movement (ASJM) is considered to be the most influential Movement of the American Jewish community in the 20th century. The beginnings of the organized American Soviet Jewry Movement became a model for efforts to aid Soviet Jews in other countries, among them Great Britain, Canada, and France. The movement can be traced to the early 1960s, when the first organizations were created to address the specific problem of the persecution and isolation of Soviet Jews by the government of the Soviet Union.

Charlotte Gerber Turner is a community activist who participated in the American Soviet Jewry Movement and served as board member of the National Conference on Soviet Jewry in 1977 through 1982.

Charlotte Gerber Turner Papers also contain materials reflecting her involvement in the efforts on behalf of the Ethiopian Jewish community.

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Scope and Content Note

The papers of Charlotte Gerber Turner represent the activities of the American Soviet Jewry Movement activist. The collection contains reports on visiting Soviet Jews during Mrs. Turner’s visits to the U.S.S.R., accompanied by a large number of photos and slides taken during those trips. The materials also include audio recordings from events related to the Soviet Jewry Movement, including the Second World Conference of Jewish Communities on Soviet Jewry in 1976, a t-shirt, hat and scarf commemorating the Soviet Jewry Summit in Washington, D. C., metal bracelets stamped with names of Refuseniks, a collection of commemorative buttons and four posters.

The papers of Charlotte Gerber Turner also contain notes, photographs, slides and audio recordings related to her work on behalf of Ethiopian Jewry.

The documents include audiocassettes, commemorative bracelets, hats, scarf, t-shirt and pins, notes, photographs and slides, posters and trip reports.

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Arrangement

The collection is arranged into a single series.

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Restrictions

Access Restrictions

The collection is open to all researchers by permission of the Director of Library and Archives of the American Jewish Historical Society, except items that are restricted due to their fragility.

Use Restrictions

Information concerning the literary rights may be obtained from the Director of Library and Archives of the American Jewish Historical Society. Users must apply in writing for permission to quote, reproduce or otherwise publish manuscript materials found in this collection. For more information contact:

American Jewish Historical Society, Center for Jewish History, 15 West 16th Street, New York, N.Y., 10011 email: reference@ajhs.org

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Related Material

The papers of Charlotte Gerber Turner is one individual collection within the Archive of the American Soviet Jewry Movement (AASJM) located at the American Jewish Historical Society (AJHS). Other Soviet Jewry Movement collections at AJHS include the records of Action for Soviet Jewry (I-487), the National Conference on Soviet Jewry (NCSJ; I-181 and I-181A), the Union of Councils for Soviet Jews (I-410, I-410A), Houston Action for Soviet Jewry (I-500), Bay Area Council for Soviet Jews (I-505), Seattle Action for Soviet Jewry (I-507), Medical Mobilization for Soviet Jewry, the papers of Joel Ackerman (P-787), Julia Mates Cheney (P-806), Jerry Goodman (P-863), Laurel and Alan J. Gould (P-866), Carolyn W. Sanger (P-870), Si Frumkin (P-871), Elaine Pittell (P-873), Sanford A. Gradinger (P-880), Shaul Osadchey (P-882), Leonard S. Cahan (P-883), Doris H. Goldstein (P-887), David H. Hill (P-888), Margery Sanford (P-889), Pinchas Mordechai Teitz (P-891), David Waksberg (P-895), Pamela B. Cohen (P-897), Moshe Decter (P-899), William Korey (P-903) and Morey Schapira (P-906).

Individual accounts of activities within the Soviet Jewry Movement are preserved in the UJA Oral History Collection (I-433), which includes accounts from members of the following organizations: the Union of Councils for Soviet Jews, Bay Area Council on Soviet Jews (BACSJ), Seattle Action for Soviet Jews, Houston Action for Soviet Jews, Chicago Action for Soviet Jews, Colorado Committee of Concern for Soviet Jews and the National Conference on Soviet Jewry. Interviewees include accounts by Lillian Forman (BACSJ), Ann Polunsky, Morey Schapira, Myrtle Sitowitz, Deborah Turkin, David Waksberg, Sylvia Weinberg and Dolores Wilkenfeld. In addition, posters related to the Soviet Jewry Movement can be found in the Jewish Student Organizations Collection (I-61).

Additional materials from other collections include records dealing with the Student Struggle for Soviet Jewry (SSSJ) located within the North American Jewish Students Appeal (NAJSA, I-338) and the records of the National Jewish Community Relations Advisory Council (NJCRAC, I-172). Related records are also located at the AJHS in Newton Centre, MA including memorabilia and ephemera of the New England Student Struggle for Soviet Jewry (I-237) and the Records of the Student Coalition for Soviet Jewry – Brandeis University (I-493).

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Preferred Citation

Published citations should take the following form:
Identification of item, date (if known); Charlotte Gerber Turner Papers ; P-907; box number; folder number; American Jewish Historical Society, Boston, MA and New York, NY.

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Acquisition Information

Donated by Charlotte Gerber Turner in 2010.

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Access Points

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Container List

The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.

 

Papers of Charlotte Gerber Turner, undated, 1976-1977, 1980, 1985, 1987.
English.
2 boxes, 1 oversized folder.
Scope and Content:

See the collection Scope and Content Note.
Box Folder Title Date
1 1 Ethiopian Jewry: Audio: 2 Audio Cassettes, 2 Microcassettes undated
1 2 Ethiopian Jewry: Notes undated
1 3 Ethiopian Jewry: Photographs undated
1 4 Ethiopian Jewry: Slides undated
1 5 Soviet Jewry Movement Buttons (27), Bumber Sticker, II Brussels Conference on Soviet Jewry ID Card undated, 1976
1 6 Soviet Jewry: Audio: 4 Cassettes, 2 Microcassettes undated, 1976-1977, 1980
1 7 Soviet Jewry: Trip to USSR: Photos May, 1975
1 8 Soviet Jewry: Trip to USSR: Photos: Moscow, Leningrad, Vilnius, Kovno; Includes Negatives 1985
1 9 Soviet Jewry: Trip to USSR: Trip Report: Moscow, Leningrad, Vilnius; 1985
1 10 Soviet Jewry: Trips to USSR: Slides undated, 1975, 1985
Box Folder Title Date
2 1 Soviet Jewry: T-shirt "Operation Exodus: If Not Now, When? CJP" undated
2 2 Soviet Jewry: Metal Bracelets Stamped with Names of Refuseniks: Taratuta, Raiz, Kuznetsov by National Conference on Soviet Jewry undated, 1970
2 3 Soviet Jewry: Commemorative Scarf "I Showed Up! Washington, D. C. Summit; Coalition to Free Soviet Jews, Supported by UJA Federation" December 1987
2 4 Soviet Jewry: Commemorative Hat "We Walk as One" 1987
Box Folder Title Date
MAP1 1 Soviet Jewry Movement Posters (4) undated
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