Guide to the Papers of Irwin H. Krasna (1929- ), 1971, 2003
*P-934
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 February 2012. Description is in English.
Descriptive Summary |
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| Creator: | Krasna, Irwin H. |
|---|---|
| Title: | Irwin H. Krasna Papers |
| Dates: | 1971, 2003 |
| Abstract: | The collection documents the trip to the Soviet Union that Dr. Irwin H. Krasna, a pediatric surgeon, and his twin brother, Dr. Alvin I. Krasna, a Professor of Biochemistry at Columbia University, took in September-October 1971, traveling under the auspices of Arye Kroll, a prominent Israeli Zionist and representative of Lishkat Hakesher (commonly known as Nativ), the Israeli liaison Bureau that carried out clandestine activities to establish contact with Jews in Eastern Europe during the Cold War to encourage them to immigrate to Israel. Materials include a manuscript, an audiocassette and photographs. |
| Languages: | The collection is in English and Hebrew. |
| Quantity: | 1 folder |
| Identification: | P-934 |
| Repository: | American Jewish Historical Society |
Historical Note
The Papers of Dr. Irwin H. Krasna 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 Movements 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.
The papers of Dr. Krasna detail the conditions of the Soviet Jews in the early 1970s and provide rare evidence of the Israeli establishment’s secret mission to help them, with assistance from the American Jewish community.
Dr. Irwin H. Krasna, a pediatric surgeon and his twin brother, Dr. Alvin I. Krasna, a Professor of Biochemistry at Columbia University, took a trip to the Soviet Union in September-October 1971 to offer support to the Refuseniks and other Soviet Jews. They traveled as emissaries of Arye Kroll, a prominent Israeli Zionist and representative of Lishkat Hakesher (commonly known as Nativ), the Israeli liaison Bureau that carried out clandestine activities to establish contact with Jews in Eastern Europe during the Cold War to encourage them to immigrate to Israel.
Return to the Top of PageScope and Content Note
The papers of Dr. Irwin H. Krasna contain a report of his visit to the USSR in 1971, with additions and corrections by his twin brother, Alvin I. Krasna. The collection also contains an audiocassette recording of an interview that the Krasna brothers gave to Judah Shapiro at the WEVD, a New York Yiddish radio station, after their return from the Soviet Union. The materials also include 19 photographs taken in Riga, Leningrad and Moscow by the Krasna brothers during their travels in 1971.
The collection consists of one folder.
Return to the Top of PageArrangement
The collection consists of one folder.
Return to the Top of PageRestrictions
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
Return to the Top of PageRelated Material
The Papers of Rabbi Dr. Irwin H. Krasna 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), The Jewish Chronicle Soviet Jewry Collection, 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), Leah Lieberman (P-869), 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), Morey Schapira (P-906), Charlotte Gerper Turner (P-907), Myrtle Sitowitz (P-908), Kathleen M. Hyman (P-911), Babette Wampold (P-912), Rabbi David Goldstein and Shannie Goldstein (P-918), Leslie Schaffer (P-923), Arthur Bernstein (P-925), Dolores Wilkenfeld (P-927) and Sylvia Weinberg (P-928) .
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).
Return to the Top of PagePreferred Citation
Published citations should take the following form:
Identification of item, date (if known);
Irwin H. Krasna Papers ;
P-934; box number; folder number; American Jewish Historical Society, Boston, MA and New York, NY.
Acquisition Information
Donated by Irwin H. Krasna in 2007.
Return to the Top of PageAccess Points
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Subject Topics:
- Antisemitism
- Human rights
- Jews, Soviet
- Refuseniks
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Subject Places:
- Soviet Union
- United States
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Document Types:
- Audiocassettes
- Manuscripts
- Photographs
Container List
The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.
Papers of Irwin H. Krasna, 1971, 2003. |
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| English, Hebrew. | |||
| 1 folder. | |||
Scope and Content:See the collection Scope and Content Note. |
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| Box | Folder | Title | Date |
| CB-5 | 1 | Irwin H. Krasna Papers | 1971, 2003 |
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