National Jewish Welfare Board, Army-Navy Division records
Scope and Content Note
This collection consists primarily of minutes, surveys, reports, photographs, and correspondence of JWB personnel and U.S. military chaplains; directed towards or concerning Jewish men in the Armed Forces.
The material contained in this collection covers such topics as: arrangements for holidays (primarily the High Holy Days and Passover)--special food needs, services, furloughs, and prayerbooks; budgeting and staffing; registration and marking of Jewish graves; anti-Semitism in the military; the general problems of Kashruth; communication between the men and their families; and general recreation and entertainment.
LEFT OFF
Also found in the collection are 2 boxes containing several speeches and miscellaneous files of Judge Irving Lehman, president of JWB, 1921-1940, and 18 boxes of Col. Harry Cutler, chairman of JWB, 1917-1921. 23 boxes contain the working papers for The JWB survey (New York; 1948) by Oscar I. Janowsky. 15 boxes contain various statistical compilations on Jewish communal organizations, and questionnaires with accompanying statistics based on surveys conducted by the JWB Statistics Dept. (1928-1943) on the services and personnel in Jewish community centers, nursery schools and summer camps.
A detailed outline accompanies the collection.
Dates
- Creation: undated, 1917-1955, 1969, 1974
Creator
- National Jewish Welfare Board (Organization)
Language of Materials
The collection is in English.
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, NY, 10011
email: reference@ajhs.org
Biographical Note
Army-Navy Division is the branch of the JWB that intercedes for the needs and interests of Jewish military personnel; name officially introduced in 1941.
Extent
171.5 Linear Feet (343 manuscript boxes)
Abstract
The collection consists mainly of minutes, surveys, reports, photographs, and correspondence of both JWB personnel and U.S. military chaplains, directed toward or concerned with the Jewish men in the Armed Forces.
The material in this collection covers such topics as: holiday arrangements (primarily the High Holy Days and Passover), food needs, religious services, furloughs, prayerbooks; budgeting and staffing; registration and marking of Jewish graves; anti-Semitism in the military; the general problems of Kashruth; communication between the men and their families; and general recreation and entertainment.
Arrangement
The collection is organized into nineteen series as follows:
- Series I: Subject Files, undated, 1919-1939
- Series II: Individual and General Correspondence, undated, 1917-1939
- Series III: World War I Records, undated, 1917-1939
- Series IV: Corp. Areas, by year, numerically, undated, 1941-1949
- Series V: Subject Files, by year, alphabetically, undated, 1940-1949
- Series VI: Overseas, by country, correspondent, and subject, undated, 1942-1951
- Series VII: U.S.O., by year, undated, 1941-1945, 1974
- Series VIII: Reports, by year, undated, 1944-1951
- Series IX: J.W.B. Services to Hospitals, by State, undated, 1920, 1941-1947
- Series X: Veterans Service Program, subject files (misc. dates) and representatives, undated, 1943-1947
- Series XI: Judge Irving Lehman Files, by subject, undated, 1920-1941
- Series XII: Armed Service Division, by subject, undated, 1949-1952
- Series XIII: Graves Registration, by subject, undated, 1919-1953
- Series XIV: Anti-Semitism, by subject and location, undated, 1941-1948
- Series XV: Letters of Appreciation, by year, 1941-1954
- Series XVI: Kashruth, by year, undated, 1940-1955
- Series XVII: Statistics Department, by location and subject, undated, 1920-1950
- Series XVIII: Oscar Janowsky, Working Papers for Survey on JWB Story, by subject, undated, 1932-1948
- Series XIX: Harry Cutler, subject files, undated, 1917-1954, 1969
Physical Location
Located in AJHS New York, NY.
Acquisition Information
National Jewish Welfare Board, date unknown.
Digitization Note
Boxes 188-204 in Series VI: Overseas, by country, correspondent, and subject were digitized in their entirety.
Subject
- Adler, Celia, 1889-1979 (Person)
- Cutler, Harry (Person)
- Janowsky, Oscar I. (Oscar Isaiah), 1900-1993 (Person)
- Lehman, Irving, 1876-1945 (Person)
- United Service Organizations (U.S.) (Organization)
Genre / Form
- Case histories
- Correspondence
- Minutes (administrative records)
- Photographs
- programs (documents)
- Questionnaires
- Reports
- speeches (documents)
- Statistics
Geographic
Occupation
Topical
- Title
- Guide to the Records of the National Jewish Welfare Board, Army-Navy Division, undated, 1917-1955, 1969, 197 I-180
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Processed by Marvin Rusinek and Simon Bitton
- Date
- © 2009
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English.
- Sponsor
- Digitization of select materials made possible by the Conference on Jewish Material Claims against Germany.
Revision Statements
- June 2015: Digitization note added by Leanora Lange.
- June 2016: Added dao links by Eric Fritzler.
- July 2016: Oversized item notes added by Leanora Lange.
- April 2021: EH-post-ASpace migration cleanup.
Repository Details
Part of the American Jewish Historical Society Repository
