Joseph Shubow Collection

The Joseph Shubow Collection documents the life and professional activities of Joseph Shubow, military Chaplain, leader of the Boston Congregation B’nai Moshe, and a prominent American Zionist leader. The collection includes correspondence, documents, lists, writings, speeches, sermons and notes, photographs, and printed materials.

Materials constituting the collection reflect various aspects of Joseph Shubow’s personal and professional life, religious leadership, and writings in the fields of Judaism and Jewish history.

The collection includes both personal and professional materials related to Joseph Shubow and some members of Shubow’s family. Personal materials constitute the smallest part and materials include extensive correspondence with friends and relatives, daybooks, diplomas, personal documents, and photographs.

Of special interest is Joseph Shubow’s correspondence with his wife, Beatrice Shubow, generated during World War II. During the war, Joseph Shubow served in the United States Army as a chaplain and was stationed with combat troops in Europe. The abovementioned correspondence sheds light on Shubow’s work as a chaplain, and on his personal experience in Europe.

Other Holocaust-related materials include correspondence with military authorities and humanitarian organizations, correspondence with survivors, photographs, printed materials, and military reports and other documents.

In addition to containing documents related to Joseph Shubow’s activities as a military chaplain, the collection covers other aspects of Joseph Shubow’s professional life, such as being a prominent leader in the American Zionist movement as well as being a leader of the Congregation B’nai Moshe in Boston.

There are also materials documenting Joseph Shubow’s involvement with a number of professional organizations and educational institutions, most notably The Zionist Organization of America, and Harvard University.

The bulk of the materials pertaining to his professional activities consists of correspondence with individuals, organizations, and governmental institutions, both American and foreign.

There is also correspondence documenting Joseph Shubow’s involvement with Boston Congregation B’nai Moshe and Zionist Organization of America that consists of correspondence with individuals, including donors, correspondence pertaining to various administrative and financial matters, correspondence regarding Congresses and other meetings, correspondence with other religious, secular, Zionist, and governmental organizations and institutions in the United States and Israel, correspondence with community organizations and Boston city officials, charitable organization and civil liberties and labor movement organizations.

Additionally, there is a small amount of correspondence with scholars, scholarly and other publications; correspondence regarding Joseph Shubow’s speaking arrangements, inter-faith relations, and conferences.

Joseph Shubow’s legacy as an orator is well-documented by the abundance of his sermons, speeches, notes and other writings.

There are also other writings by Joseph Shubow, such as articles, reviews, and numerous drafts of his monumental work, The Moral and Spiritual Antecedents of Zionism and the State of Israel, with Special Attention to Peretz Smolenskin and the Problem of Nationalism.

Joseph Shubow wrote on a wide range of topics, but most of them relate to Judaism or some other aspect of Jewish life. Works collected here cover topics such as Zionism, Judaism, historical writings, apocryphal writings, history of American Jews, community relations, and various historical and political personalities.

Other materials in the collection include printed materials, minutes, lists, memos, materials pertaining to the conferences and meeting attended by Joseph Shubow, organizations that Shubow worked with, as well as anniversaries and other celebratory events that he attended.

There in a wealth of materials dealing with Joseph Shubow’s life-long involvement with the American Zionist movement. These materials deal with regional Zionist organizations, Israel, and Joseph Shubow’s run for the Presidency of the Zionist Organization of America.

During the McCarthy era, Joseph Shubow was investigated by the FBI and Military authorities. He was accused of being disloyal to the United States, and of having pro-Soviet sentiments based on the anonymous letters and the fact that he praised the Soviet Army for defeating the Nazis.

Materials dealing with the McCarthy era include correspondence with organizations and individuals (including letters of support as well as many letters full of dismay and hatred, crank mail and anti-Semitic letters), official documents, printed materials, and Joseph Shubow's writings.