Guide to the Records of the I.L. Peretz Yiddish Writers' Union, 1903-1973, RG 701

Processed by YIVO Archivist Marek Web, 1970s. Additional processing by Rachel Harrison as part of the Leon Levy Archival Processing Initiative, made possible by the Leon Levy Foundation.

YIVO Institute for Jewish Research
15 West 16th Street
New York, NY 10011
Email: archives@yivo.cjh.org
URL: http://www.yivo.org

Electronic finding aid was encoded in EAD 2002 by Rachel S. Harrison in June 2009. EAD finding aid customized in ARCHON in 2014. Description is in English.

Collection Overview

Title: Guide to the Records of the I.L. Peretz Yiddish Writers' Union, 1903-1973, RG 701

ID: RG 701 FA

Extent: 20.0 Linear Feet

Arrangement: The collection was originally processed by Marek Web circa 1975. Additional processing was completed in June 2009.The collection is arranged in 8 series. In general, the collection was maintained as much as possible in its original order, in accordance with archival principles. Some reorganization of the early correspondence files appears to have taken place during the original processing and routine financial documents, such as paid bills and check stubs, were discarded. The minutes and financial files are arranged chronologically, while the correspondence is arranged alphabetically by correspondent, topic or format. This order has been standardized in the finding aid, although the folders themselves have not been moved. The names of the miscellaneous correspondents in Series VIII have been transliterated and intellectually rearranged in Latin alphabetical order. Yiddish names have been transliterated according to YIVO standards except when the individual is known in English by another spelling. Additionally, if the name appeared in Latin letters anywhere within the folder, that spelling was used rather than a standard transliteration. Organizations and periodicals have been translated and, when not generally known by its English name, the Yiddish name follows in parentheses. The materials were originally divided into eight series and a four-part addendum, consisting of folders 721-748. The materials from that addendum have been intellectually integrated into the original series. The addendum materials integrated into Series I and Series II have been incorporated chronologically, while those in Series VIII have been incorporated alphabetically.

Languages: English, Yiddish, Russian, German, Hebrew, Polish, Spanish

Abstract

This collection contains the minutes, correspondence and financial records of the I.L. Peretz Yiddish Writers’ Union from its founding in 1915 until 1973. Among the correspondence is a fair amount concerning the Fund for Jewish Refugee Writers, unions and union grievances, requests for aid from Jewish writers and activists in New York and abroad, and labor disputes and strikes.

Scope and Contents of the Materials

This collection contains meeting minutes, financial reports 1929-1972, dues ledgers and other bookkeeping books, correspondence with individuals, organizations and publishers, salary lists, financial statements, newspaper clippings, press releases, scrapbooks, photographs of members, account statements from companies, banks and brokers, and manuscripts and questionnaires from various countries for a YWU yearbook.

Some of the topics in this collection include the Fund for Jewish Refugee Writers, various Works Progress Administration projects, fundraising campaigns, requests for aid for individual refugees in Europe, Cuba, Japan, Shanghai, England, and Palestine, complaints and charges of members, contract and labor disputes, strikes, and Union reports.

Among the organizations represented are the National Refugee Service, Jewish Welfare Federations, Newspaper Guild, United Jewish Appeal, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, World Federation of Journalists, New York State Department of Labor, Conference of Jewish Journalists, Jewish Labor Bund, Central Yiddish Culture Organization, Tog, Jewish Daily Forward, Freie Arbeiter Stimme, HIAS, Keneder Odler, Jewish Labor Committee, Morgn Zhurnal, Jewish National Workers’ Alliance, Yidishe Velt (Philadelphia), Fund for Jewish Refugee Writers, Kinder Zhurnal, Morgn Freiheit, ORT, Workmen’s Circle, and YIVO. Correspondents include: Baal Makhshoves (Isidor Eliashev), Shlomo Bickel, Menahem Boraisha, Reuben Brainin, Abraham Cahan, Simon Dubnow, Ossip Dymow, Alexander Harkavy, David Ignatoff, H. Leivick, Kalman Marmor, Alexander Mukdoni, Shmuel Niger, David Pinski, Melech Ravitch, Abraham Reisen, Zalman Reisen, Zalman Shneur, Lamed Shapiro, Jacob Shatzky, Baruch Vladeck, Max Weinreich, and Chaim Zhitlowsky. These papers constitute the complete archive of the Yiddish Writers Union from its founding until 1973, including a 1903 minute book of the Jewish Press Club, a predecessor organization.

Historical Note

The I.L. Peretz Yiddish Writers’ Union (YWU), also sometimes called the Jewish Writers’ Union, was founded in New York in 1915 as a labor and mutual aid organization for Yiddish journalists. Its first president was Hillel Rogoff, of Forverts, and its first secretary was Joseph Margoshes, of Tog. The Union represented all Yiddish writers and journalists at the three major New York City Yiddish papers, Tog, Morgn Zhurnal and Forverts. The Yiddish Writers’ Union was a member of the United Hebrew Trades, an association of Jewish labor unions in New York City. The Union participated in strikes and labor disputes and fought for job security, severance pay benefits and a minimum wage for Yiddish journalists. In November 1939, together with the Jewish Labor Committee, the Union decided to found a Fund for Jewish Refugee Writers, a relief fund for Yiddish writers in Europe as well as for American members in financial need. The Fund was ultimately established in January 1940. This Fund conducted a one-time emergency appeal among Yiddish writers in America and their supporters and readers. Through the efforts of this Fund, the Union was able to sponsor the immigration of several thousand writers and political and cultural activists and also to send money to those writers whom they were unable to bring over. In 1929 the Union had 200 members. Although the Union continued to be active in labor disputes after World War II, its membership declined steadily. While still in existence in the 1980s, the Yiddish Writers’ Union had relinquished much of its role as a labor union and functioned primarily as a literary association.

Subject/Index Terms

Administrative Information

Access Restrictions: The collection is open to researchers with the permission of the YIVO Archivist. Permission to access the collection can be obtained by writing to archives@yivo.cjh.org. Permission to publish part or parts of the collection must be obtained from the YIVO Archives.

Use Restrictions: There may be some restrictions on the use of the collection. For more information, contact:YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, Center for Jewish History, 15 West 16th Street, New York, NY 10011 email: archives@yivo.cjh.org

Acquisition Method: Given to YIVO by the Yiddish Writer’s Union in a series of installments in 1974.

Separated Materials: Photographs have been removed to the YIVO Photo Archive.

Related Materials: The YIVO Archives has the collections of many of the members of the Yiddish Writers’ Union, including the Papers of Leon Feinberg, RG 601; the Papers of Shmuel Niger, RG 360; The Papers of Mendel Osherowitch, RG 725; and the Papers of Alexander Seldin, RG 433. The American Jewish Historical Society Archives has the Papers of Boris Smolar, P-588 (AJHS). The YIVO library also has several books published by the Yiddish Writers’ Union, including Jewish Families and Family Circles of New York, The Communist Conspiracy Against the Jewish Press: The Case of the Jewish Writers’ Union Against the New York Newspaper Guild, and Seventy-Five Years Yiddish Press in the United States of America, edited by Jacob Glatstein, Shmuel Niger and Hillel Rogoff.

Preferred Citation: Published citations should take the following form:Identification of item, date (if known); I.L. Peretz Yiddish Writers Union Records; RG 701; box number; folder number; YIVO Institute for Jewish Research.

Box and Folder Listing

Browse by Series:

Series 1: Series I: Minutes, 1903, 1919-1972,
Series 2: Series II: Finances, 1917-1972,
Series 3: Series III: Correspondence, 1911-1941,
Series 4: Series IV: Fund for Jewish Refugee Writers – Correspondence, 1939-1946,
Series 5: Series V: Correspondence (yellow series), 1935-1946,
Series 6: Series VI: Correspondence (blue series), 1941-1958,
Series 7: Series VII: Correspondence, 1946-1973,
Series 8: Series VIII: Financial Correspondence, Current Matters and Miscellaneous, 1909-1973,
All

Series III: Correspondence 1911-1941

This series consists of correspondence with Jewish writers and organizations, including the Fund for Suffering Writers in Europe, the Works Progress Administration and the Workmen’s Circle.

Arrangement: This series is arranged alphabetically by correspondent, topic or document type.

Box 6

Folder 66: "A" 1922, 1936-1940: miscellaneous correspondence
Folder 67: Abramovitch, Nadiezda 1927: Mendele Mokher Seforim's daughter, Odessa
Folder 68: Abramowitz, B. 1938: paris
Folder 69: Ackerman, B. undated: complaint against S. Erdman
Folder 70: Adler, J. 1927: Lakewood, NJ
Folder 71: Ajzenszlos, A. 1927-1930: Warsaw
Folder 72: Al Guriah 1939-1940: New York
Folder 74: Almi, A. 1921-1938: Montreal, New York
Folder 75: Arnstein, Mark 1921: New York
Folder 76: Arrangements with artists on their participation in Union's cultural affairs 1938-1939
Folder 73: Asch, Sholem 1940: letter of March 20, 1940 signed by Opatoshu, leivick and Niger condemning the anti-Asch campaign
Folder 78: Asen, Abraham 1938: New York
Folder 77: Association of Jewish Journalists and Authors in England 1929
Folder 79: Auerbach, Ephraim undated
Folder 106: "B" 1920-1940: miscellaneous correspondence
Folder 80: Baal Makhshoves (Isidor Eliashev) 1921: Kovno
Folder 81: Bank, Joseph 1931: New York
Folder 82: Baranowski, K. 1928-1930: Paris
Folder 83: Barzilai, A.J. undated
Folder 84: Basin, M. undated
Folder 85: Bassein, L. 1920-1927: New York
Folder 86: Beller, Jacob 1935: New York
Folder 87: Ben-Ami, Chaim-Mordechai (Rabinovitch) 1921
Folder 88: Berkowitz, J.D. 1920-1927: New York
Folder 89: Berman, Harold 1927
Folder 90: Berman, Louis 1926-1939: Lodz, New York
Folder 91: Bialostotzky, B.J. undated
Folder 92: Bickel, Shlomo 1940: New York
Folder 94: Birnbaum, Nathan 1921: New York
Folder 93: Biro-Bidjan, delegation to 1936: referendum ballot on joining the delegation together with the Yiddish PEN Club and the Proletpen
Folder 95: Birstein, Moshe 1940: Roxbury
Folder 96: Bloch, Joshua 1926-1927: New York, correspondence related to the NY Public Library, Jewish Division
Folder 97: Board of Education 1936-1940: New York
Folder 98: Bookstein, A. 1928-1930: New York
Folder 100: Boraisha, Menachem 1925-1938: New York
Folder 99: Borodulin, L. 1926-1927: New York
Folder 101: Brainin, Reuben 1919-1939: also correspondence with Joseph Brainin, R.B.'s son
Folder 102: Broderson, Moshe 1921: Warsaw, an appeal to support the literary group Young Yiddish, signed by M. Broderson, U.Z. Grinberg, I.Stern, I.I. Trunk and I. Katzenelson
Folder 103: Brzoza Publishing House 1926: Warsaw, request for support
Folder 104: Buchwald, Nathan 1928: complaint by A. Mukdoni against N.B.
Folder 105: Bund 1921, 1937
Folder 107: "C" 1926-1939: miscellaneous correspondence
Folder 108: Cahan, Abe 1930-1931: New York
Folder 109: Central Yiddish Culture Organization (CYCO) 1938-1940: New York
Folder 110: Club of Jewish Authors and Journalists in Palestine 1929
Folder 113: Cohen, Joel 1935
Folder 114: Cohn, Zvi 1921-1929: New York
Folder 111: Commercial Artists and Designers Union 1937: New York
Folder 112: Conference for Yiddish 1931: New York, organized by the YWU, the folder contains correspondence with participants and texts of speeches

Box 7

Folder 115: "D" 1929-1940: miscellaneous correspondence
Folder 116: Day (Tog) 1935-1940
Folder 117: Dolitzky, M.M. 1927-1928: Los Angeles
Folder 118: Dubnow, Simon 1931: Berlin
Folder 119: Dues 1926-1929: bills, correspondence, receipts
Folder 120: Dues 1935-1940
Folder 121: Dymow, Ossip 1929
Folder 129: "E" 1926-1937: miscellaneous correspondence
Folder 122: Edelheit, M. 1920: Binghamton, NY
Folder 123: Edlin, William 1920, 1935
Folder 124: Emergency Relief Bureau 1926, 1935-1937: New York, statements of support of relief cases of YWU members
Folder 125: Enteen, Joel 1926-1927: New York
Folder 126: Erdberg, S. 1934-1936: New York
Folder 127: Ernst, S. 1928: Tel Aviv
Folder 128: Expenses and income 1935-1936: miscellaneous statements
Folder 130: "F" 1920-1940: miscellaneous correspondence
Folder 131: Feinberg, L. 1939-1940: New York
Folder 133: Folk Getzeig campaign 1930
Folder 132: Forem, L. 1935: New York
Folder 134: Forward 1935-1939: job matters
Folder 135: Frank, Herman 1926-1929: New York
Folder 136: Freie Arbeiter Stimme (Free Voice of Labor) 1937-1940
Folder 137: Frishman, Lili 1927-1939
Folder 138: Shimon Frug Club 1928-1929: Toronto
Folder 141: Fund for Jewish Refugee Writers 1938-1939
Folder 139: Fund for Sick and Needy Writers 1928: correspondence on raising the funds
Folder 140: Fund for Unemployed Jewish Writers 1931: ball

Box 8

Folder 142: "G" 1920-1940: miscellaneous correspondence
Folder 143: General membership meetings 1937-1940: circulars and correspondence
Folder 144: Ginsburg, S.M. 1934-1937: New York
Folder 145: Glassman, Boruch 1926-1939
Folder 146: Goldberg, Noah 1936: New York
Folder 155: "H" 1921-1940: miscellaneous correspondence
Folder 148: Half-Moon Hotel 1939: Coney Island, an evening for unemployed writers
Folder 149: Harkavy, Alexander 1926-1927, 1938-1939
Folder 147: Haynt (Today) 1927: Warsaw, the statement on the newspaper's stand in the argument over Yiddish secular schools in Poland
Folder 150: Hebrew-American Typographical Union 1925-1928, 1939-1940
Folder 151: Heimish Vinkel Literary Award 1928: New York
Folder 152: HIAS (Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society) 1926-1928: correspondence on YWU participation in the Advisory Council to HIAS
Folder 153: Hirshbein, Peretz 1926-1929: telegram protesting Haynt's campaign against Yiddish secular schools in Poland
Folder 154: Horowitz, Isaac 1935-1940: New York
Folder 157: "I" 1926-1939: miscellaneous correspondence
Folder 156: Ignatoff, David 1927: New York
Folder 163: "J" 1925-1940: miscellaneous correspondence
Folder 158: Jaffe, Joseph 1937: New York
Folder 159: Jewish Daily Eagle (Keneder Odler) 1927-1937: Montreal
Folder 160: Jewish Labor Committee 1937-1941
Folder 161: Jewish Landsmanshaftn in New York 1937-1940: book orders and correspondence
Folder 162: Jewish Landsmanshaftn in New York undated: list of the landsmanshaftn

Box 9

Folder 164: Jewish Morning Journal (Morgn Zhurnal) 1933-1939: correspondence on the merger with the Day
Folder 165: Jewish National Workers Alliance (Yiddish Nationaler Arbeiter Farband) 1927-1937
Folder 166: Jewish Press Jubilee Banquet 1932: invitations and responses from recipients, letters from New York Times, New York Herald Tribune, New York Evening Sun, New York Evening Post, New York American, Henry Moskowitz, New York City Board of Education, David L. Podell, Nathan D. Perlman, World Telegram, Nathan Ratnoff, George Z. Medalie, Israel Matz, Louis Lipsky, Julian W. Mack, Metropolitan News, Adolph Lewisohn, Herbert Lehman, and others
Folder 167: Jewish Teachers Seminary 1935
Folder 169: Jewish Telegraphic Agency vs. I. Parsky 1934-1939
Folder 168: Jewish Telegraphic Agency vs. I. Parsky and Aleph Katz 1934-1935
Folder 170: Jewish World (Yiddishe Welt) 1926-1937: Philadelphia
Folder 171: Jewish Writers and Artists Ball 1924: invitations and responses from the recipients, correspondence on tickets sale
Folder 172: Jewish Writers Fund for Suffering Writers in Europe 1920-1921: correspondence on raising funds, letters from Boris Bogen of the JDC, European Bureau
Folder 173: Judische Sonderschau der Pressa (Jewish Special Review of the Press) exhibition 1928: Koln, letters from Ben Adir, who was in charge of the Jewish Section of the International Press Exhibition
Folder 184: "K" 1921-1940: miscellaneous correspondence
Folder 174: Kader, Boris 1937
Folder 175: Kaluschiner, J.L. 1935-1940: New York
Folder 176: Karpilov, Miriam 1928-1930
Folder 177: Katz, Moshe 1937: Philadelphia
Folder 178: Kinder Zhurnal (Children's Journal) 1935-1940
Folder 179: Klein, Alfred 1928: New York
Folder 180: Koigen, David 1928: Berlin
Folder 181: Krim, Abba 1927, 1939-1940
Folder 182: Krul, Chaim 1926, 1939: New York
Folder 183: Kval Verlag (Kval Publishing House) 1920-1921: Vienna

Box 10

Folder 189: "L" 1920-1937: miscellaneous correspondence
Folder 185: Labor Temple 1936-1938: correspondence on renting the LT auditorium for YWU meetings
Folder 186: League for Rights of Yiddish in Palestine 1935-1936
Folder 187: Leivick, H. 1937
Folder 188: Lewin, S. 1936-1937: New York
Folder 198: "M" 1921-1940: miscellaneous correspondence
Folder 190: Marmor, Kalman 1926-1929: Crotona, NY
Folder 191: Marx, Ernst 1938-1939: Berlin
Folder 192: Melamed, Moshe 1926-1929: Philadelphia
Folder 193: Membership applications 1926-1929
Folder 194: Membership applications 1936-1940
Folder 195: Membership lists 1935-1936: miscellaneous
Folder 196: Morning Freedom (Morgn Freiheit) 1927-1928: formerly Freiheit
Folder 197: Mukdoni, A. 1927, 1937
Folder 204: "N" 1926-1940: miscellaneous correspondence
Folder 199: Nadir, Moshe 1928, 1940
Folder 200: Najman, J.M. 1938: Warsaw
Folder 201: National Labor Committee for the Jewish Workers in Palestine 1927-1939
Folder 202: Newspaper Guild of N.Y. 1934-1939
Folder 203: Niger, Shmuel 1924-1937
Folder 207: "O" 1926-1939: miscellaneous correspondence
Folder 205: Office Workers Union 1935: strike at the Day and the Jewish American
Folder 206: ORT (The Society for Trades and Agricultural Labor) 1927-1939
Folder 214: "P" 1926-1940: miscellaneous correspondence
Folder 208: Peretz, Helena Nechama 1932-1937: Warsaw, Tel Aviv
Folder 209: Pinski, David 1927-1930
Folder 211: Publicity 1937-1938: releases on miscellaneous YWU cultural affairs
Folder 212: Publicity 1939-1940: releases on miscellaneous YWU cultural affairs
Folder 213: Publicity 1940-1941: releases on miscellaneous YWU cultural affairs
Folder 210: Publicity undated: releases on miscellaneous YWU cultural affairs

Box 11

Folder 228: "R" 1917-1940: miscellaneous correspondence
Folder 215: Ravitch, Melech 1939-1941
Folder 216: Reisen, Abraham 1926-1938
Folder 217: Reisen, Sara 1927-1938: New York
Folder 218: Reisen, Zalman 1927-1930: Vilna 1927 - New York 1930
Folder 219: Relief Committee for the Jewish Schools in Poland 1936-1937
Folder 220: Requests for support 1926-1940
Folder 221: Revutzky, A. 1926, 1939: New York
Folder 222: Ribalov, Menachem 1927, 1941: New York
Folder 223: Riblin, M. 1935-1937: chairman of the staff committee of the Day
Folder 224: Rivkin, Boruch 1933-1940: New York
Folder 225: Roback, A.A. 1928-1935: Cambridge
Folder 226: Rubeni, A. 1927-1928: Jerusalem
Folder 227: Rudoy, Pincus 1927-1937: New York
Folder 243: "S" 1926-1941: miscellaneous correspondence
Folder 229: Sarasohn, Ezekiel 1927-1928: publisher of Tageblatt
Folder 230: Schauss, H. 1927-1939
Folder 231: Schlamowitz, Albert 1936-1937: New York
Folder 232: Schneider, S. 1927-1928: Los Angeles
Folder 233: Schneur, Zalman 1931-1932: Paris
Folder 234: Schwartz, Maurice 1927-1928, 1938-1939: New York
Folder 235: Serdatzky, Yente 1935-1940: New York
Folder 236: Setzer, Samuel 1931-1939: New York
Folder 237: Shapir, B. and Chaim Nachman Bialik 1927: Tel Aviv, also letters from Bialik
Folder 238: Shapiro, Lamed 1939-1941
Folder 239: Shatzky, Jacob 1921-1929
Folder 240: Sholem Aleichem Folk Institute 1937-1940
Folder 241: Sociedad de Escritores y Periodistas Israelitas (Society for Jewish Writers and Journalists) 1928: Buenos Aires
Folder 242: Stencl, A.N. 1937: London
Folder 246: "T" 1921-1940: miscellaneous correspondence
Folder 244: Tolush 1936-1938
Folder 245: Treasury Department 1935-1941: Washington, D.C.

Box 12

Folder 251: "U" 1937-1940: miscellaneous correspondence
Folder 247: United Hebrew Trades 1926, 1937
Folder 248: United Jewish Appeal 1939
Folder 249: United Palestine Appeal 1939-1940
Folder 250: Universal Jewish Encyclopedia 1936: Paris
Folder 254: "V" 1928-1929: miscellaneous correspondence
Folder 252: Viliatzer, Jonah 1937: New York, correspondence on proposal of a group insurance plan for the YWU members
Folder 253: Vladeck, Boruch 1932-1938: New York
Folder 263: "W" 1926-1940: miscellaneous correspondence
Folder 256: Weinper, Zishe 1939-1940
Folder 257: Weinreich, Dr. Max 1929, 1939
Folder 255: Weinstein, Berish 1937-1939
Folder 258: Workmans Circle 1924: Jewish Writers' ball, correspondence on tickets distribution among WC branches
Folder 259: Workmans Circle 1926-1936
Folder 261: Works Progress Administration 1935: Writers' Project applications
Folder 260: Works Progress Administration 1935-1939: correspondence on employing Jewish writers on various WPA projects, especially the Writers' Project
Folder 262: Works Progress Administration 1935-1940: Writers' Project materials

Box 13

Folder 279: Circulars 1920-1939
Folder 277: Miscellaneous 1916-1940
Folder 271: "Y" 1921-1939: miscellaneous correspondence
Folder 264: Yehoash (Solomon Blumgarten) 1926
Folder 265: Yiddish Buch Geselschaft (Yiddish Book Society) 1937-1938
Folder 266: Yiddish Culture Society 1929-1935
Folder 267: Yiddishe Literaten Club (Yiddish Literary Club) 1911-1912: early letters and circulars
Folder 268: YIVO 1927-1928: Vilna
Folder 269: YIVO 1930-1939: American branch
Folder 270: YIVO 1935-1939: American branch, Central Jewish Library and Press Archives
Folder 278: "Z" 1926-1940: miscellaneous correspondence
Folder 272: Zaar, Isaac 1926-1930
Folder 273: Zhitlowsky, Dr. Chaim 1932-1941
Folder 274: Zukerman, William 1930-1937: London
Folder 275: Zwiazek Literatow i Dziennikarzy Zydowskich (Association of Jewish Writers and Journalists) 1921-1939: Warsaw
Folder 276: Zwiazek Literatow i Dziennikarzy Zydowskich 1928, 1937-1938: Vilna