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 VIII: Financial Correspondence, Current Matters and Miscellaneous 1909-1973

This series contains account statements from companies, banks and brokers, financial forms, circulars, scrapbooks, documents about the workings of the Yiddish Writers’ Union, and a manuscript and questionnaires from various countries for a YWU yearbook. Folders 737-745 contain scrapbooks and other materials originally found in addendum part C.

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

Box 34

Folder 681: Bache and Company 1957-1961: account statements
Folder 682: Bache and Company 1959-1963: WE Hutton and Company, account statements, printed announcements, etc.
Folder 683: Bache and Company 1962: statement and copy of letter sent
Folder 686: Bank letters 1964-1972: copies of letters to banks and brokers, forms, statements of expenses, form letters and circulars, etc.
Folder 684: Bank Leumi 1961-1963: account statements, forms
Folder 688: Bank signatures 1963-1969: forms, accompanying letters, etc.
Folder 690: Current matters 1962: correspondence
Folder 695: Current matters 1962-1963: L. Feinberg, secretary, correspondence, minutes of special meeting, invitations
Folder 698: Current matters 1962-1963: L. Feinberg, secretary, list of names, correspondence, bill for funeral, circulars received, bills, telegram, news release, memos, etc.
Folder 696: Current matters 1963: M. Elbaum, secretary, correspondence, copy of telegram congratulating President Shazar on his election
Folder 697: Current matters 1963-1964: correspondence, invitations to meetings, newspaper clippings, financial report, news releases
Folder 689: Deposit signatures 1963-1972: for banks and checking account, etc., forms, letters
Folder 687: First Western Savings and Loan 1963-1964: Las Vegas, Nevada, correspondence, forms, etc.
Folder 692: Letters from the Jewish chaplain at Clinton Prison 1966-1967
Folder 685: Merrill, Lynch, Pierce, Fenner and Smith, Inc 1970-1971: account statements, forms, etc.
Folder 693: Miscellaneous 1961-1967: miscellaneous correspondence, list of outstanding accounts, etc.
Folder 694: Miscellaneous 1962-1963: letters and circulars received, telegram from Polish Ambassador, copies of letters sent
Folder 699: Miscellaneous 1963-1969: news releases, invitations, correspondence, etc.
Folder 691: Miscellaneous 1965-1968: memos, circulars received, text of obituary for Alex Katz, etc.

Box 35

Folder 718: Circulars 1940-1956: one from 1968, mainly invitations to meetings
Folder 712: Circulars and press releases 1969-1970
Folder 720: Clippings 1933-1946
Folder 705: Correspondence 1946-1956: connected with bills paid
Folder 709: Dues Schedules 1944-1946: also includes various other miscellaneous lists
Folder 701: Farband 1954: correspondence, news release
Folder 702: Group insurance plan undated
Folder 704: Letters from abroad 1956
Folder 713: Lists 1944-1945: contributions and expenses
Folder 707: Mailing lists 1955
Folder 714: Miscellaneous 1943-1967: mostly correspondence, including letter from U.S. censor, news release, etc.
Folder 711: Miscellaneous 1956-1958: correspondence, vouchers, JTA dispatch, etc.
Folder 706: Miscellaneous 1960-1962: ciculars calling meetings, forms, copies of letters sent, petty cash vouchers, bills, list of those owing money, etc.
Folder 711D: Miscellaneous personal correspondence - Bloch, Chaim 1921
Folder 711R: Miscellaneous personal correspondence - Chudnovsky, Moshe undated
Folder 711B: Miscellaneous personal correspondence - Eisner, Gustave 1921
Folder 711E: Miscellaneous personal correspondence - Gross, M. 1921
Folder 711F: Miscellaneous personal correspondence - Hourwich, Isaac A. 1909, 1921-1922
Folder 711A: Miscellaneous personal correspondence - Ignatoff, David 1922-1925
Folder 711U: Miscellaneous personal correspondence - Lazer, S.M. 1921
Folder 711V: Miscellaneous personal correspondence - Lieberman, Chaim 1921
Folder 711X: Miscellaneous personal correspondence - Masliansky, Zvi Hirsch 1929
Folder 711W: Miscellaneous personal correspondence - Mastbaum, Joel undated
Folder 711Y: Miscellaneous personal correspondence - Meiman, Benjamin 1920-1921
Folder 711Z: Miscellaneous personal correspondence - Muller, Jozef 1920
Folder 711AA: Miscellaneous personal correspondence - Niger, Shmuel 1920-1921
Folder 711C: Miscellaneous personal correspondence - Orlans, A.S. 1920
Folder 711BB: Miscellaneous personal correspondence - Perle, S. 1920-1921
Folder 711GG: Miscellaneous personal correspondence - Rabinovitch, Yehaskel 1920-1921
Folder 711HH: Miscellaneous personal correspondence - Radoshinsky, I.H. 1922
Folder 711II: Miscellaneous personal correspondence - Ravitch, Melech 1921
Folder 711NN: Miscellaneous personal correspondence - Reinwein, A. undated
Folder 711MM: Miscellaneous personal correspondence - Reisen, Abraham 1921
Folder 711FF: Miscellaneous personal correspondence - Roback, A.A. 1925
Folder 711JJ: Miscellaneous personal correspondence - Rosenfeld, Hersh 1925
Folder 711KK: Miscellaneous personal correspondence - Rosenfeld, S. 1927
Folder 711LL: Miscellaneous personal correspondence - Rubin, A.M. 1921
Folder 711OO: Miscellaneous personal correspondence - Schatz, Boris 1921
Folder 711RR: Miscellaneous personal correspondence - Schneider, M. B. undated
Folder 711QQ: Miscellaneous personal correspondence - Schnitzler, Arthur 1921
Folder 711N: Miscellaneous personal correspondence - Semel, Bernard 1920
Folder 711L: Miscellaneous personal correspondence - Silburg, M. 1921
Folder 711PP: Miscellaneous personal correspondence - Steinberg, N. 1921
Folder 711S: Miscellaneous personal correspondence - Tchernowitz, Chaim 1921
Folder 711Q: Miscellaneous personal correspondence - Tepper, K. 1921
Folder 711P: Miscellaneous personal correspondence - Tiomkin, Z. (Va'ad Aliyah) 1920
Folder 711EE: Miscellaneous personal correspondence - Tzipin, M. 1920
Folder 711J: Miscellaneous personal correspondence - Victor, A. 1921
Folder 771H: Miscellaneous personal correspondence - Vortsman, Dr. I.B. undated
Folder 711I: Miscellaneous personal correspondence - Weintraub, Sigmund 1919
Folder 711SS: Miscellaneous personal correspondence - Winchevsky, Morris 1918-1925
Folder 711G: Miscellaneous personal correspondence - Wohliner, A. undated
Folder 711T: Miscellaneous personal correspondence - Yehoash 1920
Folder 711K: Miscellaneous personal correspondence - Zak, Abram 1921
Folder 711O: Miscellaneous personal correspondence - Zetzer, S. undated
Folder 711CC: Miscellaneous personal correspondence - Zukerman, B. (Jewish People's Relief Committee) 1921
Folder 711DD: Miscellaneous personal correspondence - Zukerman, William undated
Folder 711M: Miscellaneous personal correspondence - Zylbercweig, Zalmen 1920
Folder 703: Miscellaneous requests 1962-1964
Folder 700: One Hundred Years Yiddish Press in America 1970: tickets correspondence
Folder 717: Picture collection of the Yiddish Writers' Union undated: individual snapshots of members in alphabetical order, also some group photos
Folder 719: Rescue Fund for Jewish Refugee Writers 1941-1948: circulars, raffle books, memorial album
Folder 708: Speech by Moshe Starkman 1970: manuscript and typed copy, "On the Eve of the 100th Anniversary of the Yiddish Press"
Folder 710: Tax 1946, 1956: dues lists, etc. for union surtax

Box 37

Folder 744: Morning Journal 1952: lists and forms concerning loans by employees to ths Morning Journal
Folder 745: Weizman, Chaim 1949: copy of letter from YWU granting him membership
Folder 738: YWU yearbook "Yidish Lebn" (Jewish Life) 1955-1956: Answers to questionnaires from Israel
Folder 739: YWU yearbook "Yidish Lebn" 1955-1956: Answers to questionnaires from Melbourne, London, South Africa
Folder 740: YWU yearbook "Yidish Lebn" 1955-1956: Answers to questionnaires from United States
Folder 741: YWU yearbook "Yidish Lebn" 1955-1956: Answers to questionnaires from Latin America
Folder 742: YWU yearbook "Yidish Lebn" undated: manuscripts, including manuscripts by Jacob Glatstein, M. Starkman and others, possibly for the 30th anniversary
Folder 743: YWU yearbook "Yidish Lebn" 1955-1956, 1972-1973: Miscellaneous correspondence and answers to questionnaires from France

Box 39

Folder 715A: Scrapbook 1927-1930: various activities
Folder 715B: Scrapbook 1936-1938: receptions, symposiums, cultural evenings, celebrations
Folder 715C: Scrapbook 1938-1939: symposiums, lectures, cultural evenings, concerts, celebrations, memorial meetings, Landsmanshaftn book
Folder 716A: Scrapbook 1941: Day strike, dispute with the Newspaper Guild
Folder 716B: Scrapbook 1941: Rescue Fund for Jewish Refugee Writers
Folder 716C: Scrapbook 1945: 75th anniversary of the Yiddish press
Folder 737: Scrapbook 1946-1947: Rescue Fund for Jewish Refugee Writers, newspaper clippings