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 IV: Fund for Jewish Refugee Writers – Correspondence 1939-1946

This series includes materials about the Fund for Jewish Refugee Writers, particularly fundraising campaigns, individual contributors to the Fund, requests for aid for individual refugees in Europe, Cuba, Japan, Shanghai, England, and Palestine, correspondence with the National Refugee Service, and correspondence with Jewish Welfare Federations.

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

Box 14

Folder 280: Aid to Refugees 1940: letter about sending books
Folder 282: Assorted correspondence 1939-1941: letters to businessmen soliciting funds, letters concerning individual cases, letters arranging meetings, etc.
Folder 283: Bills for stationary 1941
Folder 284: Bills paid 1940-1942: mainly printing costs
Folder 287: Campaign correspondence 1942-1943: appeals to labor organizations, to individuals, welfare funds, etc., with some replies
Folder 285: Chagall case 1941: arrangements made for procuring visa for Marc Chagall
Folder 286: Chomsky case 1941: aid for transportation to the U.S. of Boruch Chomsky and family
Folder 288: Clippings 1939-1940
Folder 289A: Contributors "A" 1940
Folder 289B: Contributors "B" 1939-1940
Folder 289C: Contributors "C" 1940
Folder 289D: Contributors "D" 1940
Folder 289E: Contributors "E" 1940
Folder 289F: Contributors "F" 1940
Folder 289G: Contributors "G" 1940
Folder 289H: Contributors "H" 1940
Folder 289J: Contributors "J" 1940
Folder 289K: Contributors "K" 1939-1940
Folder 289L: Contributors "L" 1940
Folder 289M: Contributors "M" 1939-1940
Folder 289N: Contributors "N" 1940
Folder 289P: Contributors "P" 1940
Folder 289R: Contributors "R" 1940
Folder 289S: Contributors "S" 1940
Folder 289T: Contributors "T" 1940
Folder 289U: Contributors "U" 1940
Folder 289V-W: Contributors "V-W" 1940
Folder 289Y-Z: Contributors "Y-Z" 1940
Folder 289X: Contributors unidentified 1939-1940

Box 15

Folder 290: European correspondence 1940: correspondence with Daniel Charney, letter about Itzik Manger, correspondence with Jacob Vigodsky (head of the Jewish community of Vilna) concerning Revisionist Zionists in Lithuania
Folder 291: Form letters and press releases 1940-1941
Folder 298: Fund 1939-1941: miscellaneous, letter from Simkha Schwartz in Nice, France, list of funds distributed, letters to newspaper editors
Folder 295: Fund 1940: letter from American Express and forms for aid to Jews in French territories
Folder 297: Fund 1940-1941: donations promised, correspondence with Boston
Folder 292: Fund 1940-1942: general, temporary, correspondence concerning financial matters, letters accompanying contributions, appeals on behalf of individuals
Folder 293: Fund 1940-1943: donations refused, letters to and from organizations
Folder 296: Fund 1941: food packages, list of recipients, correspondence with Anglo-American Transfer Company, order blanks
Folder 294: Fund 1942-1943: immediate attention, letter from jews in Shanghai, letter by M. Ravitch on behalf of Jews in USSR
Folder 299: Fund 1942-1944: money coming in, letters accompanying contributions, promises of later contributions, letters of thanks, mostly contributions from organizations
Folder 300: HIAS 1941-1943: cases of Szmul Szwerdorf, Szloma Rosenberg, Moshe Dluznowski and Marc Chagall
Folder 302: Individual contributions to Fund 1939-1941: three letters accompanying contributions
Folder 301: Individuals contacted for Fund 1939-1941: correspondence with Edward warburg and Sholem Asch
Folder 303: Jewish Labor Committee 1939-1941: correspondence about financial transactions and arrangements for visas and transportation
Folder 304: Jewish National Workers' Alliance 1940-1941: letters accompanying contributions from branches, appeal letter
Folder 305: Mailing lists 1939-1941: lists of heads of organizations, names copied from letterheards, lists of rabbis, names of organizations, directories, etc.
Folder 306: Minutes 1939-1941: meetings of executive and administrative committee of Fund
Folder 309: Organizations 1939-1941: letters, contributions and arrangements for migration
Folder 307: Organizations 1940-1941: contributions to Fund, letters accompanying contributions and other correspondence
Folder 308: Organizations 1940-1943: foreign organizations contacted for Fund, mainly Canada, South Africa, Palestine and Argentina
Folder 310: Out of town 1939-1940: Canada, mainly correspondence with Federation of Polish Jews and with United Jewish Refugee and War Relief Agencies
Folder 311: Out of town 1939-1940: Chicago, collections by Chicago Forward, Chicago Peretz Union, Yidisher Kurier
Folder 313: Out of town 1940-1941: Los Angeles, correspondence with S. Miller, H. Rosenblatt and others about fundraising
Folder 312: Out of town 1940-1943: Detroit, correspondence with various collectors, including E. Korman, Bernstein of the Detroit Forward and S. Bercovitch of Jewish Schools
Folder 314: Philadelphia 1940: correspondence with Eliezer L. Sherman concerning fundraising
Folder 315: President's Advisory Committee on Political Refugees 1941: correspondence concerning visa applications in individual cases, bills, etc.
Folder 316: Press releases 1941: copies

Box 16

Folder 317: Rabbis 1940: answers to Sholem Asch, letters to rabbis by Sholem Asch. their replies, contributions by rabbis and by many other individuals and organizations
Folder 325: Requests for aid 1939-1940: England, correspondence with Association of Jewish Journalists and Authors in England about refugees from Poland, telegrams, pleas for aid
Folder 322: Requests for aid 1939-1940: Vilna, lists of names, letters from Vilna, telegrams, letters about individuals in Vilna, letters from Association of Polish and Jewish Refugee Writers in Vilna
Folder 326: Requests for aid 1939-1941: France, letters from and on behalf of Jews in France, especially souther France, including E. Tcherikower, etc.
Folder 320: Requests for aid 1940: Poland, letters on behalf of individuals from HIAS in Warsaw, lists of needy people in Watsaw sent by Warsaw HIAS, letters by Americans with relatives in Poland, etc., especially P. Gilbert
Folder 323: Requests for aid 1940-1941: Casablanca, letters on behalf of individuals in casablanca and elsewhere in Morocco, especially B. Chomski, M. Dluznowski, S. Rozenberg, lists of names, letters from Morocco, with answers, telegrams
Folder 319: Requests for aid 1940-1941: Palestine, mostly correspondence with Palestine Hebrew Culture Fund and with Association of Palestine Journalists as well as individual refugees who had arrived in Palestine
Folder 321: Requests for aid 1940-1941: Toulouse, letters from Toulouse with lists of names, letters on their behalf, telegrams, letters from S, Bickel on behalf of the Toulouse writers
Folder 324: Requests for aid 1940-1942: Cuba, Finland, Latvia, and others, letters on behalf of refugees in Lisbon, Belgium, latvia, Japan, Italy, Shanghai, Romania, etc., letters from refugees and telegrams, correspondence with HIAS and National Refugee Service, cases include Walter Schlieper, Kalman Karlinsky, Salomon Dembitzer, Emil Sznajderman, Joseph Tunkel, G. Moscovics, Herbert Packsher, Richard Engel, Wanda Haber, etc.
Folder 318: Requests for aid 1940-1942: New York City, requests from New York on behalf of individuals in New York and elsewhere
Folder 327: Statements on the Campaign 1940-1942: financial statements, memorandum on activities, etc.
Folder 328: Theater benefit 1940: correspondence with prominent individuals, including letters from Andre Maurois, Albert Einstein, a Leon Fuchtwanger telegram, letters to Mrs. Roosevelt, Franz Werfel and others, contract for theater, other invitations to the benefit, letters of invitation signed by Sholem Asch
Folder 329: Theater benefit 1940: letters, tickets, answers, returning tickets, letters accompanying contributions
Folder 330: Theater benefit 1940: lists of payments made, box office statements, latters accompanying contributions, refusals to pay, requests to individuals to pay amounts owed
Folder 331: Theater benefit 1940: publicity, press releases, newspaper clippings, correspondence about publicity, material for Internal Revenue, lists of people to contact
Folder 332: Trade unions 1940: correspondence with unions about contributions
Folder 333: Visas undated: note about Moysey Kissl
Folder 334: Welfare funds 1940-1946: contributions, correspondence with Jewish welfare federations of various localities in the USA, including letters accompanying contributions

Box 17

Folder 336: Welfare funds 1940-1942: refusals, letters of refusal from Jewish welfare federations
Folder 335: Welfare funds 1940-1945: pending, correspondence with Jewish welfare federations of various localities in the USA, including some refusals, applications for contributions
Folder 339: Women's Committee 1941: contributions and raffles, letters to winners, publicity, etc.
Folder 340: Women's Committee 1941: letters sent, also lists of committee members
Folder 338: Women's Committee 1941-1942: correspondence, bills and receipts, list of executive committee members
Folder 337: Women's Committee undated: membership list, printing costs, raffle list
Folder 341: Workmen's Circle 1940-1941: letters accompanying contributions, some copies of letters sent
Folder 342: World Jewish Congress 1941: correspondence about bills for services in specific visa cases
Folder 343: Yiddish undated: rabbis, various Yiddish language press releases and appeals