• About
  • Support AJW
  • Jewish Community Directory
  • Subscription Information
  • Contact Us
American Jewish World
No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • All
    • Africa
    • Asia
    • Australia & New Zealand
    • Europe
    • Israel/Mideast
    • Latin America
    • Minnesota
    • US & Canada
    Rabbi Harold Kravitz steps down

    Rabbi Harold Kravitz steps down

    Les Block, our music maven

    Les Block, our music maven

    ‘Rav’ and ‘chaver,’ rabbi and friend, Kassel Abelson dies at 99

    ‘Rav’ and ‘chaver,’ rabbi and friend, Kassel Abelson dies at 99

  • Arts
    • All
    • Blue Box
    • Books & Literature
    • Music
    • Televison & Film
    • Theater & Performing Arts
    • Visual Arts
    Les Block, our music maven

    Les Block, our music maven

    Journey to the old land of woe

    Journey to the old land of woe

    Jews bring the funny to the Fringe

    Jews bring the funny to the Fringe

  • Lifestyle
    • All
    • Fashion
    • Food
    • Health & Wellness
    • Home & Garden
    • Travel & Culture
    Robyn Frank finds her niche in the cookie business

    Robyn Frank finds her niche in the cookie business

    Editorial: More from my European vacation

    Editorial: More from my European vacation

    Our Rosh Hashana special edition

    Our Rosh Hashana special edition

  • Editorial
  • Opinion
  • AJW Digital Archives
  • News
    • All
    • Africa
    • Asia
    • Australia & New Zealand
    • Europe
    • Israel/Mideast
    • Latin America
    • Minnesota
    • US & Canada
    Rabbi Harold Kravitz steps down

    Rabbi Harold Kravitz steps down

    Les Block, our music maven

    Les Block, our music maven

    ‘Rav’ and ‘chaver,’ rabbi and friend, Kassel Abelson dies at 99

    ‘Rav’ and ‘chaver,’ rabbi and friend, Kassel Abelson dies at 99

  • Arts
    • All
    • Blue Box
    • Books & Literature
    • Music
    • Televison & Film
    • Theater & Performing Arts
    • Visual Arts
    Les Block, our music maven

    Les Block, our music maven

    Journey to the old land of woe

    Journey to the old land of woe

    Jews bring the funny to the Fringe

    Jews bring the funny to the Fringe

  • Lifestyle
    • All
    • Fashion
    • Food
    • Health & Wellness
    • Home & Garden
    • Travel & Culture
    Robyn Frank finds her niche in the cookie business

    Robyn Frank finds her niche in the cookie business

    Editorial: More from my European vacation

    Editorial: More from my European vacation

    Our Rosh Hashana special edition

    Our Rosh Hashana special edition

  • Editorial
  • Opinion
  • AJW Digital Archives
No Result
View All Result
Morning News
No Result
View All Result
Home Lifestyle

Berman Archives preserve our Jewish history

American Jewish World by American Jewish World
May 24, 2020
in Lifestyle, Travel & Culture
0
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

The archives housed at the U of M comprise more than 1,300 cubic feet of materials, including photographs, scrapbooks, videos, oral histories and records

By KATE DIETRICK
The Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives (UMJA) contain important archival holdings that provide a valuable historical resource for anyone interested in understanding the American Jewish experience from a Midwest perspective.
100-Years-of-Minn-Jewish-History
The collection first began to take shape under the Jewish Historical Society of the Upper Midwest (JHSUM), a group established in 1984 aiming to preserve stories of the earliest Jewish settlers in the Midwest. Their archival collection grew as individuals and local organizations donated their materials.
In 2001, former Governor Elmer L. Andersen invited JHSUM to place parts of the collections at the library bearing his name. In 2002, Nathan and Theresa Berman created an endowment for the collections at the Elmer L. Andersen Library at the University of Minnesota.

Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives, University of Minnesota This 1930s image of Grossman’s Kosher Butcher Shop in Minneapolis is among the photos available from the Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives, housed at the University of Minnesota.
This 1930s image of Grossman’s Kosher Butcher Shop in Minneapolis is among the photos available from the Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives, housed at the University of Minnesota. (Photo: Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives, University of Minnesota)

At that time, only a portion of the collection moved to the University while JHSUM controlled the other half and continued to collect materials over the years. In 2012, JHSUM made the decision to donate the entire collection to the University.
The reunited collections now comprise more than 1,300 cubic feet of materials. The materials are kept in Andersen Library, a magnificent library built into the bluffs of the Mississippi River on the West Bank of campus. UMJA is just one of 14 distinct archival collections at Andersen Library; all collections are kept in climate-controlled caverns that hold 93,000 cubic feet of archival materials.
The Upper Midwest Jewish Archives chronicle the activities of building ethnic and religious Jewish communities and advocacy organizations, as well as efforts to promote social welfare at large. We have organizational records for groups such as the Minneapolis Federation for Jewish Service, the Jewish Community Relations Council, the United Jewish Fund and Council, and women’s organizations such as Hadassah and the National Council of Jewish Women.
We have synagogue records for Adath Jeshurun Congregation, Shir Tikvah, Mount Zion Temple, Temple Israel and more. We have family and personal papers about early Jewish settlement in Minnesota and the Dakotas — materials documenting family-owned businesses, homesteading, service in the armed forces during World War I and II, and ephemera illuminating growing up Jewish in cities big and small across the state. We have photographs, scrapbooks, videos, oral histories and much more.
Many collections in UMJA point to issues that face many minority immigrant communities — setting down roots, building a support system through places of worship or social organizations, and finding jobs and starting businesses, while also combating prejudice with social advocacy groups, and maintaining integrity and autonomy as generations grow and change in their adopted land.

The archives are open to the public and we encourage you to come and sift through the varied histories of Jewish people throughout this area.

READ ALSO

Robyn Frank finds her niche in the cookie business

Editorial: More from my European vacation

***

Kate Dietrick is assistant archivist of the Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives. For information, call 612-625-0192 or: umja@umn.edu.
(American Jewish World, 7.31.15)

Related Posts

Robyn Frank finds her niche in the cookie business
Food

Robyn Frank finds her niche in the cookie business

November 13, 2022
Editorial: More from my European vacation
Editorial

Editorial: More from my European vacation

September 25, 2022
Our Rosh Hashana special edition
Featured

Our Rosh Hashana special edition

August 19, 2022
Berlin today
Editorial

Berlin today

August 30, 2022
‘Honoring Our Graduates’ in May 2022
Lifestyle

Once again: Honoring Our Graduates

May 11, 2022
‘Honoring Our Graduates’ in May 2022
Lifestyle

‘Honoring Our Graduates’ in May 2022

April 13, 2022
Next Post

HMJDS: Enduring values, extraordinary education

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

RECENT ARTICLES

Rabbi Harold Kravitz steps down

Rabbi Harold Kravitz steps down

August 9, 2023
News from the Jewish World — and the Jewish world

News from the Jewish World — and the Jewish world

August 9, 2023
Les Block, our music maven

Les Block, our music maven

August 8, 2023
‘Rav’ and ‘chaver,’ rabbi and friend, Kassel Abelson dies at 99

‘Rav’ and ‘chaver,’ rabbi and friend, Kassel Abelson dies at 99

August 10, 2023
Journey to the old land of woe

Journey to the old land of woe

August 7, 2023

About

Since 1912 the AJW has served as an important news resource for the Jewish community. The Jewish World unites the main Jewish communities in St. Paul and Minneapolis, as well as those in Duluth, Rochester and smaller cities, and bridges the divides between the various Jewish religious streams.

Quick Links

  • About the AJW
  • Advertising Information
  • Submission Guidelines
  • Subscription Information
  • Jewish Community Directory

Contact Us

The American Jewish World
3249 Hennepin Ave., Suite 245
Minneapolis, MN 55408

Tel: 612.824.0030 / Fax: 612.823.0753
editor@ajwnews.com

  • Buy JNews
  • Landing Page
  • Documentation
  • Support Forum

© 2023 JNews - Premium WordPress news & magazine theme by Jegtheme.

No Result
View All Result
  • Homepages
    • Home Page 1
  • News
  • Food
  • Health & Wellness
  • Lifestyle
  • Opinion

© 2023 JNews - Premium WordPress news & magazine theme by Jegtheme.