The Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives, founded in 1947, is committed to preserving a documentary heritage of the religious, organizational, economic, cultural, personal, social and family life of American Jewry. It has become the largest free-standing research center dedicated solely to the study of the American Jewish experience. It is located in

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

History

The American Jewish Archives (AJA) was founded by Dr. Jacob Rader Marcus (1896-1995), former graduate and professor at the

Hebrew Union College Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and remained in regular use as a first language until ...

, in the aftermath of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and

The Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

. For over a half century, the American Jewish Archives has been preserving American Jewish history and imparting it to the next generation. Dr. Marcus directed the American Jewish Archives for forty-eight years until his death at which time the AJA’s name became The Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives. Dr. Gary P. Zola, one of Marcus’s students, became the second Executive Director on 1 July 1998.

Collections

The Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives is a semi-autonomous division of the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. Located on HUC-JIR’s Cincinnati campus, the AJA houses over ten million pages of documentation. It contains nearly of archives, manuscripts, nearprint materials, photographs, audio and video tapes, microfilm, and genealogical materials. Its four core areas of collecting interest are those records of American Jewish personalities and institutions that possess historical significance; the records of American

Reform Judaism Reform Judaism, also known as Liberal Judaism or Progressive Judaism, is a major Jewish religious movements, Jewish denomination that emphasizes the evolving nature of Judaism, the superiority of its Jewish ethics, ethical aspects to its ceremo ...

; the records of American Jewish communities with a special focus on the Jews of Cincinnati; and the records of the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion.

Publications

The Marcus Center also publishes a semi-annual publication, ''The American Jewish Archives Journal (AJAJ)''. It documents and preserves the American Jewish experience through the publication of scholarly articles and primary documents written by academic and independent historians from around the world. Furthermore, it contains important news from the AJA and book reviews of relevant secondary literature. The ''AJAJ'' is considered one of the two major refereed periodicals that examine the entire scope of American Jewish history. Issues of the AJAJ are available online through the AJA website.

Fellowship Program

In 1977, The Marcus Center founded its Fellowship Program which serves to bring scholars to Cincinnati in order to make use of the AJA’s unique collection as well as to present their work to the larger community. Today the Marcus Center administers twelve endowed fellowships and it is its hope that this program advances our understanding of both American Jewish history and of our nation as a whole.

Website

The Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives is continually expanding its electronic and print publications. Its website features media-rich, interactive, online exhibits including 350 Years of American Jewry, Great Voices of Reform Judaism, and Hebrew Union College: 125 Years. As well, it posts educational resources, audio and visual programs, and links to other institutional collections.

References

External links

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American Archives Jewish Journal
' {{DEFAULTSORT:Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives Jews and Judaism in Cincinnati Jewish organizations based in the United States Jewish studies research institutes Archives in the United States 1947 establishments in Ohio Jewish organizations established in 1947 Jewish-American history