Fred Rosenbaum
Encyclopedia
Fred Rosenbaum is an American author
, historian
and adult educator
, specializing in the history of the Jewish
community of the San Francisco Bay Area
. Rosenbaum has been called a "superb storyteller".
He is a founder and the director of Lehrhaus Judaica in Berkeley, California
, described as "the largest Jewish adult education center in the western United States".
Rosenbaum earned a bachelor's degree at Washington University in St. Louis in 1968, and then studied the history of Nazi Germany as a Fullbright Fellow
in West Germany. He earned master's degree in European history at the University of California Berkeley.
, he left traditional academia in 1974 to cofound Lehrhaus Judaica, which was named after Rosenzweig's Freies Juedisches Lehrhaus, which was founded in 1920, and closed by the Nazis 18 years later. Lehrhaus Judaica has been described as "a continuing-education program affiliated with Berkeley Hillel" Rosenbaum was then a graduate student at the University of California Berkeley, and cofounded Lehrhaus Judaica with Seymour Fromer of the Judah L. Magnes Museum
and Rabbi Steven Robbins of Berkeley Hillel
. Described as a "new program of Jewish adult education" in 1988, in 1998, it was called "The grandparent of community adult learning institutions".
Rosenbaum's most recent book, Cosmopolitans: A Social and Cultural History of the Jews of the San Francisco Bay Area, a comprehensive history of the first 100 years of the Jewish community of the San Francisco Bay Area, has been widely reviewed. According to the San Francisco Chronicle
, Rosenbaum "researched his subject over several decades." The reviewer of the book observed that "his dedication to the topic is evident in its encyclopedic scope".
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
, historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
and adult educator
Adult education
Adult education is the practice of teaching and educating adults. Adult education takes place in the workplace, through 'extension' school or 'school of continuing education' . Other learning places include folk high schools, community colleges, and lifelong learning centers...
, specializing in the history of the Jewish
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
community of the San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
. Rosenbaum has been called a "superb storyteller".
He is a founder and the director of Lehrhaus Judaica in Berkeley, California
Berkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
, described as "the largest Jewish adult education center in the western United States".
Early life and education
Rosenbaum grew up in Queens, New York in a family that was "marked by the Holocaust". His mother fled Poland and escaped to the United States. His father had earlier emigrated from Poland and became a sergeant in the United States Army, and fought in Europe during World War II.Rosenbaum earned a bachelor's degree at Washington University in St. Louis in 1968, and then studied the history of Nazi Germany as a Fullbright Fellow
Fulbright Program
The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright-Hays Program, is a program of competitive, merit-based grants for international educational exchange for students, scholars, teachers, professionals, scientists and artists, founded by United States Senator J. William Fulbright in 1946. Under the...
in West Germany. He earned master's degree in European history at the University of California Berkeley.
Lehrhaus Judaica
Inspired by the life of Franz RosenzweigFranz Rosenzweig
Franz Rosenzweig was an influential Jewish theologian and philosopher.-Early life:Franz Rosenzweig was born in Kassel, Germany to a middle-class, minimally observant Jewish family...
, he left traditional academia in 1974 to cofound Lehrhaus Judaica, which was named after Rosenzweig's Freies Juedisches Lehrhaus, which was founded in 1920, and closed by the Nazis 18 years later. Lehrhaus Judaica has been described as "a continuing-education program affiliated with Berkeley Hillel" Rosenbaum was then a graduate student at the University of California Berkeley, and cofounded Lehrhaus Judaica with Seymour Fromer of the Judah L. Magnes Museum
Judah L. Magnes Museum
The Judah L. Magnes Museum is a museum of Jewish history, art, and culture in Berkeley, California. It was founded in 1962 by Seymour and Rebecca Fromer and named for Jewish activist Rabbi Judah L. Magnes, a native of Oakland...
and Rabbi Steven Robbins of Berkeley Hillel
Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life
Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life is the largest Jewish campus organization in the world, working with thousands of college students globally...
. Described as a "new program of Jewish adult education" in 1988, in 1998, it was called "The grandparent of community adult learning institutions".
Observations on Northern California Jewish history
Rosenbaum has expressed the opinion that anti-semitism was less of a factor affecting the Jews of Northern California than in most other areas of the world. "Perhaps most remarkable was the uncommon degree of acceptance, indeed respect, accorded San Francisco Jewry by the larger society". Another group, the Asians (the Chinese in the 19th century, and the Japanese-Americans during World War II) bore the brunt of social ostracism in the region. He noted that "it was the Asians who were abused during these years of turmoil; they and not the Jews became the scapegoats".Rosenbaum's most recent book, Cosmopolitans: A Social and Cultural History of the Jews of the San Francisco Bay Area, a comprehensive history of the first 100 years of the Jewish community of the San Francisco Bay Area, has been widely reviewed. According to the San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
, Rosenbaum "researched his subject over several decades." The reviewer of the book observed that "his dedication to the topic is evident in its encyclopedic scope".
Publications
- Cosmopolitans: a social and cultural history of the Jews of the San Francisco Bay Area, Fred Rosenbaum, Berkeley, CaliforniaBerkeley, CaliforniaBerkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
, University of California PressUniversity of California PressUniversity of California Press, also known as UC Press, is a publishing house associated with the University of California that engages in academic publishing. It was founded in 1893 to publish books and papers for the faculty of the University of California, established 25 years earlier in 1868...
, 2009
- Taking risks: a Jewish youth in the Soviet partisans and his unlikely life in California, Joseph Pell and Fred Rosenbaum, Muskegon, MichiganMuskegon, MichiganMuskegon is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 38,401. The city is the county seat of Muskegon County...
, RDR Books, 2004
- Visions of reform: Congregation Emanu-El and the Jews of San Francisco, 1849-1999, Fred Rosenbaum, Berkeley, CaliforniaBerkeley, CaliforniaBerkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
, Judah L. Magnes MuseumJudah L. Magnes MuseumThe Judah L. Magnes Museum is a museum of Jewish history, art, and culture in Berkeley, California. It was founded in 1962 by Seymour and Rebecca Fromer and named for Jewish activist Rabbi Judah L. Magnes, a native of Oakland...
, 2000
- Free to choose: the making of a Jewish community in the American West: the Jews of Oakland, California from the gold rush to the present day, Fred Rosenbaum, Berkeley, CaliforniaBerkeley, CaliforniaBerkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
, Judah L. Magnes MuseumJudah L. Magnes MuseumThe Judah L. Magnes Museum is a museum of Jewish history, art, and culture in Berkeley, California. It was founded in 1962 by Seymour and Rebecca Fromer and named for Jewish activist Rabbi Judah L. Magnes, a native of Oakland...
, 1976
- Architects of reform: congregational and community leadership Emanu-El of San Francisco, 1849-1980, Fred Rosenbaum, Berkeley, CaliforniaBerkeley, CaliforniaBerkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
, Western Jewish History Center, Judah L. Magnes MuseumJudah L. Magnes MuseumThe Judah L. Magnes Museum is a museum of Jewish history, art, and culture in Berkeley, California. It was founded in 1962 by Seymour and Rebecca Fromer and named for Jewish activist Rabbi Judah L. Magnes, a native of Oakland...
, 1980
- Here, There Are No Sarahs: A Woman's Courageous Fight in the Soviet Partisans and Her Bittersweet Fulfillment of the American Dream, Sonia Shainwald Orbuch and Fred Rosenbaum, Muskegon, MichiganMuskegon, MichiganMuskegon is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 38,401. The city is the county seat of Muskegon County...
, RDR Books, 2009
- "The Pope Comes to San Francisco: An Anatomy of Jewish Communal Response to a Political Crisis", by David Biale and Fred Rosenbaum, in American pluralism and the Jewish community, editor: Seymour Martin LipsetSeymour Martin LipsetSeymour Martin Lipset was an American political sociologist, senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, and the Hazel Professor of Public Policy at George Mason University. His major work was in the fields of political sociology, trade union organization, social stratification, public opinion, and...
, New Brunswick, New JerseyNew Brunswick, New JerseyNew Brunswick is a city in Middlesex County, New Jersey, USA. It is the county seat and the home of Rutgers University. The city is located on the Northeast Corridor rail line, southwest of Manhattan, on the southern bank of the Raritan River. At the 2010 United States Census, the population of...
, Transaction Publishers, 1990, described as "a fascinating and insightful account of the playing out of the confrontational style around a Holocaust issue".
- "Zionism versus Anti-Zionism: The State of Israel Comes to San Francisco,", Fred Rosenbaum, in Jews of the American West, edited by Moses RischinMoses RischinMoses Rischin is a United States Jewish historian, author, lecturer, editor, and Emeritus Professor of History at San Francisco State University. He coined the phrase New Mormon History in a 1969 article of the same name. Rischin is from New York City. His undergraduate studies were at Brooklyn...
and John Livingston, Detroit, Wayne State University PressWayne State University PressWayne State University Press , founded in 1941, is a university press that is part of Wayne State University. It publishes under its own name and also the imprints Painted Turtle and Great Lakes Books....
, 1991