The Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives
Encyclopedia
History
The American Jewish Archives (AJA) was founded by Dr. Jacob Rader MarcusJacob Rader Marcus
Jacob Rader Marcus was a scholar of Jewish history and a Reform rabbi. Born in New Haven, Pennsylvania, United States, into a traditional Jewish family, Marcus became interested in Reform Judaism at the age of 15. At that time, he travelled to Hebrew Union College , in Cincinnati, Ohio, to begin...
(1896-1995), former graduate and professor at the Hebrew Union College
Hebrew Union College
The Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion is the oldest extant Jewish seminary in the Americas and the main seminary for training rabbis, cantors, educators and communal workers in Reform Judaism.HUC-JIR has campuses in Cincinnati, New York, Los Angeles and Jerusalem.The Jerusalem...
, in the aftermath of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and The Holocaust
The Holocaust
The Holocaust , also known as the Shoah , was the genocide of approximately six million European Jews and millions of others during World War II, a programme of systematic state-sponsored murder by Nazi...
. For over a half century, the American Jewish Archives has been preserving American Jewish history
American Jewish History
American Jewish History is an academic journal and the official publication of the American Jewish Historical Society. The journal was established in 1892 and focuses on all aspects of the American Jewish experience including discussions of culture, religion, and politics...
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
Gary P. Zola
Gary Phillip Zola is a rabbi and historian of American Jewry who specializes in the development of American Reform Judaism. He is a professor of the American Jewish Experience at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati...
, 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 divisionof 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 8000 feet (2,438.4 m) 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
Reform Judaism refers to various beliefs, practices and organizations associated with the Reform Jewish movement in North America, the United Kingdom and elsewhere. In general, it maintains that Judaism and Jewish traditions should be modernized and should be compatible with participation in the...
; 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 historyAmerican Jewish History
American Jewish History is an academic journal and the official publication of the American Jewish Historical Society. The journal was established in 1892 and focuses on all aspects of the American Jewish experience including discussions of culture, religion, and politics...
and of our nation as a whole.