Finding aid for the Louis Rosenblum Papers, Series II


Title:
Louis Rosenblum Papers, Series II
Repository:
Western Reserve Historical Society
Phone: 216-721-5722
http://www.wrhs.org
Creator:
Rosenblum, Louis
Dates:
1923-2012
Quantity:
2.10 linear feet (3 containers)
Abstract:
Louis Rosenblum (b. 1923) directed the Solar and Electrochemistry Division at the Glenn (formerly Lewis) Research Center of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in Cleveland, Ohio. Rosenblum was born in Brooklyn, New York, began his higher education at Brooklyn College in 1941, and enlisted and served in the U.S. Army Infantry from 1943 to 1946. Rosenblum served in the Pacific Theater, fought in the battle for Okinawa, was awarded the bronze star, and at the conclusion of hostilities served in the army of occupation in Japan. In 1948, he graduated from Brooklyn College with a B.S. in Organic Chemistry and began employment at NASA. In 1963, Rosenblum and fellow members of Beth Israel-The West Temple, a Cleveland synagogue, founded the Cleveland Council on Soviet Anti-Semitism. Rosenblum served as the CCSA's chairman. In 1970, the CCSA joined with five other grass-root councils to create the Union of Councils for Soviet Jewry (UCSJ), which became the largest independent Soviet Jewry organization in the world. Rosenblum served as the first chairman of the UCSJ. The collection consists of certificates, correspondence, contracts, financial records, family histories, genealogies, newspaper clippings, notes, publication, and scrapbooks.
Identification:
MS 5156
Location:
closed stacks
Language:
The records are in English

Biography of Louis Rosenblum

Louis Rosenblum (b. 1923) was born in Brooklyn, New York, where he attended Public School 199 (1929-1935); Yeshiva of Flatbush (1935-1937); James Madison High School (1937-1941); and Brooklyn College (1941-1943). Rosenblum served in the United States Army Infantry from July 1943 to February 1946. He served in the Pacific theater, fought in the battle for Okinawa, was awarded the bronze star, and, at the conclusion of hostilities, served in the army of occupation in Japan. Returning to Brooklyn College, he graduated with a B.S. in Chemistry in 1948 and subsequently attended Ohio State University, where in 1952 he was awarded a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry. He married Evelyn Mull in 1949, and the couple had four children, Janet, Miriam, Diane, and Daniel.

Rosenblum worked for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Lewis Research Center, Cleveland, Ohio, from 1952 to 1969 as research scientist and technical manager in the areas of high-energy jet aircraft fuels and liquid metal corrosion of high temperature materials. In 1969 he was appointed Chief of the Direct Energy Conversion Division responsible for research and development of thermionics, photovoltaics, and electrochemistry. In 1977 he was appointed Chief of the Solar and Electrochemistry Division, responsible for research and development of photovoltaics and energy storage for space application and for demonstration projects of terrestrial applications of photovoltaic and electrochemical storage systems. Rosenblum retired from NASA in 1981. From 1982 to 1988 he worked as a private consultant in photovoltaic and renewable energy systems for American and international clients, including the University of Michigan, the United States Department of Justice, the Internal Revenue Service, and the United Nations Development Program.

In 1963 Rosenblum and fellow members of Beth Israel-The West Temple, a Cleveland, Ohio synagogue, founded the Cleveland Council on Soviet Anti-Semitism (CCSA), the first public organization dedicated to aiding Jews in the Soviet Union. Its success was recognized nationally and became a model for other local groups. In 1970 the CCSA joined with five other grass roots councils to create the Union of Councils for Soviet Jewry (UCSJ). Rosenblum served as the first president of the UCSJ from 1970 to 1973. By 1985 the UCSJ included 32 member councils across the United States, the largest independent Soviet Jewry organization in the world.


click here to view the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History entry for the Cleveland Council on Soviet Anti-Semitism

Scope and Content

The Louis Rosenblum Papers, Series II, 1923-2012, consist of certificates, correspondence, contracts, financial records, family histories, genealogies, newspaper clippings, notes, publication, and scrapbooks.

This collection is of value to researchers interested in the history of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in Cleveland, Ohio, and the development of solar energy. Those interested in the history of Beth Israel-The West Temple and Jewish secondary education in congregations will also find this collection useful. Researchers with an interest in the immigration of Soviet Jewry and the Soviet Jewry movement or, more specifically, the Cleveland Council on Soviet Anti-Semitism will be especially interested in these materials documenting the career of a scientist and human rights activist in the twentieth century. The collection also includes information related to the Rosenblum, Rosenberg, Sandler, and Oscher families and could prove to be useful for genealogy researchers. The compendium of the family's Hebrew books will also provide information about the development of Hebrew language printing and publishing.

Series I: Personal consists of certificates, correspondence with family members, friends, and associates; materials related to courses designed and taught by Rosenblum at the Beth Israel-The West Temple High School; histories and genealogies of members of the Rosenblum-Rosenberg (paternal line) and Sandler-Oscher (maternal line) families; an oral history of the recollections and reminiscences of Rosenblum and his wife; a compendium of Hebrew books acquired by three generations of nineteenth century forebears; contemporary family vacation albums; and events organized by Clevelanders from the former Soviet Union to honor leaders of the Cleveland Council on Soviet Anti-Semitism.

Series II: Professional, Sub-Series: B Solar Energy Consultancy consists mainly of contracts with the United States Department of Justice to act as technical advisor to a legal team investigating potential fraud and throughout a subsequent indictment and trial period; with the United States Internal Revenue Service to prepare a technical report regarding aforementioned fraud; and with the University of Michigan to prepare a textbook on photovoltaic systems technology and economics and to conduct a series of regional seminars in Africa, Central and South America, and Southeast Asia.

Series III: United States Army Service consists of a chronology of service, recollections of combat, correspondence, special assignments, and official records.

Statement of Arrangement

The collection is arranged in three series.
Series I: Personal has been retained in original order and is arranged by subject and document type.
Series II: Professional is arranged in two sub-series.
Sub-series A: National Aeronautics and Space Administration has been retained in original order and is arranged alphabetically by subject and document type.
Sub-series B: Solar Energy Consultancy has been retained in original order and is arranged alphabetically by subject and document type.
Series III: United States Army Service has been retained in original order and is arranged alphabetically by document type.

Restrictions on Access

None.

Related Material: Related Material

The researcher should also consult MS 4011 Cleveland Council on Soviet Anti-Semitism Records; MS 4926 Louis Rosenblum Papers; and PG 586 Louis Rosenblum Photographs.


Separated Material: Separated Material

All photographs have been removed to PG 586 Louis Rosenblum Photographs.


Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

Subjects:

Beth Israel - The West Temple (Cleveland, Ohio)
Cleveland Council on Soviet Anti-Semitism.
Hebrew language.
Jews -- Education -- Ohio -- Cleveland.
Jews, Soviet -- Emigration and immigration.
Jews, Soviet -- Ohio -- Cleveland.
Lewis Research Center
Oscher family
Rosenberg family
Rosenblum family
Rosenblum, Louis, 1923-
Sandler family
Solar energy
Solar energy -- Research -- United States
United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Preferred Citation

[Container ___, Folder ___ ] MS 5156 Louis Rosenblum Papers, Series II, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio

Acquisition Information

Gifts of Louis Rosenblum in 2010 and 2012.

Processing Information

Processed by Sean Martin and Louis Rosenblum in 2012.


Detailed Description of The Collection



Series I: Personal, 1923-2012

Box 1 / Folder 1
Certificate of birth, 1923




Box 1 / Folder 2
Correspondence, 1938-1958




Box 1 / Folder 3
Correspondence, 1965




Box 1 / Folder 4
Correspondence, 1985-1988




Box 1 / Folder 5
Correspondence, 1989-1992




Box 1 / Folder 6
Correspondence, 1993-2000




Box 1 / Folder 7
Correspondence, 2001-2005




Box 1 / Folder 8
Correspondence, 2006-2011




Box 1 / Folder 9
Course outline, Beth Israel High School, We Speak for Judaism, 1964-1965




Box 1 / Folder 10
Course outline, Beth Israel High School, Anti-Semitism, 1965




Box 1 / Folder 11
Course outline, Who is a Jewish Hero, 1982




Box 1 / Folder 12
Course outline, Judaism and Christianity, 1984




Box 1 / Folder 13
Education, 1935




Box 1 / Folder 14-68
Compendium of Rosenblum Family Hebrew Books, concise information on books acquired and passed down father-to-son over the course of three generations of forebears: Baruch, b. ca. 1796, Helmecz, Hungary; Yehuda, b. ca. 1834, Ruszkocz, Hungary; Louis, b. ca. 1864, Szobrancz, Hungary, 1783-1904, by Louis Rosenblum, 2012




Box 1 / Folder 69
Booklet, The Rosenblum-Rosenberg Family, 1796-2009, 2009




Box 1 / Folder 70
Rosenblum-Rosenberg family, genealogy and history materials, 1995




Box 1 / Folder 71
Rosenblum Oral History: The Recollections and Reminiscences of Louis Rosenblum and Evelyn Mull Rosenblum recorded by their son Daniel between May 12, 1989 and May 26, 1996, Foreword, 1999




Box 1 / Folder 72
Rosenblum Oral History: The Recollections and Reminiscences of Louis Rosenblum and Evelyn Mull Rosenblum recorded by their son Daniel between May 12, 1989 and May 26, 1996, transcript, Tapes 1-12, 1999




Box 1 / Folder 73
Rosenblum Oral History: The Recollections and Reminiscences of Louis Rosenblum and Evelyn Mull Rosenblum recorded by their son Daniel between May 12, 1989 and May 26, 1996, transcript, Tapes 13-28, 1999




Box 1 / Folder 74
Rosenblum Oral History: The Recollections and Reminiscences of Louis Rosenblum and Evelyn Mull Rosenblum recorded by their son Daniel between May 12, 1989 and May 26, 1996, transcript, Tapes 29-34 and 37-40, 1999




Box 1 / Folder 75
Sandler-Oscher family, genealogy and history, 1861-1968, 1968




Box 1 / Folder 76
Soviet Jewry events, 1999-2007




Box 3
Rosenblum Family Vacation Albums, 1980-2007





Series II: Professional, 1954-1991




Sub-series A: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 1954-1987

Box 1 / Folder 77
Correspondence, 1971-1978




Box 2 / Folder 1-2
Correspondence, 1979




Box 2 / Folder 3-4
Correspondence, 1980-1982




Box 2 / Folder 5-6
Publications, 1954-1980




Box 2 / Folder 7
Scrapbook, retirement, 1981




Box 2 / Folder 8
Solar Energy Projects, 1976-1980




Box 2 / Folder 9
Travel, passports, and notes, 1981-1987







Sub-series B: Solar Energy Consultancy, 1981-1991

Box 2 / Folder 10
Contracts, miscellaneous, 1982-1987




Box 2 / Folder 11-12
Contracts, United States Department of Justice, 1985-1987




Box 2 / Folder 13
Contracts, United States Internal Revenue Service, 1987-1989




Box 2 / Folder 14
Contracts, University of Michigan, 1982-1985




Box 2 / Folder 15
Financial records, 1982-1988




Box 2 / Folder 16
Publications, 1982-1991




Box 2 / Folder 17
Travel, passports, and notes, 1981-1987





Series III: United States Army Service, 1942-2008

Box 2 / Folder 18
Chronology of service, 1942-1946




Box 2 / Folder 19
Combat recollections, 1945




Box 2 / Folder 20-24
Correspondence, 1942-1946




Box 2 / Folder 25
Detachment to 870th AAA AW Battalion, 1945




Box 2 / Folder 26
Detail to Haranomachi, Japan, 1945




Box 2 / Folder 27
Official records, 1942