Finding aid for the Achieving Cleveland Jewish Women Oral History Collection

History of the Achieving Cleveland Jewish Women Oral History Collection

In 2001, following the deaths of several women leaders in the Jewish community, a group of volunteers active in the Jewish community met to discuss a means to preserve the biographies of women who were, or had been, leaders in the Cleveland Jewish community. The group was led by Sally H. Wertheim, the first elected female president of the Jewish Community Federation. The group decided to preserve firsthand accounts of the lives of a select group of twenty-five women who were sixty-five or older. The women conducting the interviews and selecting the candidates had also held leadership positions in the Jewish community. They were assisted in their task by Sherrie Simon whose business LifeLines: Turning Lives into Legacies is a service that publishes oral histories. The Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland funded the transcription of the interviews.

click here to view the Encyclopedia of Cleveland entry for the Jewish Community Federation

Scope and Content

The Achieving Cleveland Jewish Women Oral History Collection, 2001-2002, consists primarily of oral history transcripts that were conducted in 2001 and 2002. In addition to the transcripts, some of the folders contain resumes, newspaper clippings, a photograph of the interviewee, and, in a few cases, their obituaries.

The collection is of value to researchers studying the lives of twentieth century Jewish women in Cleveland, Ohio, and surrounding suburbs who engaged in both volunteer and paid positions outside of the home. The emphasis in these interviews was on family relationships, parental influence, and level of education, as well as religious beliefs. Researchers who are looking at the structure of Jewish families would be especially interested in the findings that showed the special relationships that fathers had with their daughters and how this relationship influenced the daughter's desire to become active in the community. Those who are looking at the influence of religious belief on the future lives of women would also find the data of interest. While these women are Jewish women, many of them were, and are, active in the general community. The interviews would be useful to anyone researching the lives of women, providing information on patterns in the family life of women and the relationship of these patterns to future paid and volunteer work.

Statement of Arrangement

Restrictions on Access

None.

Indexing Terms

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

Subjects:

Preferred Citation

[Container ___, Folder ___ ] MS 4961 Achieving Cleveland Jewish Women Oral History Collection, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio

Processing Information

Processed by Rita S. Saslaw in 2008.

Detailed Description of The Collection