Jacob Rader Marcus Papers

Manuscript Collection No. 210

1910-1986. 8.0 Linear ft.

ACCESS AND PROVENANCE
The JACOB RADER MARCUS PAPERS were donated to the American Jewish Archives by Dr. Marcus who, by the act of donating the Papers, assigned the property rights to the American Jewish Archives. All literary rights to materials are held by individual authors or his/her heirs. Questions concerning rights should be addressed to the Director of the Archives.
The JACOB RADER MARCUS PAPERS are open to all users and available in the reading room of the American Jewish Archives.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH top
Jacob Rader Marcus, historian, educator, rabbi, and founder of the American Jewish Archives was born near Connellsville, Pennsylvania on March 5, 1896. At an early age, ca. 1903, the Marcus family moved to Wheeling, West Virginia. At the age of 15,while attending the University of Cincinnati and Hebrew Union College. Marcus received his B.A. degree from the University of Cincinnati in 1917. After receiving his B.A. degree, Marcus served in the U.S. Army. In June 1920, a year after his return from the army, Marcus was ordained a rabbi and was appointed to the faculty of Hebrew Union College. He went to Germany to study at the University of Berlin in 1923 and received his Ph.D. in 1925, magna cum laude. He returned to Cincinnati in 1926 and continued teaching at the Hebrew Union College. He taught courses in the Bible and modern history.
In 1926 Marcus began to publish primarily in the area of German-Jewish history. Two books were especially noteworthy: The Rise and Destiny of the German Jew (1934) and Communal Sick-Care in the German Ghetto (1947). In 1938 he published The Jew in the Medieval World, the first source book in English on medieval Jewish history, still used as a text for college courses nearly six decades after its first publication. In 1942, Marcus taught the first course ever to be given in any university in American Jewish history.
In 1947, in the aftermath of World War II, Marcus established the American Jewish Archives on the campus of the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. He recognized the need to preserve congregational records and documents relating to American Jewish communal life. The American Jewish Archives, under the direction of Jacob R. Marcus has grown to be one of the largest archives in the world devoted to the history of the Western Hemispheric Jewish experience.
For over half a century, Jacob Rader Marcus was a commanding figure among historians of the American Jewish experience. No one was as thorough a researcher, no one produced such readable narratives, no one published as many books and scholarly articles, no one pursued with such singularity of purpose the systematic archival collection of the 350-year experience of Jews in the New World.
In 1970 Marcus published a three-volume history, The Colonial American Jew and later, a four-volume study United States Jewry, 1776-1984 (1989-1993). Both represent a level of historical research and scholarship that will most probably never be equalled.
In all, Jacob Rader Marcus wrote or edited nearly 30 volumes on European and American Jewish history and well over 250 scholarly articles. In 1959 he was appointed to the Milton and Hattie Kutz Distinguished Service Chair in American Jewish History at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion which he occupied until the time of his death. He was the director of the American Jewish Archives. He was a past president of the American Jewish Historical Society and a former trustee of the Jewish Publication Society. In addition, he was president and then honorary president of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, the rabbinic organization of Reform Judaism. He also was the recipient of eight honorary degrees and two Festschriften, and he was a 50-year member of the AHA.
In 1987, the City of Cincinnati commemorated his 50 years at the same address by naming the corner on which he lived the Jacob Rader Marcus Square.
In 1925, he married Antoinette Brody from New York who was studying voice in Berlin. They were married in Paris on December 31. She died in 1953. They had one daughter, Merle Judith, who also preceded him in death in 1965. Jacob Rader Marcus died on November 14, 1995 at the age of 99 years.
SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE top
The JACOB RADER MARCUS PAPERS (1910-1979) reflect the life and career of Jacob Rader Marcus, rabbi, educator, historian, and founder of the American Jewish Archives. The papers include correspondence, diaries, journals, class and lecture notes, writings, minutes, reports, and other papers pertaining to Dr. Marcus' various interests and activities. Included are notes on the genealogy of the Marcus family and materials relating to Jewish history, the American Jewish Archives, the American Jewish Historical Society, Central Conference of American Rabbis, and Hebrew Union College-Jewish institute of Religion. The collection falls into six series as follows:

SERIES A: GENERAL FILES

SERIES B: WRITINGS

SERIES C: LECTURE NOTES

SERIES D: CLASS NOTEBOOKS

SERIES E: DIARIES

SERIES F: PERSONAL

The papers in Series A-F comprise Dr. Marcus' personal files. Dr. Marcus also maintained voluminous files of research materials: notes, correspondence, photocopies of primary and secondary materials, drafts, and other working papers pertaining to his research and writing. These papers were transferred to the American Jewish Archives upon his death in 1995, but remain as yet unprocessed.
Series A, General Files, consists primarily of correspondence with individuals and organizations. There is, however, other material in the files including reports, minutes, and working papers. The file marked "family correspondence" contains genealogical information about the Marcus Family as well as correspondence with his father, siblings, and other extended family. The files pertaining to Dr. Marcus' wife, Antoinette Brody Marcus (Nettie), contain clippings, programs, and correspondence dealing with Mrs. Marcus' career as a concert singer. There are also letters of condolence upon her death in 1953. There is much information in this series about Marcus' activities connected to the organizations he was affiliated with such as the American Jewish Historical Society, the Jewish Publication Society, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, the Central Conference of American Rabbis, and the American Jewish Archives. Some notable correspondents include Nelson Glueck, Leo Baeck, Charles Reznikoff, Julian Morgenstern, and Samuel Sandmel. Arrangement within this series is alphabetical by name of the individual or organization, and the span dates are 1912-1979.
Series B, consists of a small sampling of Dr. Marcus writings as well as a selection of sermons and addresses. Most of the material is undated. Series C, Lecture Notes, includes typed and handwritten notes for lectures, mostly pertaining to Jewish history.
Series D, Class Notebooks, consists of the notes Marcus' took while attending classes at the University of Berlin studying for his Ph.D. in the early 1920's. The undated notebooks are all handwritten and most are in German.
Most of the diaries in Series E document Marcus' early years as a student in Cincinnati and Germany, as well as his experiences serving in World War I. There are diaries for the years 1912, 1914, and 1917-1924. Other diaries chronicle his trips abroad including a visit to Germany in 1936 and trips to India and South America (1952) and England (1958). The diaries are both handwritten and typescript and include details about his activities as well as perceptive observations about people, institutions, and ideas.
Series F, Personal, is divided into two sub series. Sub series 1. GENERAL, includes certificates and awards, legal and financial papers, travel records, photographs, and files of congratulatory letters written to Marcus on special occasions. Sub series 2. FAMILY contains letters and other materials pertaining to members of Marcus' immediate and extended family. Of special interest in this series is the personal correspondence between Marcus and his wife, Antoinette (Nettie), written during times when they were apart in the 1920's and 1930's. Span dates for Series F are 1910-1986.
BOX AND FOLDER LIST top
    Box  Folder    Contents

     SERIES A.  GENERAL FILES
                                                                                
     1       1      A, General.
             2      American Jewish Archives 1948-1958.
             3      American Jewish Committee 1944-1953.
             4      American Jewish Historical Society 1931; 1945; 1948-1949.
             5      American Jewish Historical Society 1950-1951. 
             6      American Jewish Historical Society 1952-1953.
             7      American Jewish Historical Society 1956.      
             8      American Jewish Historical Society 1957.                

     2       1      American Jewish Historical Society, Jan.-June, 1958.
             2      American Jewish Historical Society, July-Dec., 1958.
             3      American Jewish Historical Society, 1959.
             4      American Jewish Historical Society, 1960-1962.
             5      American Jewish Historical Society, 1963-1964.
             6      American Jewish Historical Society, 1965-1967.
             7      American Jewish Historical Society, 1968-1969.
             8      American Jewish Historical Society, 1970-1972.
             9      American Jewish Tercentenary Committee, 1950-1954.
            10      American Revolution Bicentennial Committee 1969, 1973.

     3       1      Ba-Be, General.
             2      Baeck, Leo, 1949-1954.
             3      Bi-Bo, General.
             4      B'nai B'rith 1948-1955.
             5      B'nai B'rith [Archives], 1956-1960.
             6      Br-By, General.
             7      C, General.
             8      Central Conference of American Rabbis, 1949-1950.
             9      Central Conference of American Rabbis, 1951-1955.
            10      Central Conference of American Rabbis, 1956-1961.
            11      Central Conference of American Rabbis, 1962-1964; 1975; 1976
            12      Central Conference of American Rabbis [Chaplaincy] 1950-1955.
            13      Central Conference of American Rabbis [Distribution of 
                     Union Prayer book] 1949-1951.

     4       1      Community Relations Committee 1951-1955.
             2      D-E, General.
             3      Fa-Fe, General.     
             4      Fi-Fo, General.
             5      Fierman, Floyd S., 1949-1950.
             6      Fierman, Morton C., 1950-1951.
             7      Fink, Joseph L., 1949-1950.
             8      Fr, General.
             9      Freehof, Solomon B., 1949-1952; 1973.
            10      Friedman, Lee M. 1949-1952.
            11      Fridenberg, Solomon L. 1950-1951.
            12      G, General.
            13      Glueck, Nelson 1952-1970.
            14      H, General.
            15      Hebrew Union College, 1916-1917; 1921; 1931; 1945; 1948-1950.
            16      Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion,
                     1951-1952.

     5       1      Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, 1953-1954.
             2      Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, 1955-1956.
             3      Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, 1957-1959.
             4      Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, 1960-1962.
             5      Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, 1963-1966.
             6      Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, 1971-1979.
             7      Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion [Library],                                                        1947-1953.
             8      I-J, General.
             9      Jacobs, Maurice, 1950-1955.
            10      Jewish Publication Society, 1946-1948.
            11      Jewish Publication Society, 1949.

     6      1      Jewish Publication Society, 1950.
            2      Jewish Publication Society, 1951.
            3      Jewish Publication Society, 1952.
            4      Jewish Publication Society, 1953.
            5      Jewish Publication Society, 1954-1955; 1957.
            6      Jewish Publication Society, 1962-1964.
            7      Jewish Publication Society, 1965-1967.
            8      Jewish Publication Society, 1968-1970.
            9      Jewish Publication Society, 1971-1972, n.d.
           10      K, General.

     7      1      Katz, Irving I. 1949-1951.
            2      Kaufman, Jay, 1949-1954.
            3      Korn, Bertram W. 1949-1953.
            4      Kutz, Hattie, 1956-1960.
            5      Kutz, Hattie, 1961-1965.
            6      L, General.
            7      Lazaron, Morris S., 1916-1925; 1950; 1968.
            8      Lipman, Eugene J. 1949-1954, n.d.
            9      M, General.
           10      Morgenstern, Julian, 1923-1974.

     8       1      N, General.
             2      O, General.
             3      P, General.
             4      R, General.
             5      Reznikoff, Charles, 1950-1954.
             6      Roth, Cecil, 1945-1946; 1950-1953.
             7      Sa-Sc, General.
             8      Sanders, Gilbert 1951-1952.
             9      Sandmel, Samuel, 1949-1950.
            10      Se-Sk, General.
            11      Shulman, Charles E. 1949-1954.
            12      Sl-Sy, General.
            13      T, General.
            14      Training Bureau For Jewish Communal Service, 1948-1949.
            15      U-V, General.
            16      Union of American Hebrew Congregations, 1948-1951,1965.
            17      W, General.
              
     9       1      Weil, Frank L. 1949-1952.
             2      Weitz, Martin M. 1949-1955.
             3      Y-Z, General.
             4      Unidentified Correspondence, 1915-1919; 1923-1976,
                         n.d.

     SERIES B:   WRITINGS

             5      Sermons and Addresses A-H.
             6      Colonial American Jew [Outlines and Notes].
             7      Sermons and Addresses I-N.
             8      Introduction To American Jewish History In the Early Period [Hebrew].
             9      Israel Jacobson, The Founder of the Reform
                         Movement in Judaism [Research Notes].

     10      1      The Love Letters of Bendet Schottlaender [Research Materials] 1930.
             2      "On Love, Marriage, Children...and Death, Too".
             3      Sermons and Addresses P-Z.
             4      Studies in American Jewish History [Galley Proofs] 1969.
             5      Sermons and Addresses Untitled.

     SERIES C:   LECTURE NOTES

             6      Miscellaneous Lecture notes, n.d.
             7      Aschaffenburg.
             8      Bamberg.
             9      Bible [Samuel and Kings].
             10     Biblical History.
             11     Economics.

    11       1      Emancipation - United States.
             2      Hamburg.
             3      Historiography/Methodology.
             4      History VII [Methodology].
             5      History V [Introduction to Jewish History] 1 March 1955.
             6      History V [Periodization] 3 March 1955. 
             7      History V [Jewish organizations and Jewish participation in the American                                                  Revolution] 10 March 1955.
             8      History V [Colonial Jews] 15 March 1955.
             9      History V [German Jews] 22 March 1955.
             10     History V [German Jews] 24 March 1955.
             11     History V [Sources of Jewish history] 25 March 1955.
             12     History V [German Jews] 29 March 1955.
             13     History V [East European Jews] 31 March 1955.
             14     History V [East European Jews] 26 April 1955.
             15     History V [East European Jews] 28 April 1955.
             16     History V [Sources of Jewish history] 11 October 1955.
             17     History V [Introduction to American Jewish History] 12 October 1955.   
             18     History V [Sephardic Jews] 19 October 1955.
             19     History V [Colonial Jews] 26 October 1955.
             20     History V [Colonial Jews] 9 November 1955.
             21     History V [Jewish organizations] 16 November 1955.
             22     History V [East European Jews] 7 December 1955.
             23     History V [Future of American Jews] 24 January 1956.
             24     History V [Americanization and assimilation] 12 May 1956.
             25     History V [Colonial Jews and economics] 26 October 1956.
             26     History V [Colonial Jews] 2 November 1956.
             27     History V [Emerging Jewish community, 1918-1956] 21 December 1956.
             28     History V [Introduction to Jewish History] n.d.

  12         1      Krakauer Judengemeinde .
             2      Modern History [1600-1930].
             3      Modern Jewish History.
             4      Protocols of the Elders of Zion.
             5      Religion.
             6      Runkel, Pinkas [1733-1783].
             7      Quizzes.
             8      Teaching Aids.

     SERIES D:   CLASS NOTEBOOKS

            9       Class Notebooks [Ph.D. Studies].
           10       Class Notebooks [Ph.D. Studies].

   13       1       Class Notebooks [Ph.D. Studies].
            2       Class Notebooks [Ph.D. Studies].
            3       Class Notebooks [Ph.D. Studies].
            4       Class Notebooks [Ph.D. Studies].
            5       Class Notebooks [Ph.D. Studies].

     SERIES E:   DIARIES
 
    14      1       Diary 1912.
            2       Diary 1914.
            3       Diary 1917.
            4       Diary Aug 1917 - Mar 1924.
            5       Diary [European Trip] Aug-Sept, 1936.
            6       Diary 1947; 1956.
            7       Diary [West India and South America Trip] Je-Jl,1952.
            8       Diary [England Trip] Ap-My 1968.

     SERIES F:   PERSONAL

        SUBSERIES 1:    GENERAL
             
    15      1      Certificates and Awards. 1913-1974, n.d.
            2      Clippings.
            3      England Trip. 1968.
            4      European Trip. 1962.
            5      Family Histories and Genealogies. 1920-1974, n.d.
            6      Financial Records. 1952-1961, n.d.
            7      First National Bank. 1959-1964.
            8      Home Fire. 1960.
            9      Insurance. 1955-1965.
            10     Last Will and Testament 1918; 1952-1953; 1959.
            11     Lowenthal, Irene. 1968-1974.
            12     Marcus, Jennie Rader [Letters of Condolence] 1971.

   16       1     Military Records 1917-1919; 1922, n.d.
            2     Miscellaneous 1910-1960, n.d. 
            3     Misc. bulletins and programs 1910-1920
            4     Misc. bulletins and programs 1915-1928     
            5     Misc. correspondence, postcards, telegrams 1926-1932
            6     New York Trips, 1948-1960, n.d.
            7     Personal Accidents [JRM and Merle Marcus] 1955-1958
            8     Philadelphia Trips 1946-1949, n.d.
                
   17       1     Photographs.
            2     Post Card Collection, 1911-1915.
            3     70th Birthday [Congratulations] 1966.
            4     50th Anniversary in Rabbinate [Congratulations] 1970.
            5     50th Anniversary in Rabbinate [Congratulations] 1970.
            6     75th Birthday [Congratulations] 1971.

   18       1     80th Birthday [Congratulations] 1976.
            2     80th Birthday [Congratulations] 1976.
            3     90th Birthday {Congratulations} 1986.

SUBSERIES 2:    FAMILY

            4     Brody, Rose [Estate] 1930-1951; 1956-1961.
                    
   19       1     Marcus, Antoinette Brody. [clippings] 1925-1953.
            2     Marcus, Antoinette Brody. 1922-1954; 1963, n.d.                     
            3     Marcus, Antoinette Brody to Jacob Marcus. July-Aug, 1924.
            4     Marcus, Antoinette Brody to Jacob Marcus. April-May, 1927.                                                  5     Marcus, Antoinette Brody to Jacob Marcus. June, 1927.      
            6     Marcus, Antoinette Brody to Jacob Marcus. July-Sept, 1927.
            7     Marcus Family Correspondence. 1912-1919; 1949-1951; 1961-1965, n.d.
            8     Marcus, Jacob to Antoinette Brody Marcus. 1924-1932.
            9     Marcus, Jacob to Antoinette Brody Marcus. July-Aug, 1932. 
            10    Marcus, Merle. 1929; 1942; 1947, n.d.