The LILY H. MONTAGU PAPERS were donated to the American Jewish Archives by the West London Liberal Synagogue, London, England. The materials were received by the Archives in 1985. All literary rights to materials authored by Lily H. Montagu are held by her heirs. Literary rights to materials authored by others are held by the individual author or his/her heirs. Questions concerning rights should be addressed to the Director of the American Jewish Archives.

Lily was educated at a private school by tutors and was raised in a strict Orthodox home. But by age fifteen she had discovered that the Orthodox faith did not agree with her personal interpretation of Jewish teaching. At seventeen she and her sister Marian began to run evening classes for working girls and began Sabbath services for children. She was nineteen when she founded, with her cousin Beatrice, the West Central Club, an educational club for working girls. The club developed into the West Central Jewish Day Settlement with Lily remaining director into the 1960s.

When Lily was 25 years old she was influenced by the writings of the Jewish scholar, Dr. Claude Montefiore. She became a pioneer in the cause of Liberal Judaism and joined the small group, including Montefiore, that established Liberal Judaism in England. In 1902 she was one of the founders of the Jewish Religious Union, which led to a separate religious movement represented by the Liberal Jewish Synagogue.

The first rabbi of the Liberal Jewish Synagogue, Israel I. Mattuck, espoused the radical Reform Judaism then popular in the United States. Lily agreed with that viewpoint and supported Rabbi Mattuck. She was a regular preacher at services of the Liberal Jewish Synagogue and also ministered to affiliated synagogues. She had her own congregation, the West Central Jewish Congregation. She officiated there every week and preached regularly. In her zeal to promote Liberal Judaism, Lily became the first Jewish woman to serve as a lay minister, giving her first sermon in 1918.

Lily created the Union of Liberal and Progressive Synagogues and in 1926 when the movement became world-wide it was renamed "The World Union for Progressive Judaism." Its headquarters were in her home and she was its honorary secretary until her death.

During her life, Lily was a pioneer of the Youth Club Movement, founder of the National Organization of Girls' Clubs, and she was one of the first women in England to become a magistrate. She fought for decent conditions in sweat shops and helped open the way for the appointment of factory inspectors. During the Hitler regime she helped refugees to escape Europe by securing entry permits.

During her lifetime Lily wrote numerous letters, articles, pamphlets and published fourteen books, most on religious subjects, but also three novels.

The LILY H. MONTAGU PAPERS describe the career of Lily H. Montagu as lay minister and social worker, and co-founder of the World Union for Progressive Judaism. The collection includes sermons and addresses, German writings, Religious Home Worship curriculum and short stories. The collection has been arranged into four series:

A. SERMONS AND ADDRESSES

B. GERMAN WRITINGS

C. JEWISH RELIGIOUS UNION HOME WORSHIP CURRICILUM

D. SHORT STORIES

SERIES B. GERMAN WRITINGS consists of one folder containing speeches or articles in German language. The subjects of the writings concern Liberal Judaism. The materials are dated 1928-1932.

SERIES C. JEWISH RELIGIOUS UNION [HOME WORSHIP CURRICULUM] consists of 1/2 hollinger box (.2 ft.) of a four year series of Liberal Jewish services designed for worship in the home. The materials are undated.