Access and Provenance
Biographical Sketch
Scope and Content Note
Box and Folder Listing
Subject Tracings

An Inventory to the

Marie Syrkin Papers

Manuscript Collection No. 615

1915-1989. 4 Linear ft.

ACCESS AND PROVENANCE

The Marie Syrkin Papers were donated by Syrkin's son, David Brodansky, in March, 1993. Property rights are assigned to the American Jewish Archives. All literary rights to material authored by Marie Syrkin are held by the Syrkin heirs. Literary rights to materials authored by others are held by the individual author or his/her heirs. Questions about literary or copyrights should be addressed to the Director of the American Jewish Archives.

The papers are open to all users and available in the reading room of the American Jewish Archives.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH top

Marie Syrkin was born in Berne, Switzerland, March 22, 1899, the daughter of Labor Zionist leader, Nachman Syrkin. She was brought to the U.S at the age of eight and lived in New York City.

While attending Cornell University she met and married Aaron Brodansky. She had two sons, the oldest died in 1924 after she was separated from Brodansky and living in New York City teaching high school English. Syrkin taught in the public schools of New York City for 25 years and wrote her first book, Your School, Your Children (1944), from her experiences there.

In 1930, she married the poet Charles Reznikoff, and in 1934, she helped found and became a major contributor to the Labor Zionist journal, Jewish Frontier. As a journalist, Syrkin edited the Jewish Frontier from 1948-1971, was editor of Herzl Press, and served on the editorial boards of Midstream and Middle East Review. She became well known as a polemicist and advocate for the Zionist cause and Israel. Following World War II, Syrkin went to Germany as a representative of B'nai B'rith Hillel Foundations to find suitable applicants for Hillel scholarships to American universities among survivors of the Holocaust. She traveled to displaced person camps and interviewed numerous survivors. Her book, Blessed Is the Match: The Story of Jewish Resistance (1957), grew out of these experiences and is believed to be the first work in English about Jewish resistance under the Nazis.

Syrkin accepted a position on the faculty of Brandeis University in 1950, teaching humanities and literature, a post she held until she retired in 1966 to became Professor Emeritus. In the 1960's, she served on the World Zionist Executive as the American representative for the Labor Party, and as honorary president of the Labor Zionist movement in the United States. Syrkin was a lifelong friend and confidante of Israel's Prime Minister, Golda Meir, and published her biography, Golda Meir: Israel's Leader in 1969.

Throughout the 1970's and 1980's, Syrkin continued to publish articles and book reviews on various political and cultural subjects. She was also in demand as a public speaker. After the death of Reznikoff in 1976, she moved from New York City to Santa Monica, California. In 1979, she published a volume of her poetry, Gleanings: A Diary in Verse, and in 1980, a book about Israel, The State of the Jews. Marie Syrkin died on February 1, 1989 at the age of eighty-nine.

SCOPE AND CONTENT top

The Marie Syrkin Papers (1915-1989) consist of correspondence and Syrkin's literary efforts including poetry, a diary, translations, and journal articles. Additional materials include lecture notes and class syllabi from her teaching at Brandeis University, and materials relating to her work with displaced persons in German refugee camps immediately following World War II. The collection is divided into eight series as follows:

A. CORRESPONDENCE
B. DIARY
C. POETRY
D. ARTICLES AND ADDRESSES
E. TRANSLATIONS
F. CLASS LECTURE NOTES & SYLLABI
G. B'NAI B'RITH HILLEL DISPLACED PERSONS SCHOLARSHIPS
H. MISCELLANEOUS

Series A. CORRESPONDENCE consists mostly of personal correspondence with friends and family. There are letters between Marie and her father, Nachman Syrkin (1919-1924) and letters between Marie and a close girlhood friend, Eugenia Shafran (1917-1926) which give insight into Marie's life and concerns as an adolescent and young woman. Another significant group of letters is from Syrkin to Charles Reznikoff, written while she took temporary residence in Reno, Nevada, awaiting a divorce from her first husband. Syrkin and Reznikoff exchanged letters almost daily for a four month period, February through May, 1930. Reznikoff's letters to Marie are not part of this collection, but were given by Syrkin's heirs to the University of San Diego where they are part of the Charles Reznikoff Papers. Other correspondence in this series includes letters from Golda Meir's assistant and Meir herself concerning Syrkin's biography of Meir, and two short letters from David Ben-Gurion, and letters from Felix Frankfurter, Diana Trilling, Saul Bellow and Allen Ginsberg. Correspondence is arranged by correspondent, then chronologically within each file folder. Span dates for the series are 1917-1988.

Series B. DIARY is a handwritten journal kept by Syrkin from March to May, 1915 when she was 16. In it she relates her feelings and emotions about her future, her work, school, and relationships.

Series C. POETRY consists of manuscript, typescript, and copies of published poems written by Syrkin. The poems span her life from early adolescence to old age, but most are undated. Also included in this series is a file of correspondence and reviews pertaining to her book, Gleanings: A Diary in Verse, published in 1979, and copies of poems by friends, Samuel Roth and Asenath Petrie.

Series D. ARTICLES AND ADDRESSES is the largest series and consists of Syrkin's writings and lectures. The series reflects her interests in politics, culture, and literature, and her position as an advocate and interpreter of Zionism and Israel in the United States. There are copies of published articles, arranged chronologically from 1925-1988, and undated typescript articles and addresses, mostly from the 1960's through the 1980's. There is a separate file with Syrkin's articles published in the Jewish Frontier (1937-1983) arranged chronologically. Additional materials in this series include Syrkin's letters to the editor of various publications, lectures and resources re: Zionism, typescript copies of book reviews, and a special issue of Jewish Frontier dedicated to Syrkin in 1983. Span dates for the entire series are 1925-1989, however, the bulk of material is dated from 1960-1988.

Series E. TRANSLATIONS consists of three undated files of Syrkin's translations of Russian, German, and Yiddish poetry into English.

Series F. CLASS LECTURE NOTES AND SYLLABI comes from Syrkin's tenure on the faculty of Brandeis University teaching humanities and literature from 1950-1966. The files are arranged alphabetically by author and/or course title and consist of outlines of lectures, listings of resource materials, copies of exams and course syllabi.

Series G. B'NAI B'RITH HILLEL DISPLACED PERSONS SCHOLARSHIPS contains materials related to Syrkin's work in German refugee camps following World War II seeking out recipients for Hillel scholarships in American universities. Included is background information, correspondence, applications, notes, writings by displaced person, and a collection of miscellaneous documents and notes pertaining to the Holocaust. Span dates for this series are 1946-1982, with the bulk of material from 1946-1947.

Series H. MISCELLANEOUS includes of a Secretary's book of the Zionist Society of Cornell University (1919), a file of resource materials on conservative Jewish women, a brochure from the Brooklyn Jewish Center Institute of Jewish Studies for Adults, and materials relating to the Peace Now petition signed by Syrkin, and her Golda Meir Award in 1986. Span dates for the series are 1919-1986, with the bulk of items dated after 1965.

BOX AND FOLDER LIST top

Box     Folder          Contents

SERIES A:       CORRESPONDENCE

1       1       Nachman Syrkin to Marie Syrkin                  1919-1924
        2       Nachman Syrkin to Marie Syrkin                  undated (ca. 1919-1924)
        3       Nachman Syrkin to Marie Syrkin (pstcrds)        1919-1921
        4       Marie Syrkin to Nachman Syrkin                  1919-1920
        5       Marie Syrkin to Eugenia Shafran                 1917-1918
        6       Marie Syrkin to Eugenia Shafran                 1919-1926
        7       Marie Syrkin to Eugenia Shafran                 undated (ca. 1917-1920)
        8       Marie Syrkin to Eugenia Shafran                 undated (ca. 1917-1920)
        9       Eugenia Shafran to Marie Syrkin                 1919-1920 
        10      Samuel Roth to Marie Syrkin                     1916-1917
        11      Marie Syrkin to Maurice Samuel                  1917
        12      Maurice Samuel to Marie Syrkin                  1917, 1946-47, 1961
        13      Laura Reding (Reichenthal) to 
                        Marie Syrkin                            1923-1924
        14      Misc. Correspondence                            1915-1924               
        15      Marie Syrkin to Charles Reznikoff               1928-1929
        16      Marie Syrkin to Charles Reznikoff               Feb-Mar 1930
        17      Marie Syrkin to Charles Reznikoff               April-May 1930
        18      Marie Syrkin to Charles Reznikoff               1933
        19      Marie Syrkin to Charles Reznikoff               1936    
2       1       Correspondence from Israel                      1949-1983
        2       Hayon Greenburg to Marie Syrkin                 1937
        3       David Ben-Gurion to Marie Syrkin                1962-1967
        4       Golda Meir to Marie Syrkin                      1966-1969
        5       Irving Howe to Marie Syrkin                     1976-1985
        6       Asenath Petrie to Marie Syrkin                  1980's
        7       Misc. correspondence                            1936-1987
        8       Misc. correspondence                            1987-1988

SERIES B:               DIARY

        9       Marie Syrkin's diary                            1915            

SERIES C:               POETRY

        10      Poetry - Ithaca
        11      Early poetry - mostly adolescent (not for publication)
        12      Light/satarical verse
        13      Poems - juvenile
        14      Poems - love and personal
        15      In Memoriam and other poems
        16      Gleanings: A Diary in Verse (typescript) 
        17      Poems after publication of Gleanings
3       1       Bound volumes of manuscript verse                1979
        2       Poems - typescript
        3       Poems - revised
        4       Poems to be revised
        5       Verse - unfinished and unpublished
        6       Misc. Poems in German  (author unknown)         
        7       Poems by Samuel Roth
        8       Poems by Asenath Petrie
        9       Reviews and correspondence re: Gleanings: A Diary
                        In Verse                                  1979-1980
        10      Marie Syrkin's copy of The Waste Land and
                         Other Poems by T. S. Eliot with 
                         notes in the margins

        SERIES D:               ARTICLES AND ADDRESSES

4       1       Published articles by Syrkin                      1925-1969
        2       Published articles by Syrkin                      1970-1979
        3       Published articles by Syrkin                      1980-1988
        4       Published articles by Syrkin                      Undated
        5       Articles in  Jewish Frontier by Syrkin            1937-1983
        6       Articles and response re: feminism                1985
5       1       Typescript articles and addresses                 1960's-1980's
        2       Typescript articles and addresses                 1960's-1980's
        3       Typescript articles and addresses                 1960's-1980's
        4       Typescript articles - current and recent          1988-1989
        5       Typescript book reviews                           1960's-1980's   
6       1       Lectures and articles re: Zionism                 n.d.
        2       Lectures and articles re: Zionism                 n.d.
        3       Zionism (resources)                               n.d.                    
        4       Editing of Golda Meir's speeches                  1966-1971
        5       Biblio Press                                      1988
        6       Letters to the editor                             1966-1983
        7       Golda Meir play                                   1976-1977
        8       Issue of Jewish Frontier                          Sept/Oct 1942
        9       Tribute to Syrkin issue of Jewish Frontier        Jan/Feb 1983    

SERIES E:       TRANSLATIONS

        10      Verse
        11      Ghetto Poetry
        12      Russian Poet, Aliger (?)

SERIES F:       CLASS LECTURE NOTES AND SYLLABI

7       1       American Jewish literature
        2       American Jewish novel
        3       Cervantes
        4       Chaucer
        5       Dante
        6       Dickens
        7       English 1
        8       English 10
        9       Dreiser
        10      Dostoyevsky
        11      Faulkner
        12      Faust
        13      Flaubert
        14      Hebrew literature
        15      Hemingway
        16      Heroic Age - Greece
        17      Homer
        18      Humanities 1
8       1       Jesus
        2       Jewish image in American literature
        3       Jewish literature
        4       Jews of Malta/Merchant of Venice
        5       Misc. literature notes
        6       Odyssey
        7       Poetry
        8       Plato
        9       Romantics
        10      Salinger/Bellow/Malamud
        11      Shakespere
        12      Swift
        13      Tolstoy
        14      20th century American literature
        15      20th century literature
        16      Wharton
        17      Victorians
        18      Voltaire/Rousseau
        19      Wolfe/DosPassos/Steinbeck

SERIES G:       HILLEL DISPLACED PERSONS  SCHOLARSHIPS

9       1       Hillel DP camp scholarships: background         1965, 1982
        2       Hillel Foundation                               1945-1947
        3       Rabbi Phillip S. Bernstein (correspondence)     1946
        4       Hillel students                                 1946-1947
        5       Hillel students                                 1947
        6       Writings of displaced persons (German / Hebrew) 1946-1947
        7       Syrkin's notes on DP camps and students         1946-1947
        8       Children: conditions and rehabilitation         1946-1947
        9       Zibbutz (Zionist Youth)                         1946
        10      Holocaust: documents and notes                  1934-1961

SERIES H:       MISCELLANEOUS

10      1       Secty's book of Zionist Society of Cornell Unv. 1919
        2       Trancred (notes and articles)
        3       Conservative Jewish Women                       1970's
        4       Jewish Agency                                   1965-1971
        5       Brooklyn Jewish Center Institute of Jewish
                Studies for Adults                              1940-1941
        6       Peace Now petition                              1980
        7       Golda Meir Award                                1986
        8       Odds and ends of interest (notes and quotations)

SUBJECT TRACINGS top

Note:   This list represents a selective guide to the significant subjects 
and correspondents dealt with in the MARIE SYRKIN PAPERS.  References 
are to boxes and folders, i.e.  1/7 = Box 1, Folder 7.  This list must be
used in conjunction with the Box and Folder List in the inventory.


Ben-Gurion, David               2/3.
Displaced persons               9/4-7.
Feminism                        4/6.
Holocaust                       4/2-6, 9/10.
Howe, Irving                    2/5.
Israel                          4/1-5
Jewish Frontier                 4/5
Meir, Golda                     2/1,2/4, 6/4, 6/7.
Reznikoff, Charles              1/15-19.
Syrkin, Marie                   6/9
Syrkin, Nachman                 1/1-3
Zionism                         4/1-5, 6/1-3

top