Archives

Jewish Historical Society of San Diego Archives

As the repository for the papers of the local Jewish community, the Archives houses both personal and communal materials, which are available to all researchers. Though the collections are comprised of material about the San Diego area, their substance embraces many disciplines, transcending local Jewish history.

Location: Malcolm Love Library, Irving and Sylvia Snyder Reading Room, #363.

Hours: By appointment

Contact Information

Archivist: Bonnie M. Harris
Phone: (619) 594-3399
Email: jsreadroom@projects.sdsu.edu
Archivist alternate contact: (619) 251-7806; bonniesbiz@hotmail.com

Archives Curator: Laurel Schwartz
Phone: (619) 232-5888
Email: laurelschwartz@cox.net
           
The collections are currently owned, processed, maintained by the Jewish Historical Society of San Diego. Plans are underway to house the collections in the Special Collections and University Archives Department of the Library. As this transition takes place over time, the collections list will be updated to reflect the location of the materials.

About the Archives

In 1999, the Jewish Historical Society of San Diego, under the leadership of Stanley and Laurel Schwartz  partnered with the Jewish Studies Program, formerly the Lipinsky Institute for Judaic Studies, directed by Dr. Lawrence Baron. Together they established the Jewish Historical Society of San Diego Archives. The Archives consists of documents, papers, letters, books, photographs, and other materials that people have collected over the years about themselves and their lives here in San Diego. The first and largest collection accessioned, was the personal papers of Rabbi Morton J. Cohn, who was a reform rabbi in San Diego for nearly 40 years from the 1940's-1980's.

The Archives formally opened in 2000, the year of the Society’s 20th Anniversary and the Jewish Studies Program’s 30th Anniversary, with a program celebrating 150 years of San Diego Jewry. Since that time, the number of collections has increased to over fifty, with strengths in women’s and men’s communal organizations, clerical papers, Jewish Community Center and San Diego Jewish newspapers. There are also significant collections of research notes on pioneer Jews.

The materials in the Archives date from the mid-19th century to late 20th century. The 19th century material consists of published and unpublished papers on local Jewish history and copies of primary source material from other institutions. Original materials in the Archives date from the 1930's and into the late 20th century.

The Society accepts both personal and public materials, relating to the Jewish community of San Diego, either in original form or copies.  To donate documents, records, photographs or papers, please contact the curator, Laurel Schwartz, using the contact information listed above.  The Society also welcomes assistance from the community in processing the collections, either in the form of volunteer time or monetary contributions. The Society is a non-profit 501 (c) (3) corporation.

Collections

The Archives of the Jewish Historical Society of San Diego currently houses over 50 collections that are available for viewing by the public. For a description of the contents of each collection listed below, please click on the corresponding accession number.

To search the collections by keyword or alphabetic search and to see images from the collections, click here: http://jhssandiego.pastperfect-online.com/

#1992.01 - Henry Schwartz Collection
#1996.01 - Rabbi Morton J. Cohn Collection
#1998.01 - Morris Showel Collection
#1999.01 - Maury M. Travis Collection
#1999.02 - Anti-Defamation League Collection
#1999.03 - Lipinsky Institute for Judaic Studies Collection
#1999.04 – Western Jewish Studies Association Collection
#2000.01 - Pioneer Jewish Families Collection
#2000.02 - Dr. Seymour Okmin Collection
#2000.03 - Myron Shelley Collection
#2000.04 - Al & Pearl Slayen Collection
#2000.05 - Lasker Lodge Collection
#2000.06 - Henry & Idelle Weissenberg Collection
#2001.01 - Eileen S. Wingard Collection
#2001.02 - Al & Lenore Hutler Collection
#2001.03 - Ralph & Roberta Wagner Berman Collection
#2001.04 - Sydney P. Wiener Collection
#2001.05 - Lillian Altman Collection
#2001.06 - Audrey Karsh Collection
#2001.07 - Ed Naiman Collection
#2001.08 - Mollie Harris Collection
#2002.01 - Paul Schraer Collection
#2002.02 - Audrey Jacobson Kapelus Collection
#2002.03 - Cantor Joseph Cysner Collection
#2003.01 - Lewis Fischbein Collection
#2003.02 - Elias Margolin Collection
#2003.03 - Laverne Fefferman Collection
#2003.04 - Edith Kotler Collection
#2003.05 - Alice H. Paisin Collection
#2003.06 - Allan Douglas Collection
#2003.07 - JHSSD Current Events Collection
#2003.08 - Jewish Heritage Press Collection
#2003.09 - San Diego Jewish Newspapers Collection
#2004.01 - JCC Music Committee - Cantor Henri Goldberg Collection
#2004.02 - Vernon Kahn Collection
#2004.03 - Lou Dunst Collection
#2004.04 - Rabbi Samuel Penner Collection
#2004.05 - Rabbi Wayne Dosick Collection
#2004.06 - Dr. Irene Fine Collection
#2004.07 - Robert Levi Collection
#2005.01 - SDSU Special Collections
#2005.02 - Beth Tefilah Congregation Collection
#2005.03 - Abraham & Ida Nasatir Collection
#2005.04 - Barbara Hurwitz Collection
#2005.05 – Congregation Adat Ami Collection
#2006.01 - Oral History Archives Collection
#2006.02 - Miscellaneous Collection
#2006.03 - Sol Price Collection
#2006.04 - Natalie Witt Morrison Collection
#2006.05 - Arbitrarily Filed Items Collection
#2006.06 - Jolly 16 Collection
#2006.07 - Jewish Family Services of San Diego Collection
#2006.08 - Colonel Irving Salomon Collection
#2007.01 - San Diego Jewish Times Collection
#2007.02 - Cantor Julian K. Miller Collection
#2007.03 – Congregation Temple Judea Collection