The Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland (f. 1903) evolved out of The Federation of the Jewish Charities of Cleveland which was established in November 1903. It was the fourth such organization to be established in the United States for the purpose of centralizing fundraising and thus more effectively meeting the social service needs of the Jewish community. The earliest leaders of The Federation of the Jewish Charities of Cleveland were merchants, manufacturers, and professionals who were typically Reform Jews who descended from German and Hungarian families who had immigrated to the United States in the mid-19th century. In 1926, in response to the large influx of the typically working-class, often Orthodox, East European immigrants which began during the last two decades of the 19th century, the first Orthodox service institutions were funded by the Federation. Also in 1926, The Federation of the Jewish Charities of Cleveland changed its name to The Jewish Welfare Federation of Cleveland to reflect its interest in serving as an agent for community cohesiveness and meeting a broader range of the Jewish community's needs. In addition to assisting those with health and family problems, recreation and Jewish education were seen as worthy of support. In 1930 The Jewish Welfare Fund of Cleveland was established to serve as the fundraising arm of The Jewish Welfare Federation to supplement the funds allotted by the Cleveland Community Fund and to raise money for those causes that were not covered by the Cleveland Community Fund, e.g., Jewish education and national and international Jewish needs. The Jewish Welfare Federation of Cleveland became, in 1932, one of the founding members of the Council of Jewish Federations and Welfare Funds, Inc. In 1935, The Jewish Welfare Federation was instrumental in establishing The Jewish Community Council of Cleveland, an organization whose goals included giving more segments of the Jewish community a greater voice and addressing a greater variety of issues of concern to the Jewish community. Among the activities of the Jewish Community Council were the establishment of (1) a Community Relations Committee to provide a unified voice for the Jewish community in the community-at-large, including a considered response to anti-Semitism, and (2) a Conciliation and Arbitration Board, to work towards harmony within the Jewish community itself, a (3) a Kashruth Board to supervise the selling of kosher food, and (4) a Cultural Department to assist member groups with programming and to provide joint cultural programs including Yiddish theater and Jewish music events. In 1951, the Council and the Federation merged their functions to form The Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland. In 1965, the Federation erected a new office building at East 18th Street and Euclid Avenue in downtown Cleveland. In 2011, the Federation changed its name to the Jewish Federation of Cleveland and moved its headquarters to Beachwood, Ohio.
The Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland Records, 1839-1982 (1901-1979), consist of correspondence, trustee and committee minutes and reports, annual reports, surveys, newspaper clippings, publications, research papers, and scrapbooks.
This collection is of value to researchers interested in wide-range of topics within American and Cleveland social welfare history as well as within Jewish history (on the local, national, and international levels). In addition, researchers interested in major topics within American history such as immigration, the Great Depression, and World War II and their effects upon a specific ethnic group will find significant documentation. As a consequence of numerous surveys, the collection is rich in quantitative data. Materials concerning World War II are located in Series II and Series IV. Series II includes records of Jewish participants in the war and a study of the families of Jewish servicepersons (filed under the heading World War II), while materials concerning the resettlement of World War II refugees, and the effects of World War II upon social welfare needs and services are filed under Jewish Family Service Association. Series IV includes materials relating to a League for Human Rights "Rumor Roundup" column published in the Plain Dealer, 1942-1943, clippings about Germany and Nazis that were published in Cleveland newspapers between 1935 and 1938, and clippings pertaining to Jews who served in the war. Extensive materials concerning the Cleveland Jewish community's health needs are located in Series II and Series III. Of particular note in Series II are documents from 1912 and 1913 concerning the need for a Jewish hospital in Cleveland (filed under Mt. Sinai), records pertaining to the Jewish Dispensary Association, 1914-1916, and a 1945 report, 'Study of the Professional Standards of Child Care at the Orthodox Jewish Orphan's Home", (filed under Orphanages). In Series III, the subject heading "Health" incorporates such concerns as drug problems, Mt. Sinai hospital, and older persons, while other health-related materials in this series are located in the files of the Social Agency Committee. Materials concerning the activities of The Jewish Community Council are included in Series II as well as in Series IV. Series IV materials, covering the period 1935-1942, include clippings pertaining to a trip to Washington by a delegation seeking action against Polish pogroms, protests against Nazi demonstrations in Cleveland, and a defense of Rabbi Barnett Brickner against a Catholic Universe Bulletin attack upon his position concerning religion in the schools. Of particular note in Series II is a 1949 thesis concerning the formation and first six years (1934-1940) of The Jewish Community Council. Quantitative surveys are located principally in Series II. Reports from a variety of studies conducted between 1920 and 1980 are filed under the heading, Population Studies. Included among these are "Jewish Population Study of Greater Cleveland, 1925-1926", "Study of Jewish School Population in Cleveland, 1934", and "Older Persons in the Cleveland Jewish Community, 1979". Among other headings in Series II that include survey data are Cleveland, Collinwood; Education (Jewish); and Orphanages, Jewish Orphan Asylum/Home.
The collection is arranged in four series. The researcher should be aware that material on a particular topic is likely to be located in more than one series and, within a series, under more than one heading.
With one exception, all photographs have been removed to the photographic collections. Photographs of events commemorating the 75th anniversary of Jewish Community Federation (e.g., meetings, performances, and exhibits) are maintained in a scrapbook with related materials in Container 54.
The researcher should also consult the register of MS 4563A for materials of a confidential nature that have been removed from this collection. Access to these materials is restricted. Consult the WRHS Curator of Manuscripts for details regarding access restrictions to MS 4563A.
Processed by Nancy F. Schwartz in 1991.
None.
[Container ___, Folder ___ ] MS 4563 Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland Records, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio
Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland, 1976, 1981, 1985, 1986, 1987, and 1988.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.