May is Jewish American Heritage Month
The Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service and United States Holocaust Memorial Museum join in paying tribute to the generations of Jewish Americans who have helped form the fabric of American history, culture and society.
Jewish American Heritage Month—National Archives
The National Archives and Records Administration is proud to observe Jewish American Heritage Month and to recognize Jewish contributions to American culture, history, military, science, government, and more.
(National Archives)
Visit the Site »
Image Credit: A portrait of Albert Einstein by Elin Waite. (National Archives Identifier 6343429)
The National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is pleased to promote awareness of and appreciation for the historical accomplishments of Jewish Americans. We showcase historic properties listed in the National Register and National Park units commemorating the events and people that help illustrate Jewish Americans' contributions to American history. The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation's historic places worthy of preservation and is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America's historic and archeological resources. (National Park Service)
Visit the Site »
Image credit: Historic American Buildings Survey, C. (1933) Beth Sholom Synagogue, Old York & Foxcroft Roads, Elkins Park, Montgomery County, PA. Elkins Park Montgomery County Pennsylvania, 1933. Documentation Compiled After. [Photograph]. Retrieved from the Library of Congress.
The Stations That Spoke Your Language: Radio and the Yiddish American Cultural Renaissance
The American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress presented a free public symposium on The Stations That Spoke Your Language: Radio and the Yiddish American Cultural Renaissance. Leading Yiddish language and culture experts joined media scholars and Library of Congress specialists to address Yiddish radio in America: its history and cultural impact, its continuing influence on American media, and its multifaceted legacy.
Visit the Site »
Image Credit: This WMCA publicity photo shows the following performers (l.-r.): Aaron Rosen, announcer; Leib Glantz, tenor; Harry Elstein, pianist; A. Spette, soprano; and Mark Silver, composer. Spette and Silver are enjoying a cup of the sponsor's product, Beech-Nut Coffee. American Folklife Center Henry Sapoznik Collection (AFC 2010/003). (Reproduced in https://www.loc.gov/folklife/news/pdf/FCNews32_3-4_opt.pdf).
From Haven to Home: 350 Years of Jewish Life in America
From Haven to Home is a Library of Congress online exhibition marking 350 years of Jewish life in America. The 2004 exhibition featured more than two hundred treasures of American Judaica from the collections of the Library of Congress, augmented by a selection of important loans from other cooperating cultural institutions.
Explore the Online Collection »
Image Credit: [Food will win the war - You came here seeking freedom, now you must help to preserve it - Wheat is needed for the allies - waste nothing] / C. E. Chambers. (Library of Congress)
Jewish Veterans of World War II
Fighting Nazi Germany took on special significance for one group of U.S. servicemen in the European Theater. Even those Jewish soldiers and sailors who were serving elsewhere in World War II understood that defeating the Axis would be a defeat for blind hatred of any ethnic group or nationality.
Go the Library of Congress' Veterans History Project »
Image credit: Irving and Lilyan Oblas, 1944.
For Teachers
Put the power of primary sources to work in the classroom. Browse ready-to-use lesson plans, student activities, collection guides and research aids.
Educational Resources »
Image Credit: Jewish refugee children, enroute to Philadelphia aboard liner President Harding, waving at the Statue of Liberty (Library of Congress)
Brought to you by:
