Cornell University Library Digital Collections

Telegraph from Solomon (Shloyme) Mikhoels (Michoels) and ItziK Feffer to Thank Rubin Saltzman

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Title:
Telegraph from Solomon (Shloyme) Mikhoels (Michoels) and ItziK Feffer to Thank Rubin Saltzman
Collection:
International Workers’ Order (IWO) and Jewish People's Fraternal Order (JPFO)
Set:
Culture Front
Exhibit and Collection Highlights
Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee
Visual
World War II Jewish Tanks and Poems
Creator:
Mikhoėls, Solomon Mikhaĭlovich, 1890-1948
Fefer, Itzik, 1900-1952 (Feffer)
Date:
1943-10-18
Site:
France
New York, New York, United States
Identifier:
5276b29f05_14
Recipient:
Zaltsman, R. (Reʾuven) (Rubin Saltzman, Reuben Zaltzman)
Organization:
Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee, Moscow; Jewish Antifascist Committee of the USSR (JAFC)
Transcription:
The word "watchword" is circled
Language:
English
Work Type:
historical figures
telegraphs
fund raising
graphic document genres
logotypes
fund raising
tanks (military vehicles)
political campaigns
world wars
rallies
financial aid
political ideologies and attitudes
Subject:
World War II- War Effort, Fundraising, Red Army
Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee of the USSR (JAFC)- Solomon (Shloyme) Mikhoels, Itzik Feffer
Soviet Union
Committee of Jewish Artists, Writers and Scientists
Jewish Left
Culture Front- Drama, Poetry, Publishing, Yiddish
World War II Holocaust
Wartime Jewish Unity
Intelligentsia
Jewish Lodges
Communism
Description:
2 pages. Mackay Radio Postal Telegraph sent to IWO following Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee of the USSR (JAFC) U.S. fund-raising tour. SOLOMON MICHOELS, ITZIK PEFFER [Usually 'Feffer' or 'Fefer' in English] to Rubin Saltzman. "UPON LEAVING THE UNITED STATES AFTER A VISIT THAT WILL FOREVER REMAIN WITH US AS A MEMORABLE EXPERIENCE. WE WANT TO THANK YOU AGAIN FOR EVERYTHING YOU DID FOR US. THROUGH YOU WE WISH ALSO TO EXPRESS OUR THANKS TO THE OTHER LEADERS OF THE IWO. THROUGH THE EFFORTS OF PEOPLE LIKE YOURSELF WE WERE ABLE TO TALK WITH HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE. BOTH JEWS AND NON JEWS. AND WE TRUST WE HAVE MADE A CONTRIBUTION TO THE UNITY OF THE JEWISH PEOPLE IN THE FIGHT AGAINST HITLERISM. THE JEWISH ANTI- FASCIST COMMITTEE OF THE USSR WHICH SENT US HERE HAS MADE UNITY ITS WATCHWORD, FOR THAT IS THE SUREST BASIS FOR A SPEEDY VICTORY. WE RETURN WITH MANY FIRM FRIENDSHIPS AND WITH THE MEMORIES OF CLOSE PERSONAL ASSOCIATION WITH SO MANY PEOPLE WHO ARE TAKING ACTIVE LEADERSHIP IN THE UNITED WORLD STRUGGLE AGAINST FASCISM SO THAT FREEDOM AND CIVILIZATION MAY SOON TRIUMPH= SOLOMON MICHOELS ITZIK PEFFER."
Note:
Historically important
Note:
The Jewish People’s Fraternal Order was the largest ‘national’ section of the International Workers Order (IWO) which focused on cultural awareness and celebration, mutual support especially in health insurance coverage, and anti-fascist activities. The IWO also gave particular emphasis to supporting the rights and interests of African Americans. Documents include language and representations which comprise the historical record and should not be interpreted to mean that Cornell University or its staff endorse or approve of negative representations or stereotypes presented.
Cite As:
International Workers Order (IWO) Records #5276. Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives, Cornell University Library.
Repository:
Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives, Martin P. Catherwood Library, Cornell University
Archival Collection:
International Workers Order (IWO) Records, 1915-2002 (KCL05276)
Box:
29
Folder:
5
Rights:
The copyright status and copyright owners of most of the images in the International Workers Order (IWO) Records Collection (Kheel Center #5276) are unknown. This material was digitized from physical holdings by Cornell University Library in 2016, with funding from an Arts and Sciences Grant to Jonathan Boyarin. Documents include language and representations which comprise the historical record and should not be interpreted to mean that Cornell University or its staff endorse or approve of negative representations or stereotypes presented. Cornell is providing access to the materials as a digital aggregate under an assertion of fair use for non-commercial educational use. The written permission of any copyright and other rights holders is required for distribution, reproduction, or other use that extends beyond what is authorized by fair use and other statutory exemptions. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item and securing any necessary permissions ultimately rests with persons desiring to use the item. Cornell would like to learn more about items in the collection and to hear from individuals or institutions that have any additional information as to rights holders. Please contact the Kheel Center at kheel_center@cornell.edu

About the collection

This bilingual project conserves, digitizes, and curates a portion of Cornell's International Workers Order (IWO) archives and most especially those of its Jewish division, known as the Jewish People's Fraternal Order (JPFO). The IWO was founded in 1930 as an immigrant fraternal order that provided high-quality, low-cost health and burial insurance and other benefits for members. The origins of the IWO / JPFO arise from a decade of splits (1920-1930) concerning the U.S.S.R., the Bolshevik Revolution and Communism that consumed the Jewish Federation of Socialists and the Arbeter Ring (Workmens' Circle) groups associated with Eugene V. Debs' Socialist Party. While the vast majority of the IWO's members--200,000 at its peak right after World War II--did not belong to the Communist Party of the United States of America, the IWO's politics and leadership were largely aligned with those of the Party. The IWO was legally disbanded in 1953 due to the Cold War "Red Scare." This closure followed on a famous and unprecedented court case: its insurance funds and records were seized by New York State's Insurance Department. The presence of a goodly portion of the IWO's archives in the Kheel Center's 5276 Catherwood Library collection at Cornell's Industrial and Labor Relations (ILR) School is a direct result of that seizure.