Cornell University Library Digital Collections

Letter from Henri Sloves to Rubin Saltzman, November 11, 1937

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Title:
Letter from Henri Sloves to Rubin Saltzman, November 11, 1937
Collection:
International Workers’ Order (IWO) and Jewish People's Fraternal Order (JPFO)
Set:
Culture Front
Poland
Popular Front Years
Creator:
Slovès, Henri (Chaim)
Creator (Yiddish):
סלאוועס, ח
Date:
1937-11-11
Site:
Paris, Ville de Paris, Département de, Île-de-France, France
New York, New York, United States
Address (Creator):
Union de la Culture Juive, 84 Rue Beaubourg, Paris 3, France
Identifier:
5276b53f07_02a
Recipient:
Zaltsman, R. (Reʾuven) (Rubin Saltzman, Reuben Zaltzman)
Organization:
IKUF/YKUF, Alveltlekher Yiddishn Kultur Farband
Language:
Yiddish
Work Type:
historical figures
authors
conferences
correspondence
intellectuals
Yiddish (language)
international organizations
political ideologies and attitudes
letterheads
communism
Subject:
Intelligentsia
Culture Front- Publishing, Yiddish, Literature, Poetry, Drama
Popular Front
France
Jewish Left
Nazism and Fascism
Political
Fellow Travellers
Communism
Description:
2 pages. Translated Summary: Letter to Rubin Saltzman November 11 from Henri Slovès, concerning the founding conference of the Alveltiker Yiddish Culture Congress YKUF [IKUF]. Begins, "Yesterday we shipped three cases of the report of the Congress meeting." Discusses the difficulties and expense of shipping them as baggage [the 'report' is in the form of a 400-page book]. Describes the workings of the office in Paris, and the need for more financial support. Reminds Saltzman that at the meeting it was decided that at least half of the yearly contribution was to be sent by the end of November. Handwritten note at bottom reads, "I'm writing about this also to Chaver Sultan." The Parisian organizing committee headed by Slovès, Comité D'Organisation du Congrès Mondial de la Culture Juive, is located at 55 Rue du Faubourg Montmartre, Paris (9eme). Notes: The national committee of the IKUF/YKUF (Alveltlekher Yidisher Kultur-Farband or World Jewish Culture Association) in America: Kalmen (Kalman) Marmor (Mermer), Zishe Weinper, Paul (Pesach) Novick, Nachman Meisel, Rubin Saltzman, Itche Goldberg, Rabbi Avrom Bik (Abraham Bick), Raphael Mahler, Kleinberg, (B.Z.) Goldberg (Benjamin Waife, Sholem Aleichem’s son-in-law), Moishe Katz, Ahron Gudelman (Aaron Gidelman).
Note:
Disambiguation: this is not the Congress for Jewish Culture. Folder of letters in Yiddish from Paris, New York, and Poland on the founding of IKUF/YKUF.
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.
Relationships:
22377608
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:
53
Folder:
07
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.