Jewish Studies: History

Founded in 1947 by Jacob Rader Marcus, the American Jewish Archives is committed to preserving a documentary heritage of the religious, organizational, economic, cultural, personal, social and family life of American Jewry.

Filled with more than a million documents and hundreds of movies and radio shows, the New York-based American Jewish Committee Archives house an extraordinary range of resources on the past century of American Jewish history.

The American Jewish Historical Society is the oldest ethnic historical organization in the U.S. The society collects archival, published, and artifactual sources depicting the religious, communal, cultural, and political life of American Jewry, and how that community has contributed to the wider society.

This organization, foounded by Rabbi Yaakov Horowitz, a fourth-generation Hasidic rabbi, states a mission to preserve and document the unique, rich history of traditional Jewish congregations, individuals, and communities in the United States from Colonial times to the present.

The American Sephardi Foundation at the Center for Jewish History presents programs that bring to the Jewish world the rich heritage, traditions, customs, music and literature of the Sephardic Jews.

A clearinghouse for information about events celebrating 'the achievements of Jews and the Jewish community in America over the last 350 years.' In 1654, a small group of Jews from Brazil landed in New Amsterdam (New York City) seeking refuge from persecution. This site features a timeline of American Jewish history since 1654, a calendar of events celebrating Jewish communities in the United States, and Web resources.

Detailed information about this 'central repository for the cultural and historical legacy of the Jewish people,' a project of five respected research facilities. The Web site has online multimedia catalogs of their libraries and archives, and descriptions (including some images) of the center's exhibits and family history resources. The Center, in New York City, has materials on Ashkenazic or Sephardic resources, Yiddish language, Jewish art, and genealogy.

CAHJP was founded in 1939 to gather historical documentation reflecting the collective past of the Jewish people. Formally established in 1969, it is overseen by the Government of Israel, the Jewish Agency for Israel, the Historical Society of Israel, the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Tel-Aviv University and Bar-Ilan University.

An online collection of Central and Eastern Europe 'pre (and post)-Holocaust family photographs and oral histories,' Assembled by an 'international team of historians, filmmakers, web designers, journalists, educators, photographers and Jewish community activists,' these historical and contemporary materials may be accessed by subject, theme, country, and family. The site also has columns featuring books, travel, and food.

This site has information about Sephardic communities worldwide. It has essays (some with links) on the history and genealogy of the Sephardim and the Judeo-Spanish (Ladino) language and literature. There is also has an online exhibit about the Jewish communities of Greece during the Holocaust of the 1930s and 1940s, biographies of scholars, and information about the foundation and its publications.

This site is a companion to a Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) 9-part series that chronicles the history of the Jews from inception through the biblical period to the 1990s. The site provides program summaries along with related interactive features, maps, documents, and video resources. Also includes a timeline, lesson plans, and links.

The Dinur Center for Research in Jewish History offers a site with over 6,000 staff evaluated links in 30 categories. Users may search by time periods, topics, resources (maps, documents, etc.), or organizations. Tools include indexes in English, Spanish, and Hebrew.

English translation of a description of the expulsion of 1492, written in Hebrew by an Italian Jew in April or May, 1495.

Historical materials from Jewish-Americans of the nineteenth century. Features information on Jews in the Wild West, and the Civil War (including a database "of over 7,000 Jewish-Americans who fought during the war"). Also contains transcripts of articles from the journal The Occident and American Jewish Advocate, and related links. Searchable.

Access to over 200,000 pages of the Jewish News of New Jersey, spanning 70 years.

This nascent site promises to collect the work of European cultural institutions to document the Jewish contribution to the cities of Europe. Judaica Europeana is funded by the European Commission under the eContentplus program, and the lead organization is the London-based European Association for Jewish Culture.

Devoted to the 'community of Jews of Libya.' Includes historical background; photographs; information on food (including recipes), rituals, and street life; images of manuscripts and samples of Judeo-Arabic writings; and testimonies (audio and text). From the University of California, Berkeley.

Established by Grand Duke Cosimo I in 1569, the archive consists of nearly 3 million letters that offer a 'panorama of 200 years of human history, as told in the words of the people most immediately involved.' This developing, searchable project contains Arts & Humanities, including antiquities, art, books, coins, drawings, maps, medicine, music, theater, and more; Jewish History (religion and culture); and the history of Costume and Textiles. Documents in Italian, with English sum

Illustrated essay on the Jewish presence in Greece. Topics include ancient times to the 20th century, the Nazi occupation, and the German, Bulgarian, and Italian occupation zones. By the founder and former director of the Jewish Museum in Greece.

Touro Synagogue, dedicated during Chanukkah in 1762, is the oldest synagogue in the United States and the only one that survives from the colonial era. Touro Synagogue is a national historic site administered by the National Park Service as well as an orthodox congregation following Sephardic ritual. Its web site offers an informative historical timeline.

Dedicated 'to discovering, preserving, and disseminating the history of the Jews of Washington State,' this well-organized site features details about the society including membership information, a publications list, events, and a small photo gallery, plus local, national, and international links. The society's archives, which include many oral history interviews, are housed at the University of Washington.

Created by Jeff Malka, this site includes a list of websites by country, Sephardic surnames, family trees, forms and more.

A research tool for Sephardic Genealogy/Jewish Genealogy, including a Sephardic Names Search Engine.

The first comprehensive website dedicated to Sholem Aleichem [1859-1916], the most popular and iconic Jewish novelist, essayist, and playwright of his generation. With information about his life and legacy.