metro >> on the cover

.. kr Loroal Hisl•ory!

Once completed, JN Foundation archives to span 100 years.

Sy Monello I Editorial Assistant

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Soon, those archives will reach even
further back in history.
The Foundation's board, in its May
14 meeting, made plans to move for-
ward with the digitization of the entire
contents of the Detroit Jewish Chronicle,
which dated from 1914-1951. When
upload of the Chronicle is completed in
mid-2015, the DIN archive will provide
more than 100 years of continuous —
free and searchable — content about the
community and the thousands of fami-
lies that shaped it.
The IN and the Chronicle publications
overlapped for nine years. However, in
1951, the JN purchased the assets and
content of the Chronicle, which now
will open the door for this preservation
extended project. It will add two to three
more generations of information to the
easy-to-use database.
The Metro Detroit Jewish community
was at the hub of 20th-century Jewish
history. This increased link to Jewish
Detroit will allow users to tap into the
wisdom of previous generations as never
before. This can, and will, lead to discus-
sions, panels and symposia that will ben-
efit the Jewish community by increas-
ing awareness of its collective past and
permitting the application of historical
information to current events.
The complete issues of the Chronicle
are available from several sources in a
microfilm version. The primary local
source is the Leo Franklin Archives
housed at Temple Beth El in Bloomfield
Township.
"The Detroit Jewish News Foundation,
with continuing support from generous
and caring donors, is pleased to provide
this timeless trove of previously unavail-
able information — the DNA of the
community," said Arthur Horwitz, pub-
lisher and executive editor of the Detroit
Jewish News and founder of the DJN
Foundation.

A Community Treasure

Never has genealogical research been of
such keen interest as it is today. Since its
launch Nov. 18, 2013, the Jewish News'
digital archive has been reviving memo-
ries of community members from tidbits
such as births to in-depth stories of
Shoah survivors.

12 June 12 • 2014

Jr'

"I've been using the DJN archives since
they came out — mostly to learn about
my relatives, but also to learn more
about the Metro Detroit
Jewish community,"
said Rabbi Jason Miller.
"Sometimes I like to
just scan through the
back issues from the
'70s and '80s (when I
was a kid) to see the
type of ads businesses
Rabbi Jason
took out. It's also fun
Miller
to look at my friends'
birth announcements
and bar mitzvah announcements."
Miller also uses the archives for
research. "I write about technology a
lot, and I've used the search function to
locate articles from the past few decades
about how local people have responded
to technology advances;' he said. "For
instance, I've checked to see when adver-
tisers began listing a fax number in their
ads or a mobile number:'
Since its inception, the site has wel-
comed 10,000 visitors accessing almost
30,000 pages of content. The archives
appeal to all ages: 22 percent of visitors
are under age 40; those ages 40 to 59
make up 34 percent of users; and those
older than 60 make up 44 percent.

Looking To The Past
Among the most frequent "hits" are
population studies of a shifting demo-
graphic, Holocaust history, the evolution
of the State of Israel and family histories.
Ken Waltzer, executive director of the
Jewish Studies program at Michigan
State University, is also a historian inter-
ested in the history
of Detroit Jewry and
Michigan Jewry.
"I welcome the
expansion of the Detroit
Jewish News Foundation
archive. Since 1942, the
DIN has been the paper
Ken Waltzer
of record about Detroit
Jewry," he said. "Self-
defense efforts against
anti-Semitism at home and Jewish con-
tributions to the war effort, Jewish con-
cern about Jewish public affairs abroad,
whether the European catastrophe and
its aftermath or the rise of a Jewish State

of Israel, the ongoing progress of sub-
urbanization and Americanization over
the years, Jewish contributions to the
civil rights movement and to a liberal
version of Detroit revitalization, issues
of demography and of changing forms of
worship — information about all can be
found in the Detroit Jewish News:'
The archives have proven integral to
Waltzer's work. When he wanted to test
the response of Detroit-area Jews to
the Nazi Holocaust abroad, he drew on
the Detroit Jewish News, on synagogue
records and on records of the Detroit
Jewish Community Action Council.
When he wanted to follow the
response of Detroit Jews to the forma-
tion of the State of Israel, he checked the
Detroit Jewish News and its coverage.
"I learned about the rally for Israel on
May 24, 1948, where 25,000 participants
celebrated the new state — the largest
ever such rally in the city;' he said.
He also checked the archives when
he wanted to assess the response of
Detroit Jews to the emergency of 1967.
"I discovered how strongly Detroit Jewry
responded to the need. 'In Detroit, a
total of $1.25 million in Israel bonds was
sold following an emergency pro-Israel
rally. The figure was expected to reach
$2 million, I read:'
The archives also make it easy to trace
a family tree whose roots are in Metro
Detroit. Just ask Ben Falik, manager of
Detroit Service Initiatives for Repair the
World. His in-laws' 50th anniversary was
approaching around the time the archive
came online.
"I thought I'd poke around and, after
a few minutes of searching, found an
article about the celebration of my
father-in-law's parents'
50th anniversary, during
which they renewed the
vows they made at their
wedding in Russia in
1907;' Falik said.
"After that, I couldn't
tear myself away. Just as
compelling as the arti-
Ben Falik
cles and announcements
were the adjacent ads.
By the time I was done,
I had a book of 70 pages of IN appear-
ances spanning five generations:'
Falik created a hardcover keepsake

book as a gift. Books are available at the
Foundation website for an affordable
price.
More than anything, it seems, people
in the community use the archives just
to take a break from the present by step-
ping into the past.
"It's rivaling Facebook as the biggest
place to get lost online;' said Federation
CEO Scott Kaufman. "I hear more and
more about people getting on it, and they
look at their watches
and it's suddenly two
hours later. They looked
for one thing and find
10 other things.
"We're a community
with a very rich history
that's not particularly
accessible;' he added.
Scott
"One of the unique
Kaufman
things about Detroit is
the connectivity from
generation to generation and the love of
nostalgia — and now it's accessible to
everybody. People love nostalgia. I am
nostalgic for things in my parents' child-
hood. This brings it to all to life:'
Free access is available through www.
djnfoundation.org . It's fast and easy to
get started.

Guiding Hands

The DIN Foundation's vision and work
recently received an important boost
from the Applebaum Family Compass
Fund, which awarded a three-year grant
to help provide operational stability as
the foundation transitions from start-
up mode and into a permanent part of
the community's Jewish infrastructure.
The Applebaums also hope the grant
stimulates additional contributions to
the DIN Foundation. Currently, the DIN
Foundation has received support from
more than 500 families and foundations.
The Applebaum family has been
among the earliest
encouragers and sup-
porters of the DIN
Foundation. Eugene
Applebaum serves as
a chair of the founda-
tion's honorary board
of directors. Joining
Applebaum as honor-
Eugene
ary chairs are Mandell

Applebaum

Archives on page 14