58 July 25 • 2019
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his year marks the 100th anniversary of a Jewish 
Detroit business that you may know. Perhaps, on 
your way to work today, you may have passed 
by one of its developments, City Club Apartments. Or 
maybe you live in one? 
Although the name has evolved over the 
years, City Club Apartments is celebrat-
ing 100 years in the real estate business. 
History tells us it is a rare company that 
lasts a century. 
The roots of City Club begin when 
2-year-old Joseph Holtzman immigrated to 
the United States from Russia in 1896. He 
came to Detroit in 1914 to take a job as a 
sweeper for Ford Motor Company, one of 
thousands who came to the city, lured by 
Ford’
s famous “Five Dollar a Day” wages. 
But Holtzman had ambitions beyond the factory floor: 
He began Joseph Holtzman Homes in 1919 and soon 
established a reputation for building quality, modestly 
priced homes.
In 1934, Holtzman partnered with his brother-in-law, 
Nathan Silverman. Holtzman Homes became Holtzman 
& Silverman and continued to build houses for the 
working class. The compa-
ny remained in business for 
another 60 years and later was 
managed by another genera-
tion, Irwin “Toby” Holtzman 
and Gilbert Silverman. In 
1966, the sons created Metro 
Detroit’
s iconic Village Green 
Apartments.
Holtzman & Silverman split 
apart in 1994, but Village 
Green Apartments continued. The third generation 
Holtzman, Jonathan, began working in the family busi-
ness in 1977. In 2016, he separated from Village Green 
and, with his partner, Alan Greenberg, formed City Club 
Apartments. 
A search into the William Davison Digital Archive of 
Jewish Detroit History demonstrates that the Holtzmans 
are mentioned hundreds of times. More important, the 
historic pages of the Detroit Jewish Chronicle and Detroit 
Jewish News show that, beyond maintaining a success-
ful business based in Metro Detroit, as philanthropists, 
the Holtzmans also have had a significant impact upon 

Detroit, its Jewish community and Israel.
To say the least, family patriarch, Joseph 
Holtzman, was among the prominent lead-
ers of Detroit, especially in the aftermath of 
World War II. For just one example, a story in the 
Jan. 16, 1948, issue of the JN reported that Holtzman and 
another Detroiter, Louis Berry, were among 50 American 
Jewish leaders to tour displaced persons camps and 
Palestine on behalf of the United Jewish Appeal. After 
the trip, Holtzman became a staunch supporter of Israel. 
Moreover, a few months later, the Oct. 1, 1948, issue 
of the JN stated: “In a single year, Berry and Holtzman 
became a legend in Detroit’
s campaign history.” Indeed, 
Holtzman became one of the most successful UJA chairs 
ever and a mentor of the legendary Detroiter Max Fisher.
The son and grandson have carried on the tradition. 
For example, Toby Holtzman and his son, Jonathan, 
were in the news last year regarding their work toward 
a major literary project in Israel. The story in the Oct. 
25, issue of the JN (the 2018 issues of the JN will soon be 
added to the Davidson Archive) reported that Toby and 
his wife, Shirley, began collecting in 1973 and amassed 
a huge trove of Israeli literature. Having already estab-
lished the Irwin T. and Shirley Holtzman Collection of 
Israeli Literature at Michigan 
State University, their main 
collection was donated to the 
National Library of Israel and 
is considered the definitive 
collection of Israeli literary 
works. 
Toby died in 2010, but 
Jonathan is now carrying 
on the tradition, among his 
other charitable causes. Oren 
Weinberg, library director, noted that: “We are proud 
to count Jonathan Holtzman as a leading partner in the 
renewal of the National Library.” 
Jonathan summed-up the Holtzman legacy: “I am 
proud to serve as the third-generation leader of this 
100-year-old company that was founded on relationships, 
quality and innovation. I was inspired by my grandfa-
ther’
s creativity, work ethic and love of Israel. I had great 
respect for my father’
s ability to evolve my grandfather’
s 
vision and his love of books.” ■

Want to learn more? Go to the DJN Foundation archives, available 
for free at www.djnfoundation.org.

City Club Apartments

PHOTOS COURTESY OF CITY CLUB APARTMENTS

Jonathan Holtzman and Alan Greenberg

Joe, David and Toby Holtzman

Holtzman Legacy Marks 
100 Years

n the
oltzman and 
0 American

46 October 25 • 2018
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he new National Library of Israel Complex under 
construction next to the Knesset in Jerusalem will 
have a room named for Irwin and Shirley Holtzman of 
Bloomfield Hills. The room will house an 
irreplaceable special collection known as 
“the greatest single collection in the world 
of Israeli literature.
” 
The collection started in 1973, when 
Irwin (known as “Toby”) 
and Shirley Holtzman 
first traveled to Israel. 
Impressed by the 
“founding Israeli authors,
” the Holtzmans 
began collecting first editions of works 
by famous Hebrew writers, first editions 
of literary works in Arabic and the many 
other languages of Israel, including English, 
Ethiopic, French, German, Hungarian, 
Ladino, Lithuanian, Polish, Rumanian, 
Russian, Spanish and Yiddish. They also 
snapped up translations of Israeli works in other languages. 
For years, they kept this collection in their home in 
Bloomfield Hills. 
Each time they returned to Israel, Irwin Holtzman would 
visit bookstores looking to add to the collection. Gil Weissblei, 
now archivist at the National Library of Israel, remembers 

those visits: 
“The first time I met Holtzman, I was working in a book-
store,
” Weissblei said. “We did not have many customers like 
him; actually, we did not have any. He would come 
once per year, accompanied by his wife, Shirley. 
She was a very nice lady, cordial, warm. Price had 
no interest for him. If it was a first edition, in mint 
condition, he would say, ‘
I just want it.
’
” 
Eventually, the Holtzmans donated the collec-
tion to the Jewish National and University Library 
on the Givat Ram campus of Hebrew University. 
Galia Richler, reference librarian for Judaica at the 
National Library, notes that before the collection could move 
(in August 1999), Irwin Holtzman designed the room to house 
the collection and chose all the furnishings. “He wanted every-
thing just so. In the dedicated room displaying the collection, 
for example, he chose the blond wood decor and each piece of 
furniture.
”

BUILDING THE COLLECTION
In the ensuing years, Holtzman continued to add to the collec-
tion. According to Richler, “Holtzman was proud of the col-
lecting he did for the library. He personally kept a catalogue of 
the collection — inserting slips of paper with the information 
about each item into slots on pages, which he kept in oversize 
loose-leaf binders, eventually four of these huge binders.
”

Preserving
 History

LOUIS FINKELMAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

ABOVE: An architectural rendering of 

the National Library of Israel being 

built in Jerusalem near the Knesset; 

a special room designed by the late 

Irwin “Toby” Holtzman of Bloomfield 

Hills will hold his massive collection 

of Israeli literature.

HOLTZMAN COLLECTION AT MSU
The Irwin T. and Shirley Holtzman 
Collection of Israeli Literature at 
Michigan State University contains 
works published from the early 20th 
century through the early 21st 
cen-
tury, with a focus on belles-lettres. 
The archival portion of the collection 
contains a wealth of primary resources, 
including manuscripts of poetry and 
drama; posters advertising literary 
events; political cartoons and other 
original artwork; and Irwin “Toby” 
Holtzman’
s extensive correspondence 
with many important Israeli literary 
figures, including Amalia Kahana-
Carmon, Yoram Kaniuk, Amos Oz and 
A.B. Yehoshua.
The Holtzman Collection is accessi-
ble to scholars and the public alike at 
the MSU Libraries’
 Special Collections. 
For more information, contact librari-
an 
Deborah 
Margolis 
deborahm@msu.
edu, or see https://libguides.lib.msu.
edu/jewishstudies/holtzman.

Irwin Holtzman

Holtzman’
s defi
 nitive 
Israeli literature collection 
goes to the National 
Library of Israel. 
 

continued on page 48

Looking Back

From the William Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish Detroit History

Mike Smith
Alene and Graham 
Landau Archivist 
Chair

