58 July 25 • 2019 jn T 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 jn T 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