OCTOBER 31 • 2019 | 27

A guide to the archival collections in the 
Detroit Jewish community.

ROBBIE TERMAN AND LAURA WILLIAMS SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

Jews in the D

O

ctober is American 
Archives Month and, 
as archivists, this cele-
bration gives us the opportunity 
to talk about what we do. We’
ve 
realized that archives have a 
“speakeasy” feel — you only 
know they exist if you actually 
know they exist. So now we’
ll let 
you in on the secret: Our Metro 
Detroit Jewish community has 
amazing collections of remark-
able historic materials. Even 
more amazing … you have 
access to them. Here is a quick 
guide to help you navigate the 
“what,
” “why” and “where” 
behind these community gems. 

WHAT IS AN ARCHIVE?
In the course of everyday life, 
individuals, organizations and 
governments create and keep 
information about their activ-
ities. These records may be 
personal and unplanned — a 
photograph, a letter to a friend, 
notes toward a manuscript — or 
they may be official and widely 

shared — financial and legal 
documents, recordings of public 
speeches, medical files and elec-
tronic records. These records, 
and the places in which they are 
kept, are called archives, and 
archivists are the professionals 
who assess, collect, organize, 
preserve and provide access to 
these records.

WHY KEEP ARCHIVAL 
MATERIALS?
Archival materials provide evi-
dence of actions that occurred 
in the past. They tell stories and 
document people and places 
that might otherwise be lost to 
time. With society’
s increasing 
demand for accountability and 
transparency in government 
and organizations, archival 
records are irreplaceable pri-
mary source assets. Materials 
maintained in an archive pro-
vide firsthand facts and data 
that strengthen collective mem-
ory with reliable information. 
Archives play an important role 

in preserving the legacy of 
our community. 

CONGREGATIONAL 
COLLECTIONS
The Rabbi Leo M. Franklin 
Archives (FA) of Temple Beth 
El are home to one of the most 
comprehensive congregational 
archives in the nation. As the 
first Jewish congregation in the 
state, FA incorporates materi-
als from early Jewish Detroit, 
its members and the organi-
zations they helped to build. 
Materials include photographs, 
correspondence, congrega-
tional records, oral histories 
and video/audio records. FA is 
also home to the Jewish War 
Veterans of Michigan’
s archival 
collection. To learn more, con-
tact Laura Williams at 
franklinarchives@tbeonline.org 
or call (248) 851-1100.
The Lillian & Professor 
Samuel Levin Archives at 
Congregation Shaarey Zedek 
celebrate the legacy of the syn-

agogue, its rabbis and its mem-
bers, as well as their impact on 
local, national and international 
Jewish history. It contains more 
than a century of photographs, 
documents, memoirs and 
artifacts. For more informa-
tion, contact Cillia Kleiman at 
archive@shaareyzedek.org.
Temple Israel Archives 
maintains its 75-year history 
through the records of its cler-
gy, leadership, nursery and reli-
gious schools, adult education, 
departments and internal com-

LEFT: Temple Beth 
El’
s Purim play, 1905. MIDDLE: 
Mrs. Adolph Lowe, Mrs. Jerome Ross and Mrs. 
Samuel Barnett of Hadassah at a membership drive, 
c. 1950s. RIGHT: View of a collection inside the Rabbi 
Leo M. Franklin Archives at Temple Beth El. 

Highlighting our
Hidden Gems

LEONARD N. SIMONS JEWISH 
COMMUNITY ARCHIVES.

RABBI LEO M. FRANKLIN ARCHIVES.

RABBI LEO M. FRANKLIN ARCHIVES.

COURTESY RABBI LEO M. 
FRANKLIN ARCHIVES.

TOP: Rose Gottlieb’
s membership 
application for the Jewish War Veterans 
Ladies Auxiliary, 1943. BOTTOM: Flyer 
for a mass meeting on Hastings Street.

continued on page 28