From the Pages of Yedies

by ROBERTA NEWMAN

In September 1953, Yedies celebrated the 15th anniversary of the YIVO Library and Archives in America with a detailed account of its history, beginning with the establishment of its predecessor, the Central Jewish Library and Archives, which had its first headquarters at 1133 Broadway, an office building which has for generations provided relatively low-cost office space to small organizations, including many Jewish ones. A Google search brings up a long list that includes the American Federation for Lithuanian Jews, various departments of the Joint Distribution Committee early in its history, and, most recently, the Congress for Jewish Culture, which unfortunately closed its doors last week. When I worked in a small office in 1133 Broadway with curator Fred Wasserman on the Luboml Exhibition Project in the 1990s, I had no idea that the building we were sitting in had such a rich history.

The name “Central Jewish Library and Archives” was short lived, as it was open only about a year before it reincorporated as the American Branch of YIVO in October 1939. By then, World War II had begun, and some of the officers of YIVO in Vilna who had been stranded outside Poland were already trying to make their way to the United States. In 1940, YIVO was officially relocated to the United States. Almost immediately, the YIVO Library and Archives resumed its outreach and collection activities. By 1953, the original Central Jewish Library and Archives collection of 15,000 books had grown to over 150,000.