Jewish Life in America c1654-1954 – January Database of the Month

Jewish Life in America is a database of original source materials exploring the history of Jewish communities in America,  from the arrival of the first Jews in the 17th century through to the mid-20th century. This rich collection brings to life the communal and social aspects of Jewish identity and culture, whilst tracing Jewish involvement in the political life of American society as a whole. The material is based on a variety of original manuscript collections from the American Jewish Historical Society in New York, digitized and organized into six major collections and twenty-four collections of personal papers. In addition, Jewish Life in America contains a wealth of materials designed as supplementary resources; these include a chronology, interactive maps, essays by leading scholars, a selection of American Jewish Year Book articles, a visual resources gallery, biographies and links to other useful websites.

Also see the following relevant databases:

Testaments to the Holocaust
This digital resource offers the unique collection of eyewitness accounts from the World’s oldest Holocaust museum, founded by Alfred Wiener as the “Jewish Central Information Office” in 1939. The collection offers fully searchable personal accounts of life in Nazi Germany, along with photographs, propaganda materials such as school text books, limited circulation publications and rare serials.

Intergovernmental Committee on Refugees: The West’s Response to Jewish Emigration
The Intergovernmental Committee on Refugees (IGCR) was organized in London in August 1938 as a result of the Evian Conference of July 1938, which had been called by President Roosevelt to consider the problem of racial, religious, and political refugees from central Europe.

Post War Europe: Refugees, Exile and Resettlement, 1945-1950
This online archive delivers essential primary sources for the study and understanding of the challenges facing the European peoples in the aftermath of World War II. It covers the politics and administration of the refugee crisis in Europe after World War II as well as the day-to-day survival of the refugees themselves.

Arab-Israeli Relations, 1917-1970: The Middle East Online, Series 1
Series One – Arab-Israeli Relations 1917-1970 – offers the widest range of original source material from the Foreign Office, Colonial Office, War Office and Cabinet Papers from the 1917 Balfour Declaration through to the Black September war of 1970-1. Here major policy statements are set out in their fullest context, the minor documents and marginalia revealing the workings of colonial administration and, following the creation of the State of Israel in 1948, British diplomacy towards Israel and the Arab states.