Western States Jewish History has large archives, accumulated over the past 40 years by our founders, Dr. Norton Stern and Rabbi William M. Kramer. They are currently being processed and are being located in major institutions in the Los Angeles area.
The question arose as to where these valuable materials should be located.
We met with John Gray, Director of the Autry National Center, who asked us a very important question: "Why are you doing this?"
We responded; "The Jews were an important part of European History, especially regarding the Feudal Ages and the Silk Road. But we have been mostly written out of that history. So, based on the important contributions that Jews have made to the settlement of the West and the creation of the merchantile, banking and other systems, we want this history kept alive."
Gray responded, "Well, would not it make sense to place these archives where non-Jewish scholars would find them."
With that he gave us contact names for UCLA, USC, and the Huntington Research Library. Each sent representatives to look at our materials. We then visited each location. Decisions and arrangements were made as follows:
There will be five Western States Jewish History Archives available for scholars and students:
- Western States Jewish History Western Books
- Western States Jewish History Paper Archives
- Western States Jewish History Ephemera Items and Diaries
- Western States Jewish History Photographs
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Western States Jewish History Scrapbooks & Diaries
