Jewish Democratic Teachers' Association

The cultural openness that was often attributed to the Latvian capital of Riga, made the city an appealing destination for many Jews. After 1842, when the Jewish community received formal recognition by the authorities, the Jewish population of Riga continued to swell - though this influx was slowed in the years around the First World War. Numerous Jewish political movements and mutual aid societies were active in Riga – something made possible by the city’s pluralistic atmosphere. A variety of educational institutions were available to the Jewish citizenry of Riga including secular schools, religious schools, schools associated with various political movements, and Yiddish schools. As was only fitting for a city alive with so much Jewish cultural and educational activity, Riga was also home to a variety of Jewish Teachers’ Associations and Unions such as the Central Association of Latvian Jewish Teachers (a secular organization), The Riga Jewish Teachers’ Union (a religious organization), and the Jewish Democratic Teachers’ Union (a political organization) – from whence this book stamp comes. Where Riga had once been reputed for its openness this all came to a tragic end, first when the city was occupied by the Soviets, and then when the city fell under Nazi occupation in the summer of 1941. Some archival materials relating to the Jewish Democratic Teachers’ Association is currently held in the Latvian State Historical Archives. ..This book stamp is from a book looted by the Nazis and sorted by Colonel Seymour Pomrenze, one of “the Monuments Men,” at the Offenbach Archival Depot. ..There are two scrapbooks of archival markings from the books sorted at the Offenbach Depot in the Seymour Pomrenze Collection held by the American Jewish Historical Society (Call number P-933) There is a finding aid for the collection here ( http://findingaids.cjh.org/?pID=1463157 ) The digitized scrapbooks are available here ( http://digital.cjh.org/webclient/DeliveryManager?pid=1666403 ) and here ( http://digital.cjh.org/webclient/DeliveryManager?pid=1665570 ) ...For more information on this project check the Center’s blog: 16thstreet.tumblr.com/tagged/Offenbach-Depot ( http://16thstreet.tumblr.com/tagged/Offenbach-Depot ) ..Dr. Mitch Fraas, Acting Director of the Digital Humanities Forum at the University of Pennsylvania Libraries' Special Collections Center is working on a similar project for the German book stamps based on NARA microfilm of the volumes the American Jewish Historical Society currently holds. See viewshare.org/views/mfraas/offenbach-bookplates/ ( http://viewshare.org/views/mfraas/offenbach-bookplates/ ) .The Center for Jewish History would like to acknowledge the following: The American Jewish Historical Society, who graciously allowed the use of their archival materials and digital content; Mitch Fraas, Acting Director of the Digital Humanities Forum at the University of Pennsylvania Libraries' Special Collections Center, for his data and technical assistance in this project; David Rosenberg, Senior Manager for Communications, and Melanie Meyers, Senior Reference Services Librarian for Special Collections, for managing and creating the digital map; as well as Reference Services Librarian Zachary Loeb and Reference Services Assistant Ilya Slavutskiy for their work on translating and mapping. ..For copyright information, click here ( http://copyrights.cjh.org )