Skip to main content

Emmanuel Ringelblum Collection of Oral History Memoirs of the Holocaust (MS-215)

 Collection
Identifier: MS-215

Scope and Content

The Emmanuel Ringelblum Collection of Oral History Memoirs of the Holocaust is divided into two record groups: Group A: Dr. Charles R. Berry's The Survivors of the Holocaust Oral History Project, and Group B: Renate Frydman's "Faces of the Holocaust" Project. Note that reference access to the original analog audio and/or video is restricted; a digitized version must be used instead.

Group A, Dr. Charles R. Berry's The Survivors of the Holocaust Oral History Project, consists of 3 series:

Series I, Oral History Interviews and Transcripts, consists audio-only interviews conducted with thirty-five individuals between 1978 and 1988. The stories of some of the older subjects begin during the early decades of the twentieth century and trace the individual's life up to the day of the interview. Not all of the interviewees were incarcerated in concentration camps, but each had his or her life greatly altered by the Nazi regime. Each interview also has a typed transcript. The total interview time recorded with each person ranges from less than an hour to multiple hours. The series is arranged alphabetically by last name, and numbered during original processing, with the exception of the Kate Kahn, which is listed last due to not having been listed in the original finding aid (and therefore not being assigned a number originally). The numbering was used in the filenames of the original digitization of the first 34 interviews; the Kate Kahn interview was not digitized at the time, probably due to the poor quality of the audio on this interview. Access to the original audio cassettes is restricted, so researchers should use the digitized access versions, which are available in the E-Archives or the online access versions in CORE Scholar. The transcripts are also available in CORE Scholar.

Series II: Dr. Hans Liebermann Memorial Lecture Recordings, consists of audio and video recordings of lectures presented and funded as part of Dr. Berry's project. There were three lectures, one per year for three years, from 1980 to 1982. The speakers were Dr. Franklin H. Littell (1980), Dr. Leon Bass (1981), and Dr. Helen Epstein (1982). The series also includes limited background material on the lecturers, such as curriculum vitae, photograph, and/or press release. The materials in this series are arranged chronologically by lecture. Additional background information about the lecturers and the planning of the programs can be found in MS-239: Survivors of the Holocaust Oral History Project Records (Dr. Charles Berry's Papers).

Series III: Additional Memoirs and Recordings, consists of two publications and one unidentified audio recording (1/4" audio reel). The publications include: "Reflections by Jewish Survivors from Mannheim" (1990), compiled by Robert Kahn of Dayton; and two copies of "My Life in Two Worlds" (1989), a memoir by Lotte Orgler Liebermann.

Researchers interested primarily in the administrative and historical details of Dr. Charles Berry's project itself (process, funding, etc.), rather than its products (the interviews), should refer to MS-239: Survivors of the Holocaust Oral History Project Records (Dr. Charles Berry's Papers), available at Wright State University Libraries' Special Collections and Archives.

Group B, Renate Frydman's "Faces of the Holocaust" Project, consists of fifteen video interviews conducted specifically for the purpose of supplementing classroom education on the topic of the Holocaust. The interviews, conducted in 1986-1987 and 1994-1995, document the stories of sixteen individuals, including Holocaust survivors, children of survivors, liberators, a protector, and an exchange student. The video programs are less than 1 hour long per interviewee, with many of them being less than 30 minutes.

For both Group A and Group B, brief summaries of each individual interview can be found in a Scope and Content Note at the subseries or file level (as applicable), and these generally include some biograpihcal details about each interviewee. The summaries for Group A, Series I, were written by Andrew Harris, metadata librarian, at the time that the interviews were uploaded to CORE Scholar. The summaries for Group B were reproduced from a brochure created by the Dayton Holocaust Resource Center.

Dates

  • Creation: 1978 - 1995

Creator

Restrictions on Access

There are no restrictions on accessing materials in this collection. However, please use digital versions of audio and videocassettes for reference.

Restrictions on Use

Copyright restrictions may apply. Unpublished manuscripts are protected by copyright. Permission to publish, quote or reproduce must be secured from the repository and the copyright holder.

Biographical / Historical

The Survivors of the Holocaust Oral History Project was established in 1977 as a joint effort by Wright State University and Antioch College. Its purpose was to interview and preserve the stories of survivors of the Holocaust who settled in the Dayton area. Dr. Charles Berry, Professor of History at Wright State University, directed and coordinated the project. The interviews were conducted by various volunteers. At the conclusion of the project in 1991, thirty-five individuals had been interviewed on audiotape with typed transcripts prepared for each individual interview. In addition, a series of videotape programs based upon the interviews was produced.

Renate Frydman's "Faces of the Holocaust" Project took place in 1986 and 1987, in cooperation with the Wright State University Television Center, with support from the Jewish Federation of Greater Dayton. A second round of interviews were conducted in 1994 and 1995. These programs were created specifically to supplement Holocaust curriculum in the classroom, and as a resource for Holocaust education.

This collection is named for Emmanuel Ringelblum, archivist and historian of the Warsaw Ghetto, who carefully collected material to document all aspects of life in the Ghetto during the years 1939-1943.

Brief summaries of each individual interview can be found in a Scope and Content Note at the subseries or file level (as applicable), and these generally include some biograpihcal details about each interviewee.

Extent

3 linear feet

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

Collection consists of audio interviews with 35 Dayton-area individuals who survived, or were impacted by, the Nazi Holocaust; audio and video recordings of lectures related to the Holocaust; and video programs produced from original interviews specifically for classroom use to supplement Holocaust curriculum.

Statement of Arrangement

The collection is arranged into two record groups:

  1. Group A: Dr. Charles R. Berry's The Survivors of the Holocaust Oral History Project
  2. Group B: Renate Frydman's "Faces of the Holocaust" Project

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

The collection includes analog audio and video formats, which require special equipment for access, including audiocassettes, 1/4" reel audio, U-matic video cassette, VHS video cassette, and 1/2" video reel (Sony helical scan).

Note that researchers are not permitted to play (listen to or view) these original analog formats, but may have access to digitized versions.

Acquisition Information

The Emmanuel Ringelblum Collection of Oral History Memoirs of the Holocaust was officially accessioned into the Wright State University Department of Archives and Special Collections in April 1991. Professor Charles Berry, Wright State University Department of History and Director of the Survivors of the Holocaust Oral History Project, arranged for its deposit.

Existence and Location of Copies

All of the oral history interviews from both Berry's and Frydman's projects have been digitized and are available in the E-Archive, as well as online in CORE Scholar, Wright State University’s Campus Online Repository, at http://corescholar.libraries.wright.edu/special_ms215/.

The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum also has copies of all of the interviews.

Related Materials

MS-239: Charles R. Berry's papers on the Survivors of the Holocaust Oral History Project

"Faces of the Holocaust: A Curriculum Guide for Teachers," available online in CORE Scholar at https://corescholar.libraries.wright.edu/dhrc_publications/2/.

SC-374: Eric Ernst Kohlhagen Holocaust Memoirs

Dayton Holocaust Resource Center at the Charles and Renate Frydman Educational Resource Center (ERC), Wright State University Libraries

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Special Collections, https://collections.ushmm.org/search/special-collections

Separated Materials

The Eric Ernst Kohlhagen Holocaust Memoirs (SC-374) were separated from this collection. The Kohlhagen materials consisted exclusively of original archival materials (documents, photographs, and written memoirs) that significantly predated both projects. Dr. Charles Berry had contacted Kohlhagen about participating in the oral history project and learned instead that he had passed away. However, as a result, his widow sent these materials to be archived.

Title
Guide to the Emmanuel Ringelblum Collection of Oral History Memoirs of the Holocaust (MS-215)
Status
Completed
Author
Original processing and finding aid prepared by Cindy Baker, Julie Orenstein, and Dorothy Smith, 1991. Revised by Lisa Rickey, January 2022.
Date
2022
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Revision Statements

  • 2014 July: Finding aid reformatted.
  • 2021 Dec: Lisa Rickey revised housing (consolidated paper materials into one box instead of a single clamshell box for each person), discarded access copy audiocassette tapes (now online), and revised finding aid to reflect changes.

Repository Details

Part of the Special Collections Repository

Contact:
Wright State University Libraries
Special Collections and Archives
3640 Colonel Glenn Hwy
Dayton OH 45435-0001 USA
937-775-2092