World War II

Content type
Collection
Steve Benson on Irena Sendler's Heroism Thumbnail

Irena Sendler saves Jewish children from the Warsaw Ghetto

October 20, 1943

Irena Sendler Saves Jewish Children from the Warsaw Ghetto

Heart of a Wife: The Diary of a Southern Jewish Woman

Mollie Weinstein in France, July 1945
June 29, 2012

War, Motherhood, & A Little Cheesecake

Cyndee Schaffer

Did you ever wonder what it would be like to work with your mother and learn about her life and in doing so discover a completely different person?

Topics: Motherhood, Jewish History, World War II, Non-Fiction, Publishing
Mollie Weinstein Schaffer, August 2009

Mollie Weinstein Schaffer, 1916 - 2012

We are finally in Paris and you can see that the Americans took over the situation. Can you imagine—ME—with the “handle” that I’ve got using Hitler’s stationery?

Naomi Harris Rosenblatt, 2010

Naomi Harris Rosenblatt

Naomi Harris Rosenblatt has had a distinguished career in Washington, D.C. as a psychotherapist and Bible teacher. Born in Haifa, she lived in Palestine during the time of the British Mandate and witnessed first hand the birth of the State of Israel. After her marriage to Peter Rosenblatt, a Washington attorney, she moved to the United States, which has been her home ever since.

Lucy Kramer Cohen, 1970s

Lucy Kramer Cohen, 1907 - 2007

She never put herself in the limelight to lead and yet she was a leader.

Jewish Partisan Education Project 2012 Youth Writing Contest
March 12, 2012

What can we learn from Jewish women partisans? Jewish Partisan Education Foundation announces 2012 Youth Writing Contest

Leah Berkenwald

Thanks to the success of feature film Defiance (2008), Americans now associate the history of Jewish partisans with the hunky Bielski brothers, played by Daniel Craig, Liev Schreiber, and Jaime Bell. In the film's depiction of their society hidden deep in the forest women contributed by cooking and gathering food but not so much as leaders or fighters. The real story of female Jewish partisans--in the Bielski encampment and elsewhere--is, of course, much richer.

Topics: Jewish Studies, Women’s and Gender Studies, Holocaust, World War II
November 11, 2011

Veteran's Day: Discover stories of Jewish women in the military

Leah Berkenwald

Today we honor our all the veterans who served their country, past, present, and future.

Topics: World War II, Military
"Hiding in the Open" by Sabina Zimering

Dr. Sabina Zimering's memoirs come to the stage

March 27, 2004

On March 27, 2004 at the age of 81, Dr.

June Salander

June Salander, 1908 - 2010

June took the opportunity to study Torah with the rabbi and five other women and, at age 89, became the oldest woman in Rutland to celebrate her bat mitzvah.

Sylvia Willard, cropped

Sylvia Willard, 1922 - 2006

She and Howard opened a third store and managed all three, while she translated her theatrical training and love of fashion into show-stopping window displays.

Zezette Larsen

Zezette Larsen, 1929 - 2010

As a resource speaker for Facing History, she spoke to many audiences of all ages and championed the power of education to address injustices wherever they occur.

February 16, 2011

"Top Secret Rosies": How female computers helped win WWII

Leah Berkenwald

Back before Microsoft, IBM, and Apple, the word "computer" referred to a person who computes.

Topics: World War II, Politics and Government, Military, Mathematics, Technology
Eleanor D. Pearlson

Eleanor Pearlson, 1921 - 2010

She was known equally for her generosity and her strong will, her enthusiasm and her temper, her warmth and her keen business sense. She might greet you or grill you, but chances were if you needed help with something on Martha’s Vineyard, she had the answer.

Hannah Block, 2009

Hannah Block, 1913 - 2009

It wasn't so much what the lady did – although she did much in her 96 years. It is what she meant to Wilmington [NC].

Eta Chait Wrobel

Eta Chait Wrobel, 1916 - 2008

Her life was filled with the love of giving and of fighting for truth, justice, and the Jewish people.

Denise Schorr

Denise Schorr, - 2010

Many of the stories of her young life in France give a glimpse into the shaping forces of her strong character, enormous empathy and compassion for others. This shaped her life as a giver.

Eleanor Hatkin Freedman Cropped

Eleanor Hatkin Freedman, 1924 - 1974

My mother, I came to realize, wanted to obliterate the barrier between love and sexuality. I was not shocked or shamed to encounter that carnal side of her. The mother I knew during my lifetime was a beautiful and vain woman, one who resisted having a mastectomy for breast cancer because she could not bear to be, as she put it, 'mutilated' and 'disfigured.' Her allure was part of her life-force, something inextricably tied to her passions for intellectual growth and artistic expression.

Bert Milstone Cohen Hirshberg.

Bert Milstone Cohen Hirshberg, 1919 - 2008

She cared passionately about the arts, Boston, literature, politics, and her family and friends… She was one of those Jewish women who helped pry the door open continually so that others less assertive than she could follow.

November 11, 2010

Remembering Jewish Women's Stories on Veteran's Day

Leah Berkenwald

Today is Veteran's Day and each year we at the Jewish Women's Archive look back on the long history of Jewish women trailblazers in the military. Last year I wrote a blog post about this legacy, highlighting the launch of our "Jewish American Women and WWII" collection on Flickr Commons.

Topics: World War II, Military
Hannah Block Plays Piano, February 26, 2005

A night to honor Hannah Block

November 8, 1997

North Carolinians came together on November 8, 1997, to honor one the state’s civic leaders and pathbreaking women.

Molly Picon and Children in "Oy is Dus a Leben," 1942

Molly Picon

For over seventy years, Molly Picon, star of Yiddish theater and film, delighted audiences with her comic song and dance performances. Picon performed on stage and in Yiddish and Hollywood films for Jewish and non-Jewish audiences around the world. Her engaging persona and powerful performances helped keep Yiddish culture alive by bringing it out of the shtetl and into mainstream American culture.

October 23, 2009

The "Pride, Honor & Courage" of Hartford Jewish women during WWII

Leah Berkenwald

Pride, Honor and Courage: Jewish Women Remember World War II, the documentary film produced by the Jewish Historical Society of Greater Hartford (JHSGH), premiered Thursday at the Mandell Jewish Community Center.

Topics: World War II, Film, Military
July 27, 2009

A Not-So-Formal Introduction

Leah Berkenwald

Hello, my name is Leah Berkenwald and I am the newest ‘Jewess with Attitude’ blogging for the Jewish Women's Archive.

Topics: Holocaust, World War II
"An Estate of Memory" by Ilona Karmel

Death of Ilona Karmel, literary chronicler of the Holocaust

November 30, 2000

When Ilona Karmel died on November 30, 2000, she was remembered as the author of the novel, An Estate of Memory.

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