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Dorothy Filene Collection

 Collection
Identifier: AR 7202 / MF 984

Scope and Content Note

The Dorothy Filene collection documents the personal life and professional activities of Dorothy Filene, née Finkelstein and to a lesser extent personal lives of a number of members of the Finkelstein family.

This collection consists of a variety of materials such as correspondence, clippings, annual reports, brochures, job applications, notes and other school materials, minutes, and various manuals, used by Dorothy Filene in her work.

By far the larger part of the collection deals with Dorothy Filene. These materials consist of personal materials such as her correspondence with other family members and friends; Dorothy Filene’s education is represented here by the abundance of notes, essays, and other school related materials.

Materials documenting Dorothy Filene’s professional activities consist of the materials pertaining to the Jewish Family and Children Service (USNA), for which Dorothy Filene served for a number of years as an Assistant Director. Other organizations represented in the subseries are the Jewish Federation of Youngstown, the United Service for New Americans, and the Youth House.

The bulk of these materials consist of various manuals, activity reports, recommendations for working with immigrants, printed materials, annual reports, information related to various committees, and minutes.

Other materials pertaining to Dorothy Filene’s professional activities include her job applications and Curriculum Vita.

Materials dealing with other members of the Finkelstein family consist almost entirely of the personal correspondence. The bulk of these materials consist of Helene and Leopold Finkelstein’s correspondence. Most of the correspondence is addressed to Dorothy Finkelstein.

Dates

  • Creation: 1860s-1972
  • Creation: Majority of material found in 1900-1962

Creator

Language of Materials

The collection is in German and English.

Access Information

Readers may access the collection by visiting the Lillian Goldman Reading Room at the Center for Jewish History. We recommend reserving the collection in advance; please visit the LBI Online Catalog and click on the “Request” button.

Access Restrictions

Open to researchers.

Access Restrictions

Collection is microfilmed, please use MF 984.

Use Restrictions

There may be some restrictions on the use of the collection. For more information, contact:

Leo Baeck Institute, Center for Jewish History, 15 West 16th Street, New York, NY 10011

email: lbaeck@lbi.cjh.org

Biographical Note

Dorothy Filene, née Finkelstein, a social worker, who worked mostly with new immigrants in the US, was born on June 19th, 1908, in Berlin, Germany.

After her initial school education she began her studies in Social Work. She graduated from the Berlin Kindergarten Teacher’s College in 1928 and then received a second degree form the Berlin School of Social Work in 1930. She was employed at a number of places as a social worker, including the Jewish Children’s Hospital.

In 1933 Dorothy Filene emigrated to Palestine. She returned to Germany in 1935 before immigrating to the US that same year.

In New York she continued her association with Social Work and in 1943 received an MS from the New York School of Social Work at Columbia University.

She then worked as a Research Assistant at the Jewish Federation and Welfare Funds and later as caseworker at the New York Travelers Aid Society.

Between 1946 and 1948 Dorothy Filene worked as a field representative for the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee. During this period she worked at a Displaced Persons Camp in Germany.

She later worked in a number of other places providing social assistance, such as with the United Service for New Americans, the Family and Children’s Service, and the Jewish Federation of Youngstown, Ohio.

Dorothy Filene died on November 17, 1993 in Jamaica, Queens.

Extent

3.75 Linear Feet

Abstract

The Dorothy Filene collection documents the personal life and professional activities of Dorothy Filene, née Finkelstein and to a lesser extent personal lives of a number of members of the Finkelstein family. This collection consists of a variety of materials such as correspondence, clippings, annual reports, brochures, job applications, notes and other school materials, minutes, and various manuals, used by Dorothy Filene in her work as a social worker.

Microfilm

Collection is available on 8 reels of microfilm (MF 984).

  1. Reel 1: 1/1-1/8
  2. Reel 2: 1/9-1/14
  3. Reel 3: 2/1-2/6
  4. Reel 4: 2/7-3/7
  5. Reel 5: 3/8-3/22
  6. Reel 6: 3/23-4/3
  7. Reel 7: 4/4-4/11
  8. Reel 8: 4/12-4/16

Separated Material

Some photographs have been removed to the LBI Photo Collection

Title
Guide to the Papers of Dorothy Filene (1908-1993) 1860s-1972 AR 7202 / MF 984
Status
Completed
Author
Processed by Yakov Sklar
Date
© 2008
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
Description is in English.
Sponsor
as part of the Leon Levy Archival Processing Initiative, made possible by the Leon Levy Foundation

Revision Statements

  • 2010-06-09 : Encoding of linking to digital objects from finding aid was changed from <extref> to <dao> through dao_conv.xsl

Repository Details

Part of the Leo Baeck Institute Repository

Contact:
15 West 16th Street
New York NY 10011 United States