Guide to the Isaac Zieman Collection
Undated, 1945-2011

AR 25448

Series I: Personal, undated, 1946-2011.

Arrangement:

By document type, and then alphabetical by folder title. Address books, appointment books, and journals are arranged chronologically.

Scope and Content:

This series documents the personal life of Isaac Zelig Zieman. It includes a draft of his unedited memoir, which is in English. The memoir was written in small chunks prepared for writing classes, which was the only way he found that he could write. His journals for the years 1949-1960, the vast majority written in Latvian, record his impressions on life and therapy, as well as thoughts on studying, his mental states (particularly depression), and relationships with women. The series also contains address books and appointment books, which provide a granular view of his life in New York City, as well as some correspondence and a few vital documents and photographs.

Series II: Jewish Life in Germany, undated, 1945-1956.

Arrangement:

The general folders were left in the order in which they were found, with the exception of material identified as relating to Rabbi Ohrenstein, which was removed to a separate folder.

Scope and Content:

Zieman traveled to Germany in the fall of 1945 and worked with displaced persons, training them for emigration to Palestine. He briefly led a kibbutz in Backnang, Baden-Wuertemberg, and until 1948 he worked for the Zionist pioneer organization Nocham in Munich. From 1948 until 1956, he studied psychology at the University of Munich and was active in the Jewish student organization. Materials related specifically to his education are found in Series III. During his time in Germany, Zieman was also active in the general Jewish community. The first two folders of this series relate to his activity in Germany at this time, and consist primarily of handwritten Yiddish notes and correspondence. The pioneer materials also include Hebrew. These folders also contain some clippings as well as printed material. See also the notepads in Series III, which contain some brief notes on his activities with Jewish organizations.

Zieman was also involved in calling for the resignation of Rabbi Aaron Ohrenstein of Munich, which was an important episode in German Judaism in the immediate post-war period. Materials include letters, clippings, circulars, many from the anti-Ohrenstein organization Block fuer Recht und Sauberkeit within the Jewish community of Munich.

The printed materials include a haggadah published by the National Jewish Welfare Board and distributed by the U.S. Armed forces; an illustrated Yiddish-Hebrew haggadah published by Nocham (United Pioneer Youth Movement) that appears to be an abbreviated version of Yosef Dov Sheinson’s "Survivor’s Haggadah;" a book of children’s tales in Hebrew; a Yiddish pamphlet entitled "Lament of the Jewish Daughters of Hasbaya;" and a book of Yiddish poems about Vilna.

Series III: Educational, 1949-1957.

Scope and Content:

This series contains materials created during Zieman's psychology studies at the University of Munich and the Munich Institute for Psychological Research and Psychotherapy. The bulk of the series consists of over 200 notebooks and loose notes from the various classes Zieman attended, primarily related to psychology. Many of the notebooks carry the title of the course, for example Developmental Psychology, Problems in Psychology, and Philosophy of the Unconscious. Three of the folders contain notebooks from non-psychology courses, such as English, French, History, and collections of quotations, and are noted as such. Many of the notebooks are not full.

The series also contains a few smaller-format notepads, which contain personal notes, some school notes, thoughts on his therapy and mental state, addresses, and washing lists. These pads appear to be what Zieman carried with him. These notepads also contain some notes on his involvement with Jewish and Zionist groups (see Series II).

This series also contains some related educational materials, such as psychology bibliographies and book catalogs, a folder of administrative materials, and a folder of miscellaneous materials such as syllabi, clippings, notes, and papers.

Most of the items in this series are undated; the dates in this series are based on the period of time Zieman spent in university.

Series IV: Professional, undated, 1954-2010.

Arrangement:

Loose notebooks, papers, index cards, audio tapes, and oversize materials were boxed and foldered, and arranged by format. Materials in boxes 7-10 are divided into two broad topic areas, general and TCI, and arranged alphabetically by folder title. Due to Zieman's intimate involvement with TCI, some TCI material may be found in the general folders.

Scope and Content:

This series contains a broad range of materials relating to Zieman's professional activities. From the late 1960s until his death, he was deeply committed to peace and understanding as facilitated through group encounters, and he embraced the method developed by Ruth Cohn called Theme-Centered Interaction. Zieman also lectured extensively about his life and experiences in the Holocaust, both in the United States and abroad. The series contains his lecture notes on index cards as well as two boxes of audio recordings of his presentations, radio appearances, panels, and group discussions.

Also included in this series are dozens of pocket notebooks and letter-size notebooks. They contain Zieman's notes on lectures, conferences, and readings in psychology; writings on Israel and Palestine; his work with the New York City schools in the south Bronx in the late 1960s; phone numbers, shopping lists, and notes to and about himself about a range of topics, such as vitamins and his health concerns. These notebooks are less personal that the journals and address books found in Series I.

This series also contains four boxes of general files. These materials were originally minimally handled, being merely broken up into two categories, general and TCI, and then arranged alphabetically by folder title. Folder-level titles were added, mainly by transcription from original folders, in October 2011. Boxes 7 and 8 contain general professional documents, such as talks and lectures on the Holocaust; correspondence and writings; documents relating to professional psychological and management organizations, peace groups, and New York congregations; and psychological training materials. Boxes 9 and 10 concern Zieman's extensive TCI work, primarily in Germany fostering Jewish-German understanding. He spent every summer from 1973 to 1999 in Germany leading workshops. Documents include workshop notes and arrangements, training materials, and other TCI materials.

Finally, this series also contains oversize materials, primarily drawings and boards from workshops, but also some posters for Zieman's workshops and talks.