Guide to the Colonel Seymour J. Pomrenze (1916-2011) Papers
undated, 1809-2008
bulk 1979-1999

P-933

Series I: Personal and Biographical, Undated, 1940-2008.

Arrangement:

Alphabetical by folder title.

Scope and Content:

This series contains personal materials of and biographical information about Seymour J. Pomrenze. This series contains awards and associated correspondence, mostly photocopies, from American University, the Dutch Freemasons, the Federal Records Management Officers, the Society of American Archivists, and the United States Army. Also included are biographical and informational documents, such as Who's Who entries, clippings of articles about Pomrenze (mostly photocopies), and a letter granting Pomrenze admission to a doctoral program at the University of Chicago, some military records, and CVs, as well as a signed, dedicated copy of "The Scholarship of Dr. Samuel Belkin," by Sidney B. Hoenig.

Series II: Offenbach Archival Depot, Undated, 1809, 1946-2007.

Arrangement:

This series is divided into two subseries, Original Materials (subseries 1) and Research and Historiography (subseries 2).

Scope and Content:

This series contains materials relating to the Offenbach Archival Depot (OAD). The OAD was one of the United States Army’s collection points for cultural material that had been looted by the Nazis, primarily goods stolen from throughout Nazi-occupied Europe by the Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg (ERR). It specialized in Jewish books, archival materials, and religious items. The first subseries, Original Materials, contains originals and photocopies of documentation created at the OAD. The second subseries, Research and Historiography, contains materials about Pomrenze’s involvement with the history of the OAD.

Even before the war was over, it became clear that cultural materials from all over Europe were at risk. In 1945, the US military government formed depots to collect, identify, and return looted materials. Pomrenze was the first leader of the depot in Offenbach, outside Frankfurt am Main, from late February until May 1946. He set up an organizational and restitution plan, and immediately began working on returning books and religious artifacts. Pomrenze ensured that the emphasis was on efficiently processing the masses of material, rather than focusing on detailed cataloging, and he hired over a hundred German workers to help sort and organize the millions of books and other items.

When Pomrenze was decommissioned, Captain Isaac Bencowitz took over the OAD’s activities. As of January 1947, the OAD was placed under civilian leadership, and by 1949 it was shut down. Among the millions of items the depot handled between 1946 and 1949 were the Library Rosenthaliana, which was returned to the Netherlands, and the YIVO collection, which Pomrenze helped ensure was transferred to YIVO in the United States instead of back to Lithuania.

For more information about the activities of the OAD, see F. J. Hoogewoud’s “The Nazi Looting of Books and Its American ‘Antithesis’. Selected Pictures from the Offenbach Archival Depot’s Photographic History and Its Supplements,” Studia Rosenthalia, Vol. 26 No. 1/2 (1992), pp. 158-183 (found in box 4, folder 7). Pomrenze described his role in detail in an oral history with the American Jewish Committee (transcript in box 5, folder 2) and in “The Restitution of Jewish Cultural Treasures After the Holocaust: The Offenbach Archival Depot’s Role in the Fulfillment of U.S. International and Moral Obligations (A First Hand Account),” Proceedings of the 37th Annual Convention of the Association of Jewish Libraries, Denver, Colorado, 2002 (box 6, folder 3).

Subseries 1: Original Materials, 1809, 1946-1949.

Arrangement:

Alphabetical by folder title.

Scope and Content:

This subseries contains material created at the Offenbach Archival Depot. It consists of photocopies, with the exception of the two library markings binders and the unidentified loot album. Note that subseries 2 also contains photocopies of some original materials, mixed with Pomrenze's notes and other materials.

This subseries includes two three-inch binders entitled "Library Markings found among the looted books in the archival depot." Prepared under the direction of the depot's second leader, Captain Bencowitz, to aid the German workers in identifying books, they contain thousands of photographs of ex libris and library markings found in the books processed by the OAD. The markings are organized by country, city, or library. Volume I: Eastern, contains markings from Czechoslovakia, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Kovno, Latvia, Lithuania [tab empty], Poland, Russland (Russia), White Russland (Belarus), Wilno (Vilna), Ukraine, and Yugoslavia. Volume II: Western contains markings from Austria, Argentina, America, Belgium, France, Denmark, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, the Netherlands, Palestine, Switzerland, and Spain, as well as tabs labeled Stamps, Monograms, and small collections of markings labeled YIVO, Strashun, Maph, and Yishivas. There is also an unlabeled section containing hundreds of Hebrew markings. The individual markings are numbered, but an index is not found in this collection. If an index exists, it is probably in the US Army's Offenbach records, which are found in NARA Record Group 260.

Also found in this subseries is a small (6'' x 4'') book of Exodus in Hebrew (Ḥamišah ḥumse Torah [2. Šemot]), edited by Isaac Dualabrigua, published in Paris in 1809. It is the second volume of a five-part copytext for the production of a sefer torah. The Offenbach Archival Depot stamp is found on the front inside cover. A barely legible Yiddish inscription on the first page indicates that the book was purchased by Moshe in 1818.

Other materials in this subseries include four photograph albums. The only original album is entitled "Unidentifiable loot from Jewish synagogues collected at the Offenbach Archival Depot." This album contains photographs of Jewish religious items and Masonic paraphernalia. The individual items in this album are numbered, but an index is not found in this collection. If an index exists, it is probably in the US Army's Offenbach records, which are found in NARA Record Group 260. "The Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg (ERR) of which the Offenbach Archival Depot has become the antithesis" is a copy of a photo album of ERR activities through Europe. "Photographic History" and "Photographic History" Vol. II are copies of photo albums that show offices and personnel at the OAD.

This subseries also contains photocopies of the detailed monthly reports on the OAD activities, prepared by the successive heads of the depot. The reports are complete from March 1946 to August 1947, and continue with gaps through October 1948. They chronicle the initial organization of the depot by Pomrenze, including operational charts; the sorting and cataloging activities that continued under Captain Bencowitz and his successors; and the return of materials to their countries and institutions of origin.

Additional materials include a photograph of Chinese bronze; 8x10 copy print photographs of Pomrenze in Offenbach with materials and people from Belgium, France, and the Netherlands; a "Festschrift aus Anlass des Einjährigen Bestehens," a set of poems prepared by German OAD employees in celebration of the depot's first anniversary; a rare book list; a set of receipts for items transferred from the OAD to the Library of Congress; and photocopies of additional OAD documents, primarily correspondence.

Subseries 2: Research and Historiography, Undated, 1946-2007.

Arrangement:

Arranged alphabetically by folder title.

Scope and Content:

This subseries contains materials that reflect Pomrenze's continued engagement, in particular in the 1990s and 2000s, with his role as the first leader of the Offenbach Archival Depot, which was responsible for returning Nazi-looted books and other materials to their countries and institutions of origin. Note that Series III, Subseries 4: Subject Files, contains similar material about the Offenbach Archival Depot.

The subseries contains handwritten and typed lecture notes and underlying research for talks delivered in the 1990s and 2000s by Pomrenze at the Association for Jewish Libraries conference, the Return of Looted Collections symposium in Amsterdam, the Washington Conference on Holocaust-Era Assets, and YIVO. It also includes correspondence with librarians, archivists, and scholars concerned with Nazi cultural looting, such as Zachary Baker, Patricia Kennedy Grimsted, F. J. Hoogewoud, Leslie Poste, and Robert Waite. These and other scholars often sent Pomrenze pre-prints, off-prints, or dedicated copies of their works about book and archive restitution to Pomrenze, some of which are found here. Also found in this subseries are materials relating to the Monuments Men Foundation, a group dedicated to preserving the legacy of American army officers in the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives section who helped recover stolen art and other cultural materials in the wake of World War Two. Correspondence and the group's newsletter are included. The YIVO folders primarily concern Pomrenze's oversight of the shipment of the YIVO archives to New York in 1947 (he was specially tasked by the Library of Congress to assist in the return), and a lecture he delivered on that topic in 2002. In this subseries there are also photocopies of the extensive correspondence and documentation surrounding the return of the materials to YIVO.

This subseries also contains the transcript of an oral history with Pomrenze about his Offenbach experience, conducted by Grace Cohen Grossman of the Hebrew Union College in 1989. The interview contains detailed reminiscences that add to the more formal published material found in this collection. Additional materials include correspondence, photocopies of OAD material from the 1940s, material about Pomrenze's role in returning Masonic material to the Netherlands, photocopies and off-prints of articles, publications, and book chapters, and Pomrenze's handwritten research notes.

Series III: Records Management, Undated, 1942-2008, bulk 1979-1999.

Arrangement:

This series is divided into four subseries: Clients, General, Publications, and Subject Files.

Scope and Content:

This series contains materials from Pomrenze’s second career, as a records management and archives consultant after his retirement from the Army in 1977. It includes files from his extensive roster of clients, primarily Jewish non-profit organizations. The largest volume of papers concerns his work for the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, the Council of Jewish Federations, and the United Jewish Appeal. He also worked for dozens of other organizations, such as the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), and the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College and its Mordecai Kaplan Archives. The types of documents found include correspondence, memos, notes, records management plans, research requests, sample records handling forms, box and folder lists, surveys, organizational charts, and consulting agreements. Pomrenze often arranged for Jewish cultural organizations to transfer their records of enduring historical value to an appropriate archival repository, such as the American Jewish Archives (AJA), the American Jewish Historical Society (AJHS), and YIVO, and that is reflected in these files.

The series also contains records management materials that are not client-specific. The items include policies from various clients on access of materials to outside researchers; a syllabus and other class materials from Pomrenze's tenure as a professor of records management at American University; a marked copy of Carol Barker's book "Classified Files: The Yellowing Pages"; review materials from records grants Pomrenze was asked to review, and general records management documents such as an ARMA flier, acronym list, a questionnaire for New York State records consultants, and the like. Also included are what appear to be Pomrenze's general correspondence files, which contain correspondence with researchers, various records management clients and archives, ARMA, SAA, and students, as well as some clippings and business cards. Pomrenze was assigned by NARA in 1949 to document President Truman's inauguration and inaugural gala, and programs, a clipping, and a NARA manual about records of inaugural committees can also be found here. This series also contains Pomrenze's published writings on records management. Finally, his alphabetical subject files are also found in this series. The materials are primarily related to records management -- clippings, manuals, catalogs, vendor correspondence, sample forms, retention schedules, and the like. There are also materials relating to Offenbach and restitution of books, including items about the Jewish materials still in Lithuania. Some genealogical research is also found in this subseries. Documents relating to specific clients of Pomrenze's, such as records surveys and manuals, are also found here.

Subseries 1: Clients, Undated, 1942-2008, bulk 1979-1999.

Arrangement:

This subseries is arranged into three sections based on the volume of records. The sections are Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, Council of Jewish Federations and United Jewish Appeal, and Other Organizations.

Scope and Content:

This subseries contains client files from Pomrenze's work as a records management consultant for a variety of organizations, primarily in the Jewish cultural sector. His consulting work began in the 1940s, and it became his fulltime job after his retirement from the Army in 1977. The types of documents found in this subseries include correspondence, memos, notes, records management plans, research requests, sample records handling forms, box and folder lists, surveys, organizational charts, and consulting agreements. He often arranged for Jewish cultural organizations to transfer their records of enduring historical value to an appropriate archival repository, such as the American Jewish Archives (AJA), the American Jewish Historical Society (AJHS), and YIVO.

Section 1 contains documents concerning Pomrenze's work as a records manager and archivist for the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS). HIAS had long transferred its historical materials to YIVO, and under Pomrenze's guidance embarked on a large, two-phase project in 1995 to catalog and preserve the materials. Most of the folders in this section contain Pomrenze's files about that HIAS-YIVO joint project. The types of materials include project proposals, progress reports, correspondence, draft and completed finding aids, research requests, notes, and printed material about the project. There are also some folders that relate to Pomrenze's records management work for HIAS, which contain correspondence, file surveys, records plans, box and folder lists, and the like.

Section 2, Council of Jewish Federations and United Jewish Appeal, concerns the consulting work Pomrenze performed for the Council of Jewish Federations, the United Jewish Appeal, and related organizations. Pomrenze began working independently for the Council of Jewish Federations and the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies of NYC in the late 1970s. In the mid-1980s, the New York UJA and Federation of Jewish Philanthropies of NYC become UJA-Federation of New York, and Pomrenze continued to work for this organization. Pomrenze also worked separately for the national UJA. His work with each specific organization is described below. Folders are arranged alphabetically by organization, and then alphabetically within each organization.

CJF: In 1982, Pomrenze was retained by the Council of Jewish Federations (CJF) as a records management consultant. He examined active records, proposed records management systems and projects, and began a survey of records previously transferred to the American Jewish Historical Society (AJHS). He continued both the records management and archival work until at least the late 1990s. The files in this collection contain proposed records management plans; documents describing filing and numbering systems; staff and phone lists, organizational charts, and floor plans; records surveys and box and folder lists; Pomrenze's contracts; correspondence with records managers, executives, human resources, and researchers; records management guides, manuals, and circulars; and Pomrenze's notes and memos regarding his work, such as plans for transferring boxes from CJF to AJHS. The archives and records management materials are mixed in the general folders.

FEGS: In the 1990s, Pomrenze also served as a records management consultant for the Federation-supported Federation Employment and Guidance Service (FEGS).

FJP: In 1978, Pomrenze drafted a proposal for an archives and records management plan for the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies (FJP) of New York City. At the same time, he began records management consulting work for the UJA-Federation Joint Campaign (UFJC). In the mid-1980s, the New York UJA and Federation of Jewish Philanthropies of NYC became the UJA-Federation of New York (UJAF), and Pomrenze continued to work for this organization. In 1997, toward the end of his work with both organizations, the national office of the UJA and the CJF formed a joint operating partnership. The general FJP files contain memos and correspondence about records management plans and activities, such as box destruction, budgets, and transfer to archives including the American Jewish Historical Society (AJHS) and YIVO; file plans and manuals, surveys, floor plans, and personnel lists; lists of file folder titles (LFFTs) and box lists; Pomrenze's notes and memos regarding his work; and correspondence with researchers. The archives log and box lists contain box number, title, date, and location information. The acronym project folder contains lists of acronyms used in the Federation context.

UJA: Pomrenze's work for the national office of the UJA seems to have been mostly archives-related. In 1975, he completed a lengthy preliminary inventory of the records at the national office, and thereafter was engaged as a consultant until at least 1992.

Section 3, Other Organizations, contains Pomrenze's files for the many other clients he worked with during his career as a records management consultant. He would typically survey an organization's records, propose and implement a records management plan, and sometimes also create an archives. Some arrangements were limited to one survey or records plan, while others were long-term consulting contracts. Examples of major clients include the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College and its Mordecai Kaplan Archives, and the Jewish War Veterans (JWV) - USA National Memorial Inc, which is now the National Museum of American Jewish Military History.

Section 1: Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society

Section 2: Council of Jewish Federations and United Jewish Appeal

Section 3: Other Organizations

Subseries 2: General, Undated, 1949-2007.

Arrangement:

Alphabetical by folder title.

Scope and Content:

This subseries contains Pomrenze's records management materials that are not client-specific. The items include policies from various clients on access of materials to outside researchers; a syllabus and other class materials from Pomrenze's tenure as a professor of records management at American University; a marked copy of Carol Barker's book "Classified Files: The Yellowing Pages"; review materials from records grants Pomrenze was asked to review for the NEH and the Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture; and some general records management documents such as an ARMA flier, an acronym list, a questionnaire for New York State records consultants, and the like. Also included are what appear to be some of Pomrenze's general correspondence files. These include correspondence with researchers, various records management clients and archives, ARMA, SAA, and students, as well as some clippings and business cards. There also three folders containing materials about Pomrenze's trips to Israel as a records consultant for various clients, including the ADL, AJC, American Bible Encyclopedia Society, CJF, JDC, JWB, Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture, and UJA. Items include correspondence, notes, business cards, and a Hebrew-English-French records management glossary. The subseries also contains programs and invitatiosn for President Truman's inauguration and inaugural gala, a clipping, and a NARA manual about records of inaugural committees. Pomrenze was assigned by NARA in 1949 to document the inauguration. Also found here are some Army records management correspondence, and documents relating to Pomrenze's naming as an honorary member of the Society of American Archivists in 2000. Printed material (books, journals) about records management generally, and not by Pomrenze, was removed and discarded. A list of those materials is found in box 16,folder 12.

Subseries 3: Publications, Undated, 1952-1982.

Arrangement:

Alphabetical by folder title.

Scope and Content:

This subseries contains Pomrenze's writings on records management. It includes off-prints, photocopies, typed copies, and full publications.

Subseries 4: Subject Files, Undated, 1946-2005.

Arrangement:

Alphabetical by folder title.

Scope and Content:

This subseries contains Pomrenze's alphabetical subject files. A partial index, prepared by Pomrenze, is found in the first folder. Note that the files for U-Z are not found in this collection.

Materials found here are primarily related to records management -- clippings, manuals, catalogs, vendor correspondence, sample forms, retention schedules, and the like. There are also materials relating to Offenbach and restitution of books, including items about the Jewish materials still in Lithuania. Some genealogical research is also found in this subseries.

Documents relating to specific clients of Pomrenze's, such as records surveys and manuals, are also found here. The clients include the American Jewish Committee, Anti-Defamation League, Associated Jewish Charities and Welfare Fund, Council on Social Work Education, Federation Education and Guidance Service, Federation of Jewish Agencies of Greater Philadelphia, Federation of Jewish Philanthropies, Jewish Board of Family and Children's Services, Jewish Federation Council of Los Angeles, Jewish Restitution Successor Organization, Jewish Theological Seminary, Joint Distribution Council, National Jewish Welfare Board, Jewish War Veterans, United Jewish Appeal – Federation joint campaign, and YIVO.