Arthur Kahn Collection
Scope and Content Note
The material of the Arthur Kahn Collection consists of letters, official documents and a photo album as well as two autograph books and a manuscript which is available in a German, English and audio version. Most of the items focus on the time when Arthur Kahn was a prisoner of war in Siberia especially his function as the instructor of Maccabi Irkutsk. Furthermore the collection includes material about the Rosenthal family and the emigration of the Kahn family. Correspondence with several research institutions documents the depositories of further material about the Kahn/Rosenthal family.
Dates
- Creation: 1854-2000
- Creation: Majority of material found within 1915-1920
Creator
- Kahn, Arthur, 1894-1991 (Person)
Language of Materials
The collection is in German, English, and Russian.
Access Restrictions
Open to researchers.
Access Information
Collection is digitized. Follow the links in the Container List to access the digitized materials.
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 "Reserve" button.
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
Maccabi ("fighter") describes a federation of these several Jewish sports clubs for gymnastics from all over the world which was formed in 1921. All members of this federation used Hebrew as their official language. There were regular events such as the Maccabiah, which could be called the Jewish Olympics. Many clubs published their own sport journals. Following the First World War, the Maccabi strongly supported the ideas of Jewish nationalism and new lives in Palestine.
Biographical Notes
Arthur Kahn was born in Simmershausen (Germany) on April 1st, 1894. He was called up to the German army in August 1914. Six month later he was sent to the Eastern front, where he was captured by Russian soldiers in August 1915. They brought him to a prisoner of war camp in Siberia close to Irkutsk where he was held until 1920. In Irkutsk Arthur Kahn became the instructor of the local Maccabi sports club. In the later 1930s the family of Arthur Kahn immigrated to the United States. Arthur Kahn died in New York City on October 1st, 1991.
Historical Note – Jewish Sports Clubs/ Maccabi
The first Jewish sports club for gymnastics, which was called Bar Kochba Berlin, was founded in 1898. The members of this club followed the motto: "Healthy body. Healthy mind." Bar Kochba Berlin and other clubs declared that they would like to focus on physical activities in addition to mental discussions. They were inspired by the ideas of Zionism.
Maccabi ("fighter") describes a federation of these several Jewish sports clubs for gymnastics from all over the world which was formed in 1921. All members of this federation used Hebrew as their official language. There were regular events such as the Maccabiah, which could be called the Jewish Olympics. Many clubs published their own sport journals. Following the First World War, the Maccabi strongly supported the ideas of Jewish nationalism and new lives in Palestine.
Extent
0.5 Linear Feet
Abstract
This collection centers on Arthur Kahn's experiences during the First World War and his time as a prisoner of war in Siberia from 1915 until 1920 where he became the instructor of the sports club Maccabi Irkutsk.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged in three series:
Separated Material
The cassette with Arthur Kahn's early life experiences has been removed to the Audio Video Collection.
Processing Information
The collection was previously arranged in several folders. This arrangement was not retained. Series adjustments and descriptions were added during processing in 2011.
Subject
- Kahn, Arthur, 1894-1991 (Person)
- Kahn, Paula (Person)
- Mueller Rosenthal, Bertha (Person)
- Maccabi Irkutsk (Organization)
- United Jewish Appeal--Federation of Jewish Philanthropies of New York (Organization)
- Zentralarchiv zur Erforschung der Geschichte der Juden in Deutschland (Organization)
Genre / Form
Geographic
Topical
- Title
- Guide to the Papers of Arthur Kahn (1894-1991) 1854-2000 AR 6394
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Processed by Maria Neumann
- Date
- © 2011
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Description is in English.
- Edition statement
- This version was derived from ArthurKahn.xml
Revision Statements
- January 17, 2012 : Links to digital objects added in Container List.
Repository Details
Part of the Leo Baeck Institute Repository
