Guide to the Papers of Max James Kohler (1871-1934),undated, [1765]-1963 (bulk 1888-1935)*P-7

Guide to the Papers of Max James Kohler (1871-1934),
undated, [1765]-1963 (bulk 1888-1935)

*P-7

Processed by Tanya Elder

American Jewish Historical Society

Center for Jewish History

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New York, N.Y. 10011

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Fax: (212) 294-6161

Email: reference@ajhs.org

URL: http://www.ajhs.org

© 2003 American Jewish Historical Society, Newton Centre, MA and New York, NY. All rights reserved.
Center for Jewish History, Publisher.
Machine-readable finding aid was created by Tanya Elder as an MS-Word Document in November 2003. Electronic finding aid was converted to EAD 2002 by Tanya Elder in November 2003. Description is in English.

Descriptive Summary

Creator: Kohler, Max James (1871-1934)
Title: Max James Kohler Papers
Dates: 1765-1963 (bulk 1888-1935)
Abstract: The Papers of Max J. Kohler (1871-1934) document his life's work as lawyer, historian, author, researcher, and defender of Jewish and immigrant rights. Correspondents include many of Kohler's contemporaries in the field of history and immigration law including Cyrus Adler, William Taft, John Bassett Moore, Mortimer Schiff, David Hunter Miller, Baron and Baroness de Hirsch, the Straus Family including Oscar Straus; Luigi Luzzatti, Leon Huhner, and Julian Mack. Subjects include U.S. immigration law, American-Jewish history, Col. Alfred Dreyfus, Haym Salomon, Ellis Island, Rabbi Kaufmann Kohler, the publication God in Freedom, international treaties and the Peace Conference of 1919.
Languages: The collection is in English, German, French, Yiddish, Hebrew, and Italian.
Quantity: 14.5 linear feet (20.5 manuscript boxes; 1.25 manuscript box; 4 oversized boxes; 1 oversized-2 shared folder.)
Identification: P-7
Repository: American Jewish Historical Society
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Biographical Note

Max James Kohler
(1871-1934)

Judge Irving Lehman wrote of Max Kohler: "The general public can never know the full value of Mr. Kohler's work. He never sought or desired wide recognition. He did seek the satisfaction of work well done. He did value the respect and even admiration of his friends and fellow-workers. These he received and these were the only reward he desired." 1 In this paragraph written in memoriam to Kohler, Judge Lehman summed up Kohler's life, particularly in regards to Kohler's invaluable, and largely unsung, work on the rights of immigrants in the United States, his activism on behalf of the Jewish people, and his meticulously researched history of Jews and Judaism in America.

Max James Kohler was born in Detroit, Michigan on May 22, 1871. His father, Reform Rabbi Kaufmann Kohler (1843-1926), was the head of the Beth-El Congregation in Detroit, having arrived in the United States after graduating from the University of Leipzig in 1868. In 1869, Kaufmann married Johanna Einhorn, the third daughter of Reform Rabbi David Einhorn (another daughter married Rabbi Emil Hirsch). Kaufmann and Johanna had four children: Max, Lili, Rose, and Edgar. In 1873, Kohler's family moved from Detroit to Chicago, where Kaufmann briefly led Chicago's Reform Congregation Beth-El.

Rabbi Einhorn (1809-1879), on coming to the United States in 1855, became the leader of the Reform Movement in America, eventually leading the Reform Congregation Beth-El in New York (Beth-El merged with Congregation Emanu-El in the 1920s). Kaufmann Kohler had been reared in an Orthodox family, but broke with that branch of Judaism in 1867. When Rabbi Einhorn retired from Beth-El in 1879, Kaufmann moved to New York to take his place, while Rabbi Hirsch filled his position in Chicago. Taking up Einhorn's mantle, Kaufmann (along with Isaac M. Wise) spearheaded the radical Pittsburgh Platform (1885), the formulation of principles melding the U.S. and German wings of Reform Judaism. Both Einhorn and Kohler were prolific writers and outspoken in the defense, propagation, and codification of Reform Judaism. Among the friends and associates surrounding the Kohler family were the Straus, Seligman, and Isaacs families of New York, Mortimer Schiff, Cyrus Adler, Louis Marshall, Simon Wolf, and H. Pereira Mendes. 2

With this legacy of prominent and learned rabbis, leaders, statesmen, and historians as relatives and mentors, Max Kohler developed a deep interest in the laws of Judaism, American and international justice for the Jew and non-Jew alike, literature, history, and scholarship. During his lifetime, he had enough careers for three or four men including: immigration lawyer, community worker, historian, publicist, writer, and honorary doctor of Hebrew Law. He was a prolific writer on immigration law, international treaties and the rights of minorities, a literary and academic critic, editor, and publisher. He served on numerous committees and civic organizations including the American Jewish Committee, the American Jewish Historical Society, the Baron de Hirsch Fund, the Board of Delegates on Civil Rights, the Judeans, the Committee for the 250th Anniversary of the Settlement of the Jews in the United States, and numerous other organizations and committees.

Kohler graduated from the City College of New York with a B.S. in Political Science in 1891, moving on to Columbia College to obtain an M.A. and LL.B. in 1893. After graduation, he became a District Attorney for the Southern District of New York, leaving that position in 1898 when he became a partner in the firm Lewinson, Kohler, and Schattman. It was while a partner at this firm that he began taking gratis cases (for 25 years he never accepted payment for any immigration suit he undertook) concerning immigrants of a variety of ethnicities including Jewish, Chinese, Hindi, and Armenian backgrounds. It was Kohler's conviction that the United States was founded as a 'haven of refuge' for the oppressed of all countries, and he fought hard against registration for aliens, the establishment of literacy tests, the establishment of insanity as a legal ground for deportation, international treaties that limited alien intake, and corruption in the Department of Labor's Bureau of Immigration at Ellis Island. Many of the briefs he wrote during his lifetime and his contribution to the body of writings on immigration in the United States are considered classics in law and are cited extensively in immigration circles. In addition, the historical research involved in his briefs and writings contributed much to the field of history.3

Kohler took time from his busy life to marry Miss Winifred Lichtenauer, daughter of banker Joseph Lichtenauer, on November 6, 1906. Winifred was in her own right an author and historian, but little remains of her contributions. When she died on December 21, 1922, Kohler, deeply grieved, hurriedly abandoned the home he had made with her and moved back into his family home with his parents and siblings. Much of his correspondence prior to 1922 was discarded.

Ever the workaholic, Kohler died on July 24, 1934. Colleagues and family had urged him to slow down, but Kohler, having been asked by Secretary of Labor Frances Perkins to work on the Ellis Island investigation of 1933-1934, combined with his sense of dread and foreboding to what was occurring in Germany at the time, was propelled to work even harder on behalf of immigrants and Jews. He suffered a mild heart attack in mid-July of 1934, and his sister Lili convinced him to rest by taking a vacation. A week later, while vacationing in Long Lake, NY, he suffered a fatal bout of angina pectoris, and died.

Due to the voluminous nature of his works, the following are brief sketches of Max Kohler's major activities.

Historian, Writer, Editor, Reviewer, and Publicist

Kaufmann and Max Kohler attended the first meeting of the newly organized American Jewish Historical Society in 1892. Max went on to become Secretary of the organization from 1900-1910 and was Vice-President at his death. He worked closely with Cyrus Adler and the AJHS' curator, Leon Huhner, on meeting and donation arrangements, publications, and writings on Jewish history.

According to Nathan M. Kaganoff's article "AJHS at 90: Reflections on the History of the Oldest Ethnic Historical Society in America," toward the end of the 19th century, Jews were coming under considerable attack regarding their legitimacy as American citizens, particularly in light of increasing numbers of Eastern European and Russian Jews emigrating to America. Established Jews were becoming increasingly alarmed at the anti-Semitic nature of the press regarding these immigrants, and embarrassed by the "noisy speech" and "unclean and unsophisticated" lives of the new immigrants. By establishing a historical record of the contributions of Jews to America from the inception of the country and prior, Jews believed they could counter the opinions of an increasing number of critics regarding them. German-American Jews in particular began to write on the contributions of Jews in the United States.

One of the results of Jews' increasing interest in their role and contribution to American history was the creation of the American Jewish Historical Society. The AJHS held its first meeting on June 6, 1892, and by December had produced 16 papers tracing "firsts" as pertaining to the contributions of the Jewish people in America. Kohler wholeheartedly took up this mantle and wrote articles on Jewish activity in the States, particularly on Colonial and pre-Civil War history, though some of the items he published focused on European and Caribbean history. Among his articles in the AJHS Publications series were: "Beginnings of New York Jewish History," "The Jews of Newport," "Dr. Rodrigo Lopez: Queen Elizabeth's Jewish Physician," "Judah P. Benjamin, Statesmen and Jurist," and "Civil States of the Jewish in Colonial New York." He also wrote historical pieces on the activities of the Board of Delegates of American Israelites, a book called Rebecca Franks: An American Belle of Last Century, and edited Charles P. Daly's work The Settlement of the Jews in North America. Kohler also contributed historical research to any number of books and papers written by historians in the United States and England. At times, these authors did not attribute Kohler's contribution to their work, a sore point with Kohler. At Kohler's death, he bequeathed to the American Jewish Historical Society his papers, as well as his extensive Judaica library. 4

In addition to writing his own articles and contributing research, Kohler reviewed works by others in publications such as the Jewish Messenger, the New York Jewish Tribune, the Jewish Daily Bulletin, and the American Hebrew. He reviewed major works including Oscar Straus' Origin of Representative Government in the United States; Cyrus Adler's Trial of Gabriel de Granada, Lucien Wolf's Notes on the Diplomatic History of the Jewish Question, John Bassett Moore's International Law and Some Current Illusions, and Oscar Janowski's The Jews and the Minority Treaties at the Peace Conference.

God in Freedom by Luigi Luzzatti

God in Freedom, originally published in Italian by Luigi Luzzatti (Prime Minister of Italy and Professor of Public Law at the University of Rome) under the title of La Libertà de Coscienza e di Scienza (Liberty of Conscience and of Science) in 1909, was edited by Kohler and published in the United States in an expanded version in 1930. Along with additional material published by Luzzati in an updated Italian version in 1926, Kohler's English-language version added a preface, a biography of Luzzatti by Dr. Dora Askowith, and several American supplemental chapters. The work itself was a tome dedicated to the idea and merits of religious liberty as espoused through Eastern and Western religious and secular thought. Ultimately, the book upheld the worth of religion in the lives of humans, but stressed that all peoples should be free to live religious or secular lives as they choose without harm by the state. As a Jew, Luzzatti defended the right of Jews throughout the world to live in freedom among different peoples while practicing their faith and maintaining loyalty to the state, though he considered himself a Theist who followed no specific religious path.5

The English version was issued as a "commemoration of the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the first constitutional establishment of religious liberty," the creation of the Declaration of Independence. For this reason, Kohler added chapters regarding the establishment of the Bill of Rights, the struggle of the Jews, the abrogation of the United States’ 1832 treaty with Russia due to that country's religious intolerance of Jews, and the issue of the protection of minorities as stated in the Peace Treaty of 1919. William Howard Taft agreed to the publication of his speech entitled "The Progressive World Struggle of the Jews for Civil Equality."6 The text also included a speech by Judge Irving Lehman presented before the Judeans in 1927 entitled "The One Hundred Fiftieth Anniversary of the Constitutional Establishment of Religious Freedom." 7

Louis Marshall had originally agreed to write entries on the abrogation of treaties between the U.S. and Russia, but died in 1929 prior to publication. It was left to Kohler to write on this subject instead, in a section entitled "The Abrogation of the Treaty of 1832 Between the United States and Russia and the International Protection of Religious Minorities." Kohler also included addresses by Marshall on "Russia and the American Passport," given before the Union of American Hebrew Congregations in 1911, as well as Marshall's address before the Judeans on January 27, 1926 on the "World Court and the Protection of Racial and Religious Minorities." In addition to the Preface, Kohler contributed and reprinted his paper given before the AJHS in 1926 entitled "The Fathers of the Republic and Constitutional Establishment of Religious Liberty." 8 A history of the proceedings on behalf of the Jewish delegations at the Peace Conference is also included, written by Kohler.

Though the book was not critically acclaimed upon its publication in the States, it was hailed as a bold statement on the concept of the separation of Church and State.

Baron and Baroness de Hirsch and the Baron de Hirsch Fund

As a result of Kohler's work and contacts, he was asked to become a Trustee and Honorary Secretary of the Baron de Hirsch Fund in 1905, eventually chairing the committee on immigrant aid. Railroad magnet and banker Baron Maurice de Hirsch and his wife, Baroness Clara de Hirsch, initiated the De Hirsch Fund after their only child, Lucien, died in 1887. De Hirsch funded a variety of educational, agricultural, and immigration projects geared towards the betterment of Jews in Europe and the Middle East, particularly Russian Jews. The Baron also developed the Jewish Colonization Association, which systematically helped large numbers of Russian Jews immigrate to Brazil and Argentina. In the United States, he organized the Woodbine Colony of New Jersey, and the Baroness established the Clara de Hirsch Home for Girls. He and his wife donated funds in excess of $100,000,000.

Kohler's work on the Baron de Hirsch Fund in turn led him to work with the Board of Delegates of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, the Judeans, the Jewish Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Conference on Immigration Policy, and the National Council on Naturalization and Citizenship. His work with these organizations revolved primarily around immigration and alien rights, and with the de Hirsch Fund, establishing educational standards and immigration policy for the Fund.

In 1910, Kohler endeavored to publish a history of the Baron and the de Hirsch Fund. He undertook this project from Oscar Straus, who had earlier attempted to write a biography of de Hirsch. To this end, Straus gave many personal letters and documents to Kohler from the de Hirsches and their family, as well as personal correspondence between Straus and the de Hirsches. In addition, Gustave Held in Paris loaned other documents to Kohler, upon the promise of their return. Held had once sought to publish a book in Europe on the Baron, but the project, like Straus’, fell through, primarily due to lack of funding. Held was a European relative of Kohler’s as well as the funds administrator of the Baron’s Jewish Colonization Association shortly before the Baron’s death.

Kohler’s book project fell into trouble as he began to look into the Baron's life, especially his financial life, more closely. One correspondent in particular urged him to drop the entire project, saying that the philanthropic accomplishments of the Baron were the only ones that mattered; his private affairs were just that, private. 9 Kohler wanted to delve into the Baron's dealings with the Ottoman Empire over the building of the Oriental Railway in the 1870s. The Empire had awarded the Baron the government concession to build the railway, but eventually the Empire sued the Baron, accusing him of providing inadequate funds to the government generated by the project through sugar and copper sales. The court decision came down in favor of the Baron in 1887. There were also rumors that he had offered considerable bribes to various persons and agencies in order to build the railway; Kohler wanted to get to the bottom of these rumors.

From Gustave Held, Kohler received the trial decision and a letter from one of the judges presiding over the case, both of which cleared the Baron of any wrongdoing. (Straus wrote to Kohler that the Judge's "letter and decisions disposes of the abuse unjustly heaped upon him [the Baron] growing out of jealousy mixed with prejudice.") It was Kohler's closer investigation of the Baron's financial life that was causing a stir, though Kohler by no means was focusing solely on the Baron's financial life. When Kohler sent his book proposal to the Jewish Publication Society, the Society turned him down. Ultimately, it took a letter from Oscar Straus, as well as Straus’ sitting in on a meeting with the Publication Society, to reverse their decision and accept his proposal for a biography of both the Baron and Baroness de Hirsch, not to exceed 70,000 words and allowing Kohler to “write the book in any way you deem best.” The project, however, did not culminate in a book publication, but Kohler did publish several papers and articles on the Baron and the Baron de Hirsch Fund.10

Alfred Dreyfus and Haym Salomon

In 1930, Kohler helped 'shed new light' on the case of the French Jewish officer, Col. Alfred Dreyfus, convicted by a closed military-tribunal on treason charges of providing military documents to the Germans. Dreyfus was imprisoned on the Devil's Island penal colony in 1895, where he stayed until 1900. Dreyfus was convicted on insubstantial proof, and was primarily the target of an anti-Semitic intelligence officer investigating the case. During the five years of his imprisonment, his case was gaining heat in the French press as his supporters, including a new intelligence officer, Lt. Col. Marie Georges Picquart, the author Émile Zola, and the "Dreyfusards," as Dreyfus' supporters called themselves, brought the case to the attention of the public, while his detractors in the press stirred up the tempest of anti-Semitism in their writings. Eventually, the French military was forced to retry Dreyfus when an intelligence officer who had been forging documents against Dreyfus committed suicide. The Dreyfusards were shocked when the verdict of guilty with extenuating circumstances was handed down in late 1899, sentencing Dreyfus to 10 years in prison. The army would not back down on its verdict, and the French President, Émile Loubet, stepped in and offered a pardon to Dreyfus, who reluctantly accepted. Though free, Dreyfus continued to protest his innocence, and was cleared in a civil court in July 1906, going on to fight for France in World War I. 11

In 1930, Kohler obtained transcripts of newly-published documents from the German archives entitled "Die Grosse Politik der europäischen Kabinette, 1871-1914," while at the same time a Dr. Bruno Weil was delivering lectures based on the private archives of Count Münster, the German ambassador at Paris during the Dreyfus trial. According to journalist Walter Littlefield, these two publications persuaded the 71-year-old Dreyfus to appear before French officials and demand that French archives regarding his case be opened. Though the government refused, these two documents, along with books on the subject by Jacques Kayser (The Dreyfus Affair) and the work edited by Bernhard Schwertfeger (The Truth about Dreyfus: From the Schwartzkoppen Papers), helped to establish the events that occurred between French and German officials, and the details of how Dreyfus became the scapegoat in French political and military intrigue. 12

In 1931, Kohler went in a different direction with his research, in an attempt to add new information to the historical record of American Jewish history. He had been asked to serve on a committee to investigate the historical record of Haym Salomon, long thought to have funded the American Revolutionary War. According to Judge Abram I. Elkus, Kohler “first supported the claims of [the] Salomons [committee], but with later research, issued a pamphlet casting doubt on this claim.” 13 Indeed, Kohler had initially supported the Monument Committee of the Federation of Polish Jews in America (Salomon being of Polish descent), who wanted to erect a monument in New York City to the Revolutionary Patriot. The Monument Committee consisted of historians, politicians, and supporters of the Salomon monument, including Senator Nathan Straus of New York. The Monument Committee asked Kohler, along with Leon Huhner and Albert Friedenberg of the AJHS, to look closely into background material concerning Salomon, with a mind to providing incontrovertible facts as to the deeds of Salomon to the Municipal Art Commission, the New York City commission responsible for approving public monuments and art.

Traditionally, the American Jewish Historical Society had enthusiastically written about Salomon in their Publications series, as had Kohler in his work on Rebecca Franks, sister to Salomon's wife, Rachel. 14 In 1926, Samuel Oppenheim, the recording secretary of the AJHS as well as respected historical writer and researcher, was asked by Kohler's committee to investigate the matter. Oppenheim uncovered evidence that led him to believe that Salomon was not responsible for providing funds to the fledgling American government, particularly in light of documents found at Philadelphia's Register of Wills. This information proved that Salomon could not have loaned the government money because when he died suddenly at the age of 45 in 1785, his estate was insolvent and securities he held were owed to a variety of persons; when he arrived in Philadelphia in 1778, he had been penniless, therefore, unless he had somehow made a fortune in less than ten years as a merchant, it was Oppenheim's conclusion that though Salomon may have been a money-broker, he was never a money-lender to the government. Ever the meticulous researcher of facts, Kohler himself took Oppenheim’s research and came to the conclusion that Salomon was, like many Jews of his time, a patriot for the cause of freedom in the young states, but at the time of the Revolution, had no money to lend to the war effort.15

Kohler published his and Oppenheim’s findings in a brochure entitled “Haym Salomon, The Patriot Broker of the Revolution, An Open Letter by Max Kohler” on February 26, 1931, after repeatedly warning Benjamin Winter and Z. Tygel of the Federation of Polish Jews, that if they persisted in their course of action as to the statue with the new information on Salomon provided to them by Kohler's committee, he would have no choice but to lay the facts before the public. Oppenheim (who fell ill and died in 1928 shortly after giving Kohler his documentation) had wanted to keep the matter confidential, as did Kohler, but Winter and Tygel continued to lobby the Commission for the monument, though it had been turned down in 1930 for a site at Madison Square. Winter and Tygel responded to Kohler's brochure with extreme vitriol, calling Kohler, of all things, “anti-Semitic” and reluctant to give any credit to Polish Jews due to Kohler’s German-Jewish ancestry. 16

Kohler responded on April 6, 1931 in the Jewish Daily Bulletin, refuting Winter and Tygel’s statements as to his anti-Semitism and stating his support of Polish Jews by pointing out that his immigration activities had helped thousands of Jewish Poles enter the United States, as well as his pamphlet printed in defense of Polish Jews against Burton Hendrick’s anti-Polish remarks, reprinted by the Anti-Defamation League in 1921. Kohler also accused the Federation of deliberately ignoring the new information uncovered concerning Salomon, along with letters from deceased Louis Marshall opposing any monuments to Salomon. Kohler continued by briefly reiterating his findings, based on fraudulent documents having been presented to Congress by Salomon's son, asking for repayment from the U.S. of monies owed to Salomon from the War (which was shown by the discovery of the Register of Wills document as not being owed to Salomon). In addition, Salomon’s personal letter-book showed it was only in 1782 that he had enough money to send to his indigent parents in Poland, because prior to that year, he had no funds. Salomon did raise $200,000 for the war effort, but Kohler claimed that this amount was raised just before the War officially ended in October 1781, and that this sum was a small amount compared to the millions of dollars needed to fund the war.17

The furor over Kohler’s findings catapulted him into a spotlight in which he was not necessarily comfortable. It was his conviction, however, that Jewish history should be accurately documented for the benefit of the American people that led him to publish his findings. The Philadelphia Jewish Times wrote in an editorial: “There is little doubt that... Kohler was well aware that his statement on Salomon would raise a tempest... Yet Kohler felt that his findings had to be made public, regardless of personal inconvenience. Thus, whatever one may think of the intrinsic merits of the Salomon controversy, one must admire the courage and fearlessness of Max Kohler.”18

Ultimately, the statute to Haym Salomon was never erected in New York, but a monument to Salomon was erected in Chicago in 1941, depicting Salomon and Robert Morris, the Superintendent of Finance to the new Republic, flanking a statute of George Washington.19

Immigration, Treaties, Ellis Island, and German Jewry

The core of Max Kohler's working life centered on the law, particularly immigration law. He worked gratis on the large number of cases he took on behalf of an assortment of nationalities seeking to immigrate to the United States. He felt that the United States was founded as an asylum for the unfortunate of the world, and insisted on a lenient immigration policy. He also took up cases challenging the government's right to deny entry on the basis of insanity and disease, but did believe that once an immigrant was allowed to live in America, that he or she should be determined to become an American through education and hard work.

Through his work on immigration, he became a student of international treaties in regards to the protection of minorities and the rights of aliens to asylum in the U.S. He carefully studied and wrote on the Minority Provisions of the Peace Treaty of 1919 as to the factions of Jewish delegates and their fight for a Zionist/non-Zionist policy regarding the Jewish Question, particularly as this conference was the first in which Jews themselves would lay out a worldwide policy regarding their own emancipation. Kohler also fought for and wrote on the 1912 abrogation of the 1832 U.S.-Russia treaty because of Russia's denying of Jews with American passports entry into Russia as well as the attempted abrogation of U.S.-China treaties as to the legality of the exclusion of Chinese immigrants, and wrote numerous pamphlets and articles on international treaties and the rights of Jews and minorities in international law. 20

Kohler was twice asked to investigate or hear cases concerning Ellis Island, in 1909 and 1933. Amid allegations of illegal deportations at Ellis Island and counter-allegations from the Department concerning Jewish immigration societies and individuals, Kohler was asked to aid the Hebrew Sheltering Aid Society (HIAS) in defending cases of deportation by the Department's Board of Special Inquiry at Ellis Island. In 1909, HIAS conducted interviews with immigrants who claimed to have been unlawfully deported at Ellis Island, or after entry to the United States, been forced to deliver monetary deposits to customs officials. HIAS maintained records of interviews in 1909 to 1910, and Kohler offered his law services in deposing and defending those claiming unfair deportation.

In 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed the first female Cabinet Member, Frances Perkins, as Secretary of Labor, a position she served in despite steep opposition, until 1945. Perkins had a background in child labor laws, sweatshops laws (she served on the committee formed after the Triangle Shirtwaist fire in 1911), labor mediation, and was an industrial commissioner under both Governors Smith and Roosevelt of New York. Roosevelt appointed her Labor Secretary of New York prior to his election as President. Secretary Perkins swept into national office, determined to revive an entrenched Labor Department and ordering a cleanup of the Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization, then under the auspices of the Labor Department after the split of Labor and Commerce in 1913. The Bureau had developed a reputation for dereliction of duty, bribe-taking, illegal and overzealous deportations, and corruption, particularly at Ellis Island. To most historical accounts, the use of Ellis Island ends in 1924, when the Island stopped functioning as a point of entry into the United States. From 1924 until the start of World War II (when it served as a prison for enemy fighters), the Island was used as a way station for detained immigrants awaiting deportation.

Perkins set up committees to investigate corruption charges at Ellis Island, sending Kohler a telegram on August 7, 1933 informing him that she proposed to "… have examination of personnel by boards including representatives to guard against favoritism or influence entering into decisions as to retention or dismissal …" Kohler agreed to be on the Committee on Ellis Island Law Committee (one of seven committees), and spent the next six weeks traveling to the Island, interviewing detainees, and gathering information for the final report of the Commission. (Fellow members of the commission included Harold Fields, Cecelia Razovsky, Mrs. Alexander Kohut, Mrs. Charles Dana Gibson, Mrs. Vincent Astor, Roger W. Straus, and Marian Schisby.) Through focusing on Ellis Island as the core of the immigration service in the U.S., it was determined that what was true for Ellis Island was true for the entire immigration system, and the Committee was told that its report would be of national application, though the first and foremost objective was the rehabilitation of Ellis Island, and the reputation of the United States as a fair arbiter of immigration policy. 21

The report was presented to Secretary Perkins in early 1934, and Kohler turned his attention to events occurring in Europe under Hitler's regime. He began work in 1933 with the Emergency Committee in Aid of Displaced German Scholars, and began lobbying Congress in support of German Jews seeking asylum in the United States. He wrote reviews of the influence of the United States in situations where minorities were oppressed, hoping that Congress would use it as a basis to counter the actions of the Third Reich and allow more Jewish immigrants into the U.S. He published several articles addressing the plight of Jews in Germany, and seldom rested between January and July of 1934. The strenuous pace of his life, writings, and studies finally took its toll on July 24, 1934.

In the case of German Jews, Kohler's death was unfortunate. With his background in lobbying Congress, writing, and his knowledge of the law, he might have made some difference in the attitude of the American government toward the on-rushing plight of Jews in Europe. Condolences sent to his family were heartfelt and heartbroken, and in 1936, a compilation of his writings on immigration law were published under the title Immigration and Aliens in the United States; studies of American Immigration laws and the legal status of aliens in the United States.22

Chronology

May 22, 1871 Born in Detroit, Michigan to Dr. Kaufmann Kohler and Johanna Einhorn, daughter of Dr. David Einhorn
1890 B.S. from the City College of New York; Class President
1891 M.A. in Political Science from Columbia Law School
1892 Awarded Toppan Prize in Constitutional Law at Columbia
Attended the initial meeting of the American Jewish Historical Society with his father
1893 Awarded Civil Service Reform Prize for the essay "History and Progress of Civil Service Reform"
LL. B. from Columbia Law School; Admitted to the Bar Association of New York
Edited Charles P. Daly's Settlement of the Jews in North America
1894-1898 District Attorney, Southern District of New York; Appointed by U.S. Attorney Wallace McFarland
1894 Authored Rebecca Franks: An American Jewish Belle of Last Century
Council member of the American Jewish Historical Society
1896 Contributed chapter "Jews and Judaism in America" in Halliday and Gregory's The Church in America and Its Baptism of Fire
1898-1899 Appointed Special United States District Attorney as a Democrat under a Republican administration
1898 Became a partner in the law firm of Lewinson, Kohler and Schattman
1900-1910 Secretary of the American Jewish Historical Society, later became Vice-President
1900 Traveled to Europe
1902 Admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of the United States
Argued the case of U.S. v. Lee Yen Tai before Justice Harlan of the Supreme Court
1905 Honorary Secretary, National Committee for the Celebration of the 250th Anniversary of the Settlement of the Jews in the United States
1906-1934 Trustee and Honorary Secretary, Baron de Hirsch Fund
Member of the Judeans; served as Secretary from 1907-1923; later became Vice-President
November 6, 1906 Married Winifred Lichtenauer, daughter of banker Joseph M. Lichtenauer
1909-1925 Member of the Board of Delegates on Civil Rights of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations
1910 Successfully argued the case of the Galveston Immigrants Information Bureau allowing immigrants bound for Galveston, Texas to go by steamer directly to that city, bypassing large Atlantic ports
1911-1934 Member of the American Jewish Committee
1911 Wrote against literacy tests for immigrants in Injustice of the Literacy Test for Aliens
1916-1934 Member of the Committee on Legislation of New York County Lawyers Association
1916 Published, with Simon Wolf, Jewish Disabilities in the Balkan States
1917 Served as Government Attorney before the local draft board of New York City
Published "Jewish Rights at International Congresses in the American Jewish Year Book, 1917-18
1918 Wrote Jewish Rights at the Congresses of Vienna and Aix-la-Chapelle
December 21, 1922 Winifred dies of pneumonia
1922 Moved household to family home with parents, brother Edgar, and sisters Lili and Rose
1924 Wrote Registration of Aliens - A Dangerous Project
1925 Bestowed Honorary Doctor of Hebrew Law from the Hebrew Union College
1926 Editor of the "America" Department of the Popular Jewish Encyclopedia
1927 Elected a Corresponding Member of the Jewish Historical Society of England
1929-1931 Edited and produced additional chapters for the English-language version of Italian ex-Prime Minister Luigi Luzzatti's God in Freedom
1929 Wrote Some "New Light on the Dreyfus Case," expounding on new evidence found within German archives signaling the innocence of French officer Alfred Dreyfus
1931 Spoke out against the erection of a statute to Haym Salomon based on his research that there was inadequate proof that Salomon was a financier of the American Revolutionary War
1933-1934 Served on the Commission on Ellis Island and Immigration Relief; Appt. by the U.S. Secretary of State Frances Perkins, first female Cabinet member
Wrote The United States and German Jewish Persecutions: Precedents for Popular and Governmental Action, a review of the influence of the United States on behalf of persecuted minorities in Europe and its implications for use in reversing German policy; published in the Congressional Record
July 24, 1934 Died of a heart attack (angina pectoris) while on vacation in Long Lake, NY. Had suffered from a previous attack earlier in July
1936 Compilation of his writings on immigration published as Immigration and Aliens in the United States; studies of American Immigration laws and the legal status of aliens in the United States. Foreword by the Honorable Irving Lehman.


Memberships

American Bar Association - Committee on Federal Legislation
American Historical Association
American Society of International Law Citizens Union
Columbia Academy of Political Science
Economic Association
Good Government Club
New York City Bar Association-Committee on Legislation New York County
Lawyers Association
Phi Beta Kappa

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Scope and Content Note

The Papers of Max J. Kohler document his life's work as lawyer, historian, author, researcher, and defender of Jewish and immigrant rights. Correspondents include many of Kohler's contemporaries in the field of history and immigration law including Cyrus Adler, William Taft, John Bassett Moore, Mortimer Schiff, David Hunter Miller, Baron and Baroness de Hirsch, the Straus Family including Oscar Straus; Luigi Luzzatti, Leon Huhner, and Julian Mack. Subjects include U.S. immigration law, American-Jewish history, Col. Alfred Dreyfus, Haym Salomon, Ellis Island, Rabbi Kaufmann Kohler, the publication God in Freedom, international treaties and the Peace Conference of 1919.

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Arrangement

The Kohler Papers are divided into seven series including: Series I: Personal; Series II: Subjects; Series III: Printed Materials; Series IV: Scrapbooks; Series V: Photographs; Series VI: Restricted Materials (Fragile); and Series VII: Oversized Materials.

Several series are further divided according to the major themes that are presented throughout the Kohler papers, and primarily fall under the following categories: Correspondence, God in Freedom, Writings, the American Jewish Historical Society, Baron and Baroness de Hirsch and the de Hirsch Fund, the Board of Delegates for Civil Rights, Immigration, Jewish Life and History (research and writings), and the Peace Conference of 1919. The majority of folder titles and placement within series follows as closely as possible to the original arrangement system of the collection. For a fuller description of the subcategories of each series, please see the following descriptions.

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Restrictions

Access Restrictions

The collection is open to all researchers by permission of the Director of Library and Archives of the American Jewish Historical Society, except items that are restricted due to their fragility.

Use Restrictions

Information concerning the literary rights may be obtained from the Director of Library and Archives of the American Jewish Historical Society. Users must apply in writing for permission to quote, reproduce or otherwise publish manuscript materials found in this collection. For more information contact:
American Jewish Historical Society, Center for Jewish History, 15 West 16th Street, New York, N.Y., 10011
email: reference@ajhs.org

Information concerning the literary rights may be obtained from the Executive Director of the American Jewish Historical Society. Users must apply in writing for permission to quote, reproduce or otherwise publish manuscript materials found in this collection. For more information contact:
American Jewish Historical Society, Center for Jewish History, 15 West 16th Street, New York, NY 10011.

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Related Material

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Separated Material

Max Kohler donated his personal collection of writings and his Judaica library to the American Jewish Historical Society. There is no extant record of the specific books he donated.

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Provenance

Max Kohler bequeathed the collection to the American Jewish Historical Society.

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Microfilm

Researchers please note:
The following scrapbooks are currently available on microfilm. Please view the microfilm in lieu of the handling the original scrapbooks.

  • By Scrapbook # and Microfilm Reel #
  • Scrapbook #1: Reel 1, 5, 6
  • Scrapbook #2: Reel 1, 2, 6
  • Scrapbook #3: Reel 2, 5
  • Scrapbook #4: Reel 3
  • Scrapbook #5: Reel 4
  • Scrapbook #6: Reel 4
  • Scrapbook #7: Reel 5
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Preferred Citation

Published citations should take the following form:

Identification of item, date (if known); Papers of Max Kohler; P-7; box number; folder number; American Jewish Historical Society, Newton Centre, MA and New York, NY.

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Bibliographic Resources at the Center for Jewish History

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Access Points

  • Subject Names:

    • Arbib-Costa, Alfonso, 1869-
    • Gottheil, Richard J. H. (Richard James Horatio), 1862-1936
    • Wise, Stephen Samuel, 1874-1949
    • Adler, Cyrus, 1863-1940
    • American, Sadie
    • Askowith, Dora, 1884-1958
    • Belmont, August, 1813-1890
    • Butler, Benjamin F. (Benjamin Franklin), 1818-1893
    • Cardozo, Benjamin N. (Benjamin Nathan), 1870-1938
    • Coolidge, Mary Roberts, 1860-1945
    • Cowen, Philip, 1853-1943
    • Davis, N. Darnell (Nicholas Darnell), 1846-1915
    • De Cordova, Phineas, 1819-1903
    • Dodd, William Edward, 1869-1940
    • Dreyfus, Alfred, 1859-1935
    • Dropsie, Moses A. (Moses Aaron), 1821-1905
    • Duschinsky, circa (Charles), 1878-1944
    • Einhorn, David, 1809-1879
    • Elkus, Abram I., 1867-1947
    • Franks, David (Salisbury), 1720-1794
    • Franks, Rebecca
    • Franks, Rebecca
    • Friedenberg, Albert M. (Albert Marx), 1881-1942
    • Friedenwald, Herbert, 1870-1944
    • Hartogensis, Benjamin Henry, 1865-1939
    • Hirsch, Moritz, Freiherr auf Gereuth, 1831-1896
    • Hollander, Jacob Harry, 1871-1940
    • Hühner, Leon, 1871-1957
    • Isaacs, Myer S. (Myer Samuel), 1841-1904
    • Jacobs, Joseph, 1854-1916
    • Judah, G. F. (George Fortunatus)
    • Kohler Family
    • Kohler, Kaufmann, 1843-1926
    • Kohler, Max J. (Max James), 1871-1934
    • Kohut, George Alexander, 1874-1933
    • La Guardia, Fiorello H. (Fiorello Henry), 1882-1947
    • Littlefield, Walter, 1867-1948
    • Loeb, Isidore, 1839-1892
    • Loeb, Louis, 1866-1909
    • Luzzati, Luigi, 1841-
    • Mack, Julian W. (Julian William), 1866-1943
    • Marshall, Louis, 1856-1929
    • Mendes, H. Pereira (Henry Pereira), 1852-1937
    • Miller, David Hunter, 1875-
    • Moore, John Bassett, 1860-1947
    • Morgenthau, Henry, 1856-1946
    • Ochs, Adolph S. (Adolph Simon), 1858-1935
    • Oppenheim, Samuel, 1857-1928
    • Perkins, Frances, 1880-1965
    • Proskauer, Joseph M. (Joseph Meyer), 1877-1971
    • Razovsky, Cecilia, b. 1886
    • Roth, Cecil, 1899-1970
    • Salomon, Haym, 1740-1785
    • Schiff, Jacob H. (Jacob Henry), 1847-1920
    • Schiff, Mortimer L.
    • Seligman Family
    • Seligman, Jesse, 1827-1894
    • Smith, Alfred Emanuel, 1873-1944
    • Solomon, Hannah G. (Hannah Greenebaum), 1858-1942
    • Straus Family
    • Straus, Isidor, 1845-1912
    • Straus, Oscar S. (Oscar Solomon), 1850-1926
    • Sulzberger, Mayer, 1843-1923
    • Szold, Henrietta, 1860-1945
    • Taft, William H. (William Howard), 1857-1930
    • Tarshish, Allan, 1907-1982
    • Temperley, Harold William Vazeille, 1879-1939
    • Wald, Lillian D., 1867-1940
    • Webster, Charles K. (Charles Kingsley), Sir, 1886-1961
    • White, Arnold, 1848-1925
    • Wickersham, George W. (George Woodward), 1858-1936
    • Woldman, Albert A. (Albert Alexander), 1897-1971
    • Wolf, Lucien, 1857-1930
    • Wolf, Simon, 1836-1923

  • Subject Organizations:

    • American Civil Liberties Union
    • American Jewish Committee
    • American Jewish Committee
    • American Jewish Historical Society
    • American Jewish Historical Society
    • B'nai B'rith
    • Baron de Hirsch Agricultural School of Woodbine, NJ
    • Baron de Hirsch Fund
    • Board of Delegates of American Israelites
    • Board of Delegates on Civil Rights
    • Emergency Committee in Aid of Displaced German Scholars
    • Foreign Language Information Service (U.S.)
    • Hebrew Sheltering and Immigrant Aid Society of America
    • Industrial Removal Office (U.S.)
    • Jewish Colonization Association
    • National Conference of Christians and Jews
    • National Council of Jewish Women
    • National Council on Naturalization and Citizenship (U.S.)
    • Union of American Hebrew Congregations
    • United States. Bureau of Immigration
    • United States. Bureau of Labor
    • United States. Bureau of Naturalization
    • United States. Congress. House
    • United States. Dept. of State
    • United States. Immigration and Naturalization Service
    • United States. Supreme Court

  • Subject Topics:

    • Chinese Americans
    • Jews Legal status, laws, etc.
    • Aliens. United States
    • Antisemitism
    • Deportation
    • Diplomatic protection
    • Ellis Island Immigration Station (N.Y. and N.J.)
    • Emigration & immigration, Chinese. United States 1880
    • Emigration and immigration law
    • Emigration and immigration. United States
    • Galveston (Tex.)
    • Immigrants. United States
    • Immigration consultants Legal status, laws, etc.
    • Immigration issues in the United States
    • Jamaica Civilization
    • Jamaica History
    • Jews Persecutions
    • Jews, Jamaica
    • Jews, German
    • Jews, Russian
    • Naturalization. United States
    • Paris Peace Conference (1919-1920)
    • Persecution. Germany
    • Persecution. Poland
    • Persecution. Romania
    • Persecution. Russia
    • Political persecution
    • Port of Galveston
    • Ports of entry
    • Repatriation
    • Repeal of legislation
    • Supreme Court justices
    • Treaties
    • United States History Revolution, 1775-1783

  • Subject Places:

    • Jamaica
    • New York (N.Y.)

  • Document Types:

    • Articles
    • Clippings
    • Histories
    • Legal correspondence
    • Legal documents
    • Pamphlets
    • Personal Correspondence
    • Scrapbooks

  • Other Names:

    • National Conference of Jews and Christians (U.S.)
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Container List

The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.

 

Series I: Personal, undated, [1878]-1934, 1956.

Languages in this Series include English, German, Italian
Boxes 1-6
Arrangement:

The series is divided into five subseries with the majority of each subseries further divided by subject area. The subseries are: Subseries 1: Biographical and Family; Subseries 2: Correspondence; Subseries 3: God in Freedom; Subseries 4: Writings: and Subseries 5: Writings by Others (Research Used by Kohler).

Scope and Content:

This series documents Kohler's family, personal correspondence, and writings, including writings by others used by Kohler as research.

Subseries 1: Biographical and Family,  undated, [1878], 1901-1936, 1956.

Box 1, Folders 1-12
Arrangement:

Arranged in alphabetical order.

See also Series VII: Oversized Materials, Personal Box 22.
See also Subseries 4: Writings - Miscellaneous, Box 5, Folder 19; Box 22, Folder 2; Box 24, Folder 3 for materials on Dr. David Einhorn, maternal grandfather of Max J. Kohler.

Scope and Content:

This series includes biographical materials relating to Kohler and his family. Biographical materials include a folder of biographical data written primarily by Kohler for inclusion in publications (Folder 5), letters of recommendation for Kohler for the position of Corporation Counsel to the Hon. George L. Reeves, and a letter from President Taft recommending Kohler as a candidate for judge to the Customs Court of Appeal ( Folder 10). Also included is congratulatory correspondence for receiving an honorary doctorate from Hebrew Union College (Folder 1); lists of Kohler memberships ( Folder 11); and materials regarding his memorial service including notices, arrangements, and a Memoriam Book (Folder 12). Folder 2 contains letters from Kohler's sister, Lili dealing with her brother's publications after his death. Additional materials concerning his passing including notices, articles, and condolences can be found in Series IV: Scrapbooks, Kohler, Max - Death of, Box 25, Folders 1-6. (These scrapbooks are located in Oversized Materials due to their size.)

Items concerning Kohler's family contain limited materials on his wife, Winifred (Folders 8 and 9), including an article she wrote on James Nathan ( Folder 8), Max and Winifred's wedding poem written by "L.H." (Leon Huhner, Folder 6), and a Memoriam Book printed upon her death in 1922 ( Folder 9). Items from Kohler's parents include a short letter written by Max and his brother Edgar to their parents over Hanukkah holidays ( Folder 3) while Folder 4 contains a biographical sketch and a resolution extract given to Kohler by Congregation Sinai of Chicago on June 29, 1878. For material written by Kaufmann Kohler, please see Series III: Printed Material - Pamphlets and Publications, Box 16, Folder 5, and Folder 15. For materials on Max Kohler's maternal grandfather, Dr. David Einhorn, see Series I: Personal, Subseries 4: Writings - Miscellaneous, Box 5, Folder 19, Series VII: Oversized, Box 22, Folder 2, and Scrapbook #2 located in Box 24, Folder 3.

Box Folder Title Date
1 1 Degree of Doctor of Hebrew Law Congratulatory Correspondence 1925
1 2 Kohler, Lili, Correspondence 1935-1936, 1956
1 3 Kohler, Kaufman, Mr. and Mrs. Correspondence 1905 December 1
1 4 Kohler, Kaufman, Rev. Dr., Biographical Sketch and Resolution
See also Printed Material, Box 16, Folders 5 and 15 		undated, [1878]
1 5 Kohler, Max Biographical Data undated
1 6 Kohler, Max and Winifred Wedding Poem by Leon Huhner 1906 November 6
1 7 Kohler/Rothschild Insurance Policy Correspondence and Documents
[See also OS1 Box 22, Folder 4] 		1916, 1923
1 8 Kohler, Winifred: “James Nathan, later known as James Nathan Gotendorf” Article undated
1 9 Kohler (Lichtenauer), Winifred Memoriam Book and Book Plate undated, 1922
1 10 Letters of Recommendation undated, 1901, 1909
1 11 Membership Lists undated
1 12 Memoriam Book, Memorial Notices, and Arrangements 1934-1936

Subseries 2: Correspondence,  undated, 1893 - 1936.

Box 1-3. Folders 1-9
Arrangement:

Correspondence is filed alphabetically by last name.

Scope and Content:

This subseries is dedicated to correspondence that falls outside of specific topics (i.e., Immigration), and is of a more personal nature. Several of the names that appear in this subseries also appear in other portions of the collection. Kohler, for the most part, combined his personal life with his private life, particularly after the death of his wife, when he threw himself even more deeply into his work. Therefore, most of the correspondence in this subseries may be "personal," but contains vast references to other portions of his work, such as immigration cases, points of law, Kohler's writings, the Peace Conference of 1919, or political insights. Correspondents include politicians, professors, judges, historians, and members of prominent Jewish families in New York such as the Schiffs and Strauses, including Nathan Sr. and Jr., Mrs. Isidor Straus and Nathan Sr.'s brother, Ambassador Oscar Straus. (See also Correspondence, S, for letters from additional Straus family members.) In writing to Mortimer Schiff, Kohler attempts to glean information from Schiff concerning Kaufmann Kohler and gives some indication as to why there is scant information concerning Winifred, nor details on Kohler's life prior to 1922; Kohler writes that he "broke up my home suddenly after my wife's death" and states that much correspondence was not preserved due to this fact ( Folder 30).

Correspondence of interest in Box 1 includes a letter from George Peixiotto, son of Benjamin Peixotto (Folder 26), concerning the work of his father in Romania; letters from William E. Dodd prior to his departure as Ambassador to Germany in 1933 and afterward (Folder 16); letters from George Kohut concerning his health and the final placement of his collection of personal papers (Folder 18); a letter from artist Louis Loeb declining an invitation to speak at the Judeans on the subject of the Jew in Art and Architecture, plus a memorial pamphlet produced by the Judeans upon Loeb's death (Folder 20); personal letters written by Luigi and Aldo Luzzati, along with their secretary, Elena Carli (Folder 21, see also Subseries 3: God in Freedom); correspondence with the first American judge to be appointed to the World Court at The Hague (1921), John Bassett Moore (Folder 23); letters from Adolphe Ochs concerning Kohler's articles at the New York Times (Folder 25); and responses from British historian Cecil Roth concerning Kohler's research on Haym Salomon and Menassah ben Israel (Folder 28). Correspondence from Louis Marshall to Mrs. Hannah Solomon of Chicago is particularly interesting as he responds to Mrs. Solomon with advice on how to counter the writings of Henry Ford and anti-Jewish KKK rallies; Mrs. Solomon sent this letter to Kohler for research purposes and also wrote to Kohler concerning her trips to Palestine, and her thoughts on Zionism and Jewish settlement in Africa (Folder 32).

Folder 19 contains letters from journalist Walter Littlefield, who was a reporter during the Alfred Dreyfus case in France. Correspondence included in this folder contains some of Littlefield's notes on the Dreyfus case, and references to Mr. Ochs and Mr. Sulzberger of the New York Times and their relation to Littlefield's work, and the impact of Kohler's work in encouraging Dreyfus to look more closely at archives concerning himself located at the Quay de Orsay. (For more information on the Dreyfus case, see Subseries 3: Writings - Jewish Life and History, Box 5, Folders 11 and 12.)

Correspondence in Box 2 contains letters from Stephan Wise, Lucien Wolf, and George Wickersham, appointed by President Hoover in 1929 to head the National Commission on Law Observance and Law Enforcement, also known as the Wickersham Commission. The Commission found that law enforcement in the United States was inadequate and urged reform, though not repeal, of the 18th Amendment on Prohibition (Folder 18). In particular, Kohler argued in a letter dated November 21, 1922 that denying Japanese persons the right to immigrant because they were not "free white persons" to be absurd. Additional letters to Wickersham comment about other cases of Asian immigration. In a reflection of Kohler's tenacious and meticulous writings on cases or causes he thought to be unjust or writing lax, Folder 17 contains a detailed letter to John Wigmore on why certain cases should have been presented in Wigmore's book Principals of Judicial Proof. Wigmore writes back thanking Kohler for his observations, and letting him know that Kohler misspelled the word "Tanism" in a paper. Also included is a postcard of the interior of a Chinese Lama Temple, dated May 14, 1933 from the Century of Progress World's Fair in Chicago.

Box Folder Title Date
1 13 Coolidge, Dane, Mrs. (Mary Roberts) Correspondence 1907-1910
1 14 Cardozo, Benjamin, Judge Correspondence 1929-1934
1 15 Deutsch, George, Dr., Correspondence 1915-1920
1 16 Dodd, William E., Ambassador Correspondence 1927, 1933-1934
1 17 Eliot, Charles W., Correspondence 1912
1 18 Kohut, George Alexander and Rebekah Kohut Correspondence 1928-1929, 1934
1 19 Littlefield, Walter Correspondence 1929-1933
1 20 Loeb, Louis Correspondence and Memorial Pamphlet 1907, 1910
1 21 Luzzatti, Luigi and Aldo (Elena Carli, Secretary) Correspondence
[See also Subseries 3: God in Freedom - Correspondence - Book Publishing]		 undated, 1925-1934
1 22 Miller, David Hunter Correspondence
[See also Subseries 3: God in Freedom and Series II: Subjects, Subseries 5: Peace Conference of 1919]		 1929-1934
1 23 Moore, John Bassett Correspondence
[See also Series II: Subjects, Subseries 2: Baron and Baroness de Hirsch and Fund, Box 8, Folder 18 and Subseries 5: Peace Conference of 1919]		 1921, 1927-1929
1 24 Morgenthau, Henry Correspondence
[See also Series II: Subjects, Subseries 5: Peace Conference of 1919]		 1919-1920, 1923
1 25 Ochs, Adolph Correspondence 1925-1933
1 26 Peixotto, George Correspondence 1931 January 5
1 27 Proskauer, Joseph M., Correspondence undated, 1933
1 28 Roth, Cecil 1931, 1933
1 29 Seligman, Edwin and Isaac Correspondence undated, 1901, 1906, 1932
1 30 Schiff, Mortimer Correspondence 1925-1929
1 31 Smith, Alfred, Gov., Correspondence 1926-1927
1 32 Solomon, Hannah, Mrs. Correspondence 1909, 1924-1933
1 33 Straus, Ida (Mrs. Isidor) Correspondence 1893-1894, 1905
1 34 Straus, Lina Correspondence 1918-1929
1 35 Straus, Nathan Correspondence undated, 1893, 1919-1934
1 36 Straus, Jr., Nathan Correspondence 1920, 1930-1934
1 37 Straus, Oscar S.
[See also Series II: Subjects, Subseries 2: Baron and Baroness de Hirsch and Fund; Subseries 5: Peace Conference of 1919]		 1893-1925
Box Folder Title Date
2 1 Wald, Lillian Correspondence 1906-1931
2 2 Walker, James, Mayor June 11, 1928
2 3 Webster, Charles, Prof. undated, 1919-1928
2 4 Wickersham, George Correspondence
[See also Series II: Subjects, Subseries 3: Immigration - Chinese Immigration]		 1929-1930
2 5 Wigmore, John H., Correspondence 1933
2 6 Wise, Stephen S. Correspondence
[See also Series II: Subjects, Subseries 5: Peace Conference of 1919]		 1929, 1933
2 7 Wolf, Lucien Correspondence
[See also Series II: Subjects, Subseries 2: Baron and Baroness de Hirsch and Fund]		 1894, 1926-1929
2 8 Unidentified Correspondence undated
2 9 Correspondence, A 1899-1934
2 10 Correspondence, B undated, 1899-1934
2 11 Correspondence, C
[See also Subseries 4: Writings] 		1894-1934
2 12 Correspondence, D 1906-1933
2 13 Correspondence, E 1896-1933
2 14 Correspondence, F 1893-1933
2 15 Correspondence, G 1912-1934
2 16 Correspondence, H 1894-1934
2 17 Correspondence, I-J
[See also Subseries 4: Writings] 		1893-1934
2 18 Correspondence, K undated, 1894-1934
Box Folder Title Date
3 1 Correspondence, L 1897-1934
3 2 Correspondence, M 1908-1934
3 3 Correspondence, N-O 1910-1934
3 4 Correspondence, P 1909-1934
3 5 Correspondence, R 1907-1934
3 6 Correspondence, S
[See also Series II: Subjects, Subseries 5: Peace Conference of 1919]		 1907-1934
3 7 Correspondence, T-V 1899-1934
3 8 Correspondence, W 1888-1931
3 9 Correspondence, Z 1907, 1933-1934

Subseries 3: God in Freedom by Luigi Luzzati,  undated, 1926-1932.

Box 3, Folders 10-16 and Box 4, Folders 1-11
Arrangement:

This subseries is divided into four subsections: Correspondence - Book Publishing; Correspondence - Book Receipt Acknowledgments; Correspondence - General; and Documents. Materials within these sections are in alphabetical order.

- Correspondence - Book Publishing

Box Folder Title Date
3 10 Arbib, Costa, A., Translation Correspondence undated, 1928-1930
3 11 Askowith, Dora, Dr., Correspondence 1928-1931
3 12 Carli, Elena Correspondence undated, 1926-1929
3 13 Jewish Publication Society Correspondence 1929-1930
3 14 Macmillan Publishing Co. Correspondence 1929-1930
3 15 Miller, David Hunter Correspondence 1930
3 16 Schiff, Mortimer Correspondence 1928-1930

- Correspondence - Book Receipt Acknowledgments

Box Folder Title Date
4 1 Book Receipt Acknowledgment Correspondence, A-D (By Institution) 1930-1931
4 2 Book Receipt Acknowledgment Correspondence, E-H (By Institution) 1930-1931
4 3 Book Receipt Acknowledgment Correspondence, I-P (By Institution) 1930-1931
4 4 Book Receipt Acknowledgment Correspondence, Q-Z (By Institution) 1930-1931

- Correspondence - General

Box Folder Title Date
4 5 Correspondence, A-C 1929-1930
4 6 Correspondence, E-L 1925-1930
4 7 Correspondence, M-R 1927-1932
4 8 Correspondence, S-W undated, 1928-1930

- Documents

Box Folder Title Date
4 9 Book Materials, Miscellaneous 1927
4 10 Book Reviews and Clippings
[See also Series III: Printed Material, God in Freedom - Reviews] 		1930-1932
4 11 Page Proofs (Incomplete) undated

Subseries 4: Writings,  undated, 1888-1936.

Box 4, Folders 12-15 - Box 6, Folders 1-3
Arrangement:

This subseries contains writings by Kohler, or publishing-related materials. Due to the prolific nature of Kohler's writings, this Subseries has been divided into the following sections: Addresses; Baron and Baroness de Hirsch and Fund; Documents - Publishing; Family; General; Immigration; Jewish Life and History, Law; Miscellaneous; Notes; and University.

This subseries should be used in conjunction with Series III: Printed Material, and Series IV: Scrapbooks, as both series contain numerous writings by Kohler. Series III contains materials that were printed by publishers, while Series IV contains numerous scrapbooks of Kohler material collected either by Kohler, or his sister, Lili. Series IV material includes magazine and newspaper articles, clippings, publications, speeches, addresses, and announcements of Kohler-related events.

Scope and Content:

Subseries 4 contains manuscript or typescript materials, primarily drafts, notes, background material, research, and University-related articles written in longhand by Kohler.

The Family section contains references to other portions of the collection for material written by Winifred Kohler, or about Kaufmann Kohler or Dr. David Einhorn, Max's maternal grandfather. Kohler wrote certain materials for a celebration issue regarding the 100th Anniversary of Einhorn's birth, and these materials can be found under the miscellaneous portion of this Subseries (Box 5, Folder 19), as well as Oversized Materials (Box 22, Folder 2). The Jewish Life and History section contains Kohler's case materials (with some of Walter Littlefield's documentation) and writings on the Alfred Dreyfus case (Box 5, Folders 11 and 12).

- Addresses

Box Folder Title Date
4 12 Addresses and Speeches undated, 1900

- Baron and Baroness de Hirsch and Fund

Box Folder Title Date
See Baron and Baroness de Hirsch and Fund, Biographical Data - de Hirsches and Family, Box 9, Folder 3, Kohler Writings, undated undated

- Documents - Publishing

Box Folder Title Date
4 13 Contract, Encyclopedia Judaica, German 1928
4 14 Publications Assignments List undated, 1929
4 15 Publications List undated

- Family

Folder   Title Date
© -See Box 16, Folders 5 and 15: Printed Material, Kohler, Kaufmann
-See also Box 1, Folder 8: Biographical and Family, Kohler, Winifred
-See also Box 5, Folder 19, Box 22, Folder 2, and Box 24, Folder 3 for materials for materials on Dr. David Einhorn, maternal grandfather of Max J. Kohler

- General

Box Folder Title Date
5 1 Letters to the Editor undated, 1908
5 2 Reviews of Kohler Books 1917
5 3 Typescripts, Incomplete undated
Box Folder Title Date
Souvenir of the Fair, Educational Alliance and the Hebrew Technical Institution Souvenir Book,
[See Box 16, Folder 2: Printed Material Souvenir of the Fair] 		1895

- Immigration

Box Folder Title Date
Educational Reforms in Europe in Their Relation to Jewish Emancipation, 1778- 1878, Reprinted from the The Jewish Forum
[See Box 16, Folder 3: Printed Materials, Writings - Immigration]		 1919 February
Box Folder Title Date
5 4 Judicial Data undated
"The Jew in His Relations to the Law of the Land" (A Paper read at the meeting of the Judeans in honor of Judge Mack and Judge Meyer, New York, April 14, 1912, and reprinted from the American Law Review),
[See Box 16, Folder 3: Printed Material: Writings - Immigration]		 1912
Box Folder Title Date
5 5 Notes 1890s - 1920s
5 6 Public Charge Definition undated
5 7 Registration of Aliens, Kohler Correspondence, Reports, Notes, Etc. undated, 1893, 1924, 1928, 1933
Registration of Aliens, Voluntary or Compulsory, A Dangerous Project
[See Box 16, Folder 3: Printed Material: Writings, Immigration]		 1930
5 8 “Some Recent Light on Our Pre-War Relations to Russia, with Particular Reference to the Jews” Manuscript
[See also Box 13, Folder 7: Immigration - Russian Jewry]		 ca. 1920
5 9 Writings 1890s - 1920s

- Jewish Life and History

Box Folder Title Date
5 10 Background Material undated
5 11 Dreyfus Case Materials undated, 1936
5 12 Dreyfus Case, “Some New Light on the Dreyfus Case” Pamphlet 1929
5 13 “Is Anti-Semitism Coming to America?” Typescript and Memorandum undated
5 14 Writings, various undated

- Law

Box Folder Title Date
5 15 College Racial Quotas undated, 1931
5 16 History and Progress of Civil Service Reform in the National, State, and Local Governments of the United States May 1893
5 17 Judicial Data undated

- Miscellaneous

Box Folder Title Date
5 18 Book Material, Miscellaneous undated, 1926-1927, 1930
Box Folder Title Date
Einhorn, David, “Celebration of the 100th Birthday Anniversary of Dr. David Einhorn” Memorial Program
[See Box 22, Folder 2, Oversized Materials]		 1909
Box Folder Title Date
5 19 Einhorn, David Memorial Volume Correspondence
[See also Box 22, Folder 2; Box 24, Folder 3, Oversized Materials]		 1911, 1933

- Notes

Box Folder Title Date
5 20 Notes, Handwritten undated
5 21 Notes, Handwritten undated
Box Folder Title Date
6 1 Notes, Handwritten undated

- University

Box Folder Title Date
6 2 Articles, Manuscript, and Typescript by Kohler, undated, ca. 1890s
6 3 Irving’s Life of Washington 1889

Subseries 5: Writings by Others - Research Materials Used by Kohler,  undated, [1765, 1783], 1826-1933 (bulk 1917-1934).

Box 6, Folders 4-11
Arrangement:

This subseries is divided in three sections: Addresses and Speeches, Jewish Life and History, and Immigration. Materials are in alphabetical order.

Scope and Content:

Documents in this subseries contain writings by those other than Kohler and used primarily by Kohler as research.

Writings that appear in a printed format have been moved to Series III: Printed Material, including the German journals Der Morgen and Ost und West, published by the Alliance Israélite Universelle, and a pamphlet on Alien Registration.

Taft's address included in God in Freedom, with handwritten edits by Kohler, may be found in Box 6, Folder 5. Manuscripts from Leon Huhner, Curator of the American Jewish Historical Society on the history of New York and South Carolina Jews may be found under Jewish Life and History in Box 6, Folders 8 and 9. A copy of an article written by Francis Goldscmidt in 1833 entitled "Arguments Advanced Against the Infranchisement of the Jews in a Series of Letters" can be found in Box 6, Folder 7. Background material on the legal implications of requiring Aliens seeking to reside in the United States to register, and the unconstitutional nature of alien registration, may be found in Box 6, Folder 11.

- Addresses and Speeches

Box Folder Title Date
6 4 Addresses and Speeches undated 1827, 1872, 1917, 1934
6 5 Taft, William H., “Progressive World Struggle of the Jews for Civil Equality: Will This War Help?” Speech with Kohler Handwritten Edits
[See also Series 1, Subseries 3: God in Freedom; Box 7, Folder 4 American Jewish Historical Society, Taft, William Correspondence]		 July 19, 1917

- Jewish Life and History

Box Folder Title Date
6 6 Cremiuex, Adolph, Manuscript and Background Materials ca. 1890s
Box Folder Title Date
Der Morgen, vol. 1, no. 1
[See Box 16, Folder 9: Printed Material - Jewish Life and History]		 April 1928
6 7 Goldschmidt, Francis, “Arguments Advanced Against the Infranchisement of the Jews in a Series of Letters,” Second Edition Pamphlet, Typescript [1833]
6 8 Huhner, Leon, “Jews of South Carolina from the Earliest Settlement to the End of the American Revolution”
[See also Series II: Subjects; Subseries 1: American Jewish Historical Society]		 undated
6 9 Huhner, Leon, “New York Jews During the Struggle for American Independence”
[See also Series II: Subjects; Subseries 1: American Jewish Historical Society]		 undated
Ost und West Journal of the Alliance Israélite Universelle
[See Box 16, Folder 9: Printed Material - Jewish Life and History]		 1914 August
6 10 Writings, Various undated, 1765, 1783, 1826, 1884, 1890, 1917-1918, 1925-1926

- Immigration

Box Folder Title Date
"Alien Registration: A Study Outline," The Inquiry
[See Box 16, Folder 4: Printed Material, Writings by Others - Immigration]		 1926
Box Folder Title Date
6 11 Registration of Aliens, Statements, and Remarks undated, 1922-1926
Status of Alien Registration in June, 1930, The
[See Box 16, Folder 4: Printed Material, Writings by Others - Immigration]		 1930
Return to the Top of Page
 

Series II: Subjects, undated, [1818], 1841, 1866, 1870s-1934 (bulk, 1887-1934).

The predominant language of the series is English with some German, French, and Spanish.
Box 6, Folders 12-19-Box 15
Arrangement:

The Series is divided into five Subseries including: Subseries 1: American Jewish Historical Society; Subseries 2: Baron and Baroness de Hirsch and Fund; Subseries 3: Immigration; Subseries 4: Jewish Life and History; and Subseries 5: Peace Conference of 1919. The majority of the Subseries are divided into sections.

Scope and Content:

Series II consists of various subject-related materials found within the Kohler Papers and reflect major aspects of his life or his writings.

Subseries 1: American Jewish Historical Society,  undated, 1893-1934, 1953, 1963.

Box 6, Folders 12-19 and Box 7, Folders 1-4
Arrangement:

Correspondence is arranged in alphabetical order.

For AJHS publications, See Series IV: Scrapbooks for various articles and pamphlets written by Kohler or produced by AJHS.
See also materials concerning Salomon, Haym.
See also Correspondence relating to Huhner, Leon; Series II: Subjects, Subseries 4: Jewish Life and History.

Scope and Content:

Subseries 1 contains correspondence of the American Jewish Historical Society (AJHS). The documents relating to the AJHS provide a snapshot of the early life of the organization’s history and act as a supplement to the records of the American Jewish Historical Society.

Correspondence with Dr. Cyrus Adler (Box 6, Folder 12), speaks of collections for possible donation, papers to be presented at meetings, suggestions concerning Society meetings and scheduling, appointment of committee members, arrangements concerning papers and seminars held about the Jews of Newport, R.I in 1907, and references to the publication of documents and papers regarding Romania.

Box 6, Folders 13-19, contain general correspondence from publishers, Society members, librarians, and historians. Topics include the publication of various memorial pamphlets, historical research relating to Jewish interests in the U.S. and abroad, a few bills from materials published by the Society, and arrangements for donations. Correspondents include: English historian Dr. Charles Duschinsky; AJHS Secretary Albert Friedenberg; Dr. Herbert Friedenwald; Columbia University Treasurer Richard Gottheil; Prof. Jacob H. Hollander of Johns Hopkins University (Chairman of the AJHS Publications Committee); editor Joseph Jacobs; the Jewish Publication Society; G. Fortunatus Judah, searcher of records and registries of Jamaica; George Kohut; the Lord Baltimore Press (formerly the Friedenwald Co.); Rev. Dr. H. Pereira Mendes; the Newport Jewish Historical Society (S.W. Rosendale and B.H. Rosengard); Allan Tarshish; Clarence de Sola; Henrietta Szold; and Simon Wolf. Two letters in Box 7, Folder 1, deal with new additions to the Kohler papers 1) a donation by Leon Huhner of Baron de Hirsch Fund documents, and 2) a research request to use the Kohler materials relating to the Baron de Hirsch Fund.

Of particular interest is correspondence from Samuel Oppenheim to Kohler (Box 7, Folder 3) concerning donation and publication details and historical research. Also of interest is correspondence from President William H. Taft (Folder 4) in which Kohler and Taft engage in some limited discussions on immigration, as well as arranging for Taft to donate an original manuscript of his address “The Jew in History,” delivered before the National Geographic Society in 1917. Taft ultimately sent a manuscript entitled the “Progressive World Struggle of the Jews for Civil Equality. Will this War help?” (published by Kohler in God in Freedom). Taft was appointed an Honorary Member of AJHS in 1921.

Box Folder Title Date
6 12 Adler-Kohler Correspondence 1903-1930
6 13 Correspondence, A-C undated, 1894-1930
6 14 Correspondence, D-F 1903-1933
6 15 Correspondence, G 1904-1934
6 16 Correspondence, H 1893-1929
6 17 Correspondence, I-J 1900-1927
6 18 Correspondence, K-O undated, 1904-1934
6 19 Correspondence, P-Z 1894-1932
Box Folder Title Date
7 1 Correspondence, Miscellaneous 1907-1925, 1953, 1963
Box Folder Title Date
7 2 Office of the Chief Rabbi of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews’ Congregations Informational Letters 1916-1917
7 3 Oppenheim, Samuel Correspondence 1905-1910
7 4 Taft, William H., Correspondence
[See also Series 1, Subseries 3: God in Freedom; Box 6, Folder 5, Addresses and Speeches, Taft, William H... ]		 1908-1926

Subseries 2: Baron and Baroness de Hirsch and Fund,  undated, 1841, 1866, 1870s-1933 (bulk 1888-1889).

Materials are in English, German, and French.
Box 7, Folders 5-17 - Box 9
Arrangement:

The Subseries is divided into four sections: Baron de Hirsch Fund Correspondence; Baron de Hirsch Fund Documents; Biographical Data on Baron and Baroness de Hirsch and their Family; and Correspondence - Baroness and Baroness de Hirsch (Oscar Straus Collection).

Materials within each subsection are arranged alphabetically.

Scope and Content:

Subseries 2 focuses on the Baron de Hirsch Fund just prior to and after the Baron's death in 1896, and Kohler’s attempt to gather background research for a possible biography of the Baron. Kohler collected much of the materials found within this Subseries as a result of his work with the Baron de Hirsch Fund. Oscar Straus passed on additional documents to Kohler, after Straus's earlier attempt to write a biography of Baron de Hirsch. Personal items such as copies of wills and sketches of the family seal were sent to Kohler by Gustave Held in France, while other materials were provided by the former secretary to de Hirsch, Paul Barrelet. In 1963, 41 additional pages were added to the collection as a donation from Leon Huhner.

- Baron de Hirsch Fund - Correspondence, undated, 1870s-1898

Box Folder Title Date
7 5 White, Arnold Correspondence 1888-1898
7 6 Correspondence undated
7 7 Correspondence 1870s, 1882, 1888
7 8 Correspondence 1889
7 9 Correspondence 1890
7 10 Correspondence 1891
7 11 Correspondence 1892
7 12 Correspondence 1893
7 13 Correspondence 1894
7 14 Correspondence 1896
7 15 Correspondence 1897
7 16 Correspondence 1898
7 17 Correspondence Copies (Handwritten) undated
    - Baron de Hirsch Fund - Documents
   
Scope and Content:

Baron de Hirsch Fund - Documents, 1890-1933, Box 7, Folders 18-20 and Box 8, Folders 1-7, contains various documents regarding the Fund such as Articles of Incorporation, minutes, menus, correspondence, reports and plans, and correspondence, charts, and a postcard regarding the Woodbine Trade School in New Jersey.
Box Folder Title Date
7 18 Articles of Incorporation 1897
7 19 Benjamin, Eugene S., Honorary Dinner Menu 1920 January 20
7 20 Historical Review of the Activity of the Committee of the Ministers 1902, 1931
Box Folder Title Date
8 1 Immigration Committee Minutes, Correspondence, Passenger Lists undated, 1910-1933
8 2 Institutional List of Donations Record Book (Oscar Straus) 1898
8 3 Kohler Correspondence to Fund Trustees 1933
8 4 Order of Hebrew Merit Award List of Winners undated
8 5 Plans of Organization and Payment Agreements 1890-1897
8 6 Report and Minutes June 1896, 1921
8 7 Woodbine Trade School Correspondence, Report, Charts, and Postcard undated, 1933

- Biographical Data - de Hirsch, Baron and Baroness and Family

Box Folder Title Date
8 8 "Affaire de Hirsch: Jugement du Sept aout 1903, deuxieme chamber" 1903
Box Folder Title Date
8 9 "Arbitrement of the Umpire in the Lawsuit of the Royal Turkish Government and the Oriental Railroad Co." and Judge Gneist Correspondence (German) circa 1887, 1889
Box Folder Title Date
8 10 Baroness de Hirsch Last Will and Testament (German) circa 1896
8 11 Baron de Hirsch Mourning Invitations (French and English) and One-Year Anniversary of Death Discourse (in French) circa 1896, 1897
8 12 Baron Maurice de Hirsch Seal Sketch undated
Box Folder Title Date
8 13 Biographical Data - Baron de Hirsch undated, 1920
8 14 Biographical Data - Baron de Hirsch Clipping Extracts (1891-1892) 1911
8 15 Biographical Data - Baroness de Hirsch undated, 1906
8 16 Biographical Data - de Hirsch Family and Businesses undated, 1920-1921
8 17 Biographical Data - Manuscripts undated
8 18 Biographical Information Correspondence 1915-1931
8 19 Held, Gustave Correspondence undated, 1910-1912
8 20 de Hirsch Relatives Correspondence undated, 1841, 1866
Box Folder Title Date
9 1 Indenture, Deeds, and Title Copies undated [1818]
9 2 Kohler Requests for Biographical Information Correspondence, A-W 1919-1925
Box Folder Title Date
9 3 Kohler Writings
[See also Clippings, Box 16, Folder 15 and OS2-Shared: Printed Material]		 undated
9 4 Research Material undated
Box Folder Title Date
9 5 Photographs Photocopies
[See AJHS Photograph Collection] 		undated
9 6 Straus, Oscar Biography of Clara de Hirsch Correspondence 1897, 1900-1903

- Correspondence - Baron and Baroness de Hirsch (Oscar Straus Collection)

Box Folder Title Date
9 7 Charities Correspondence 1897-1898
Box Folder Title Date
9 8 de Hirsch - Straus Correspondence 1887-1888
9 9 de Hirsch - Straus Correspondence 1889
9 10 de Hirsch - Straus Correspondence 1890
9 11 de Hirsch - Straus Correspondence 1891-1894
9 12 de Hirsch - Straus Correspondence 1896
9 13 de Hirsch - Straus Correspondence 1897 January-June
9 14 de Hirsch - Straus Correspondence 1897 July - December
9 15 de Hirsch - Straus Correspondence 1898-1899
9 16 de Hirsch - Straus Correspondence 1898-1899
Box Folder Title Date
9 17 Private Charity Cases Correspondence 1897-1899

Subseries 3: Immigration,  undated, 1880-1934.

Material is in English, with some German-language materials.
Boxes 10 - Box 14, Folders 1 and 2
Arrangement:

This subseries represents the bulk of Kohler's life's work, as an immigration lawyer and defender of alien rights. The Subseries is divided into ten areas: Board of Delegates on Civil Rights of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations; Case Files; Chinese Immigrants; Committees and Organizations; Correspondence; Ellis Island; German Jewry; Russian Jewry; Miscellaneous; and United States Agencies.

A) Board of Delegates on Civil Rights of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations,  undated, 1880-1924.

Arrangement:

Arranged in chronological order.

Scope and Content:

Box 10, Folders 1-4. This section predominately contains correspondence between Kohler and members of the Board of Delegates, though Folder 1 holds materials concerning the Delegate's work on issues such as anti-Semitism, immigration, and the Jewish Agricultural Colony Association. Kohler may have used documents within this folder for Russian immigration research purposes. Documents include correspondence from Secretary of State John Hay to Myer Isaacs; a circular statement on the sufferings endured by "our brethren in Southern Russia" during the massacres at St. Bartholomew, Kiev, Odessa, and Warsaw (August 1882); and a letter from an unidentified person from the UAHC on the issues of immigration and the Board's feeling that mass immigration should not be encouraged. Other correspondence comes from the Baron de Hirsch Fund. Though the majority of correspondence is addressed to Myer Isaacs, the materials include a letter from G. Creighton Webb, interim Charge de Affaires at St. Petersburg to Isaac Seligman concerning Jews in the Russian Press, including a copy of an article published in the "Grandnamin" on July 2, 1914. Correspondence concerning the Jewish Agricultural Colony Association outlines potential target colonies in Louisiana, while a "Political Map" of the state with the targeted area highlighted, can be found in Series VII: Oversized Materials, Box 22, Folder 9.

Box Folder Title Date
10 1 Board of Delegates on Civil Rights, Anti-Semitism, Immigration, Jewish Agricultural Colonies Correspondence, Map, and Clippings
[See also Box 22, Folder 9: Oversized Materials - Board of Delegates]		 1880-1888; 1896
Box Folder Title Date
10 2 Board of Delegates on Civil Rights Correspondence 1899, 1906, 1909-1910
10 3 Board of Delegates on Civil Rights Correspondence 1911
10 4 Board of Delegates on Civil Rights Correspondence 1912-1924

B) Case Files,  undated, 1891-1934.

Arrangement:

Arranged in alphabetical order.

Scope and Content:

Box 10, Folders 5-13. Folders 6-11 contain files for deportation cases including testimony and correspondence. Some of the documents within these folders match records of deportation found within Box 11, Folder 12, Hebrew Sheltering and Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS) of America Records of Deportation, 1909-1910. Folder 13 documents a case taken by Kohler regarding a 15-year-old Russian immigrant who suffered from insanity after coming to the U.S. The family was threatened with deportation; the issue of the case became the legal deportation of immigrants on the grounds of insanity. Included is a letter from Sadie American who begs Kohler to be careful with the case so as not to antagonize the Alienists, as these doctors had helped a great deal, even though many felt that mental institutions were overcrowded, and that deportation was a valid remedy to overcrowded hospitals.

Box Folder Title Date
10 5 Alaska Case Brief and Correspondence 1892, 1894
Box Folder Title Date
10 6 Case File: U.S. District Court, Throulmoulpoulas and and Rosian [1921]
10 7 Case Testimonies, (Folder 1 of 3) 1891, 1909
Box Folder Title Date
10 8 Case Testimonies, (Folder 2 of 3) 1910
10 9 Case Testimonies, (Folder 3 of 3)
[See also Box 11, Folder 12 - Committees and Organizations, HIAS]		 1911
10 10 Case Testimony Briefs 1923, 1938-1934
10 11 Case Testimony Documents, Miscellaneous undated
10 12 Fink, Herta Case File undated 1924-1927
10 13 Shapiro, Blume Case - Material on Insanity as Grounds for Deportation undated, 1911

C) Chinese Immigrants,  1901-1910.

Arrangement:

Arranged in alphabetical order by topic.

Scope and Content:

Box 10, Folders 14-15. Folder 14 contains correspondence regarding Congressional Acts excluding Chinese immigrants and treaties between the U.S. and China limiting Chinese immigration. These materials may have been used in Kohler's case argument before the Supreme Court of U.S. v. Lee Yen Tai in 1902. Also included is correspondence from Chinese minister Wu-Ting-Fang, John Foster, and Kohler regarding this case. Additional correspondence can be found concerning other Chinese immigrant-related cases and Folder 15 contains a case testimony brief from 1908.

See also Series VII: Oversized Materials, Box 22, Folder 10 for 1880-1881 Department of State correspondence regarding Chinese and Russian immigrants.

Box Folder Title Date
10 14 Chinese Immigration Correspondence 1901-1902, 1910
10 15 Chung Ngock Case, Immigrant Case Testimony Brief [1908]

D) Committees and Organizations,  undated, 1909-1934.

Arrangement:

Arranged in alphabetical order by committee or organization.

Scope and Content:

Box 11 - Box 12, Folders 1-3. This section contains correspondence, memos, reports, minutes, and bulletins from various organizations or committees on which Kohler served, including the American Civil Liberties Union, the American Jewish Committee, the Industrial Removal Office, and the Hebrew Sheltering Society (HIAS). Issues primarily regard the immigration of persons, with Jewish immigration being a primary focus, though immigration of non-Jews is also highlighted. Subjects include rights of aliens, education of immigrants, foreign treaties and the treatment of Jews, and literacy tests for aliens. Some of the correspondence over several folders from 1932-1934 speaks of the rise of Hitlerism and its impact on German Jews. (See also German Jewry section.) Materials for the National Conference of Jews and Christians presents immigration issues, but primarily focuses on the founding of the organization, and concerns of Jews regarding Christian propaganda toward Jewish children and anti-Semitism. National Council of Jewish Women Correspondence includes a letter from Sadie American, prior to her dismissal as head of the organization, and letters regarding the maintenance of the Clara de Hirsch Home for Girls, as well as immigration concerns.

Of particular interest are correspondence and records of deportation gathered by HIAS in conjunction with a 1910-1911 investigation of corruption at Ellis Island. Records of deportation document individuals and families not allowed into the country for various reasons, while some Case Testimonies found in Box 10, Folders 10 and 11 reflect cases taken up gratis by Kohler in defense of immigrants thought to have been illegally deported. See also Series II: Subjects, Immigration - United States Agencies, Box 13, Folder 10, 11, and 16 for correspondence with the Department of Commerce and Labor; Department of Labor, Bureau of Immigration; and the House of Representatives concerning the HIAS investigation of Ellis Island.

Box Folder Title Date
11 1 American Civil Liberties Union Correspondence 1926-1934
Box Folder Title Date
11 2 American Jewish Committee Correspondence 1909-1929
Box Folder Title Date
11 3 American Jewish Committee Correspondence 1930-1934
11 4 American Jewish Committee Printed Material undated
11 5 American Jewish Committee Printed Material, Correspondence, Minutes and Digest of News undated, 1930
11 6 B'nai B'rith Correspondence 1930-1933
11 7 Council on Education for the Foreign Born (Naturalization and Citizenship Committee) Minutes and Correspondence, 1928, 1930
11 8 Federated Jewish Charities [of Des Moines], Correspondence and Editorial 1910
11 9 Foreign Language Information Service Correspondence and Press Releases
[See also Box 16, Folder 6: Printed Material - Committees and Organizations "Alien Legislation and American Democracy"]		 1928-1932
11 10 Hebrew Benevolent Society of Baltimore Correspondence 1910; 1917
Box Folder Title Date
11 11 Hebrew Sheltering And Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS) of America Correspondence
[See also Box 12, Folder 5, Immigration - Correspondence, Elkus, Abram, undated 1909-1923; Box 12, Folders 17-18 and Box 13, Folders 1-2]		 1909-1913; 1929-1934
11 12 Hebrew Sheltering And Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS) of America Records of Deportation
[See also Box 10, Folders 8 and 9 Immigration - Case Files; Box 13, Folder 10, 11, and 16, Immigration - United States Agencies]		 1909-1910
11 13 Industrial Removal Office Correspondence, Memorandum, and Bibliography [1901], 1911-1914
11 14 National Conference of Jews and Christians Correspondence 1926-1933
11 15 National Conference of Jews and Christians Annual Report, Constitution, By-Laws, Minutes and Notes
[See also National Conference of Jews and Christians Bulletin, 1932, Box 16, Folder 6: Printed Material, Committees and Organizations]		 undated, 1927-1929
Box Folder Title Date
12 1 National Council of Jewish Women Correspondence 1914-1933
12 2 National Council on Naturalization and Citizenship Correspondence and Documents 1931-1934
12 3 National League for American Citizenship, Harold Fields, Correspondence 1933-1934

E) Correspondence,  undated, 1903-1934.

Arrangement:

Correspondence regarding immigration matters is arranged by subject and individual correspondence and general correspondence.

Scope and Content:

Box 12, Folders 4 - 16. A wide variety of topics are discussed in the individual correspondence, including: Hebrew race classification and expatriation (Box 12, Folder 4, Adler); religious freedom, English law, marriage, deportation, and a list of Jewish lawyers admitted and debarred in five American cities, June 1911 ( Box 12, Folder 6, Hartogenis); registration of aliens, deportation and immigration cases, religious liberty, and the Immigration Deportation Bill (H.R. 11796) of 1925 and some information regarding the Peace Conference of 1919 ( Box 12, Folder 9, Marshall); the Galveston, Texas Immigration plan of the Industrial Removal Office, the Immigration Committees of the American Jewish Congress and the Board of Delegates, and literacy tests ( Box 12, Folder 10, Schiff). Correspondence from Abram Elkus ( Box 12, Folder 5) focuses on matters concerning Ellis Island, case briefs, and a plan for the Baron de Hirsch Fund to take up the investigative work at Ellis Island from HIAS. Folder 7 contains letters regarding research undertaken by a James Morman of the Treasury Department, Bureau of Land and Farming, concerning laws prohibiting Jews from becoming farmers. In addition, there is a statement from New York State Governor Alfred Smith ( Folder 11) on his position toward laws leading to the registration of aliens, and correspondence regarding the statement.

Immigration correspondence, A-Z (Box 12, Folders 12 - 16) comes from a wide range of associations and individuals and focuses on topics regarding immigration including: literacy testing; immigration legislation; registration of aliens; U.S. immigration policy; the protection of minorities through peace treaties; case files; German political refugees; and trachoma as a contagious disease and its impact on immigration.

Box Folder Title Date
12 4 Adler, Cyrus Correspondence 1903-1909, 1933
12 5 Elkus, Abram Correspondence
[See also Box 11, Folder 11 Immigration - Committees and Organizations, HIAS]		 undated, 1909-1923
12 6 Hartogensis, B.H. Correspondence 1909-1934
12 7 Jewish Ownership of Land in Foreign Countries Correspondence 1922
12 8 Literacy Test Correspondence 1921
12 9 Marshall, Louis Correspondence 1909-1929
12 10 Schiff, Jacob Correspondence
[See also Board of Delegates on Civil Rights, Box 10, Folders 1-4]		 1910-1924
12 11 Smith, Alfred, Gov., Alien Registration Statement and Correspondence 1926
12 12 Immigration Correspondence, A-D 1909-1933
Box Folder Title Date
12 13 Immigration Correspondence, E-H 1910-1930
12 14 Immigration Correspondence, I-L 1907-1934
12 15 Immigration Correspondence, M-P 1909-1934
12 16 Immigration Correspondence, Q-Z 1908-1934

F) Ellis Island,  undated, 1929-1934.

Arrangement:

Arranged in alphabetical order.

Scope and Content:

Box 12, Folders 17-18; Box 13, Folders 1-2. This section is devoted to correspondence, memos, proceedings, and reports of the Committee on Ellis Island, inaugurated by Secretary of Labor Frances Perkins. The materials derive from committee meetings, with Box 12, Folder 17 containing correspondence between committee members and some minutes. Included in this folder is a letter from Philip Cowen acknowledging that certain of his fellow workers at Ellis Island were corrupt, and a signed letter from Perkins to Kohler expressing her appreciation for his work on the Committee. It is dated July 24, 1934, the day Kohler died. Box 13, Folder 1, contains a News Bulletin on the Committee, complete with proceedings through September 1933, as well as five case examples or interviews with immigrant detainees. Folder 2 contains reports, including material on preparing the final text of the Committee Report. A draft Report of the Ellis Island Committee with edits by Kohler may be found in Series III: Printed Materials, Box 16, Folder 7, and clippings, a layout map of Ellis Island, and a Deportation Sample List may be found in Box 22, Folder 11. For correspondence with the Department of Labor, Bureau of Immigration and the House of Representatives, see Series II: Subseries 3: Immigration - U.S. Agencies, Box 13, Folders 11, 14, and 16. For additional materials on and earlier investigation of Ellis Island, see Series II: Subjects, Subseries 3: Immigration - Committees and Organizations, Hebrew Sheltering and Aid Society, Box 11, Folders 11-12.

See also Series II: Subjects, Subseries 3: Immigration - U.S. Agencies, Box 13, Folder 11, 14, and 16.

Box Folder Title Date
12 17 Committee on Ellis Island Correspondence 1933-1934
12 18 Committee on Ellis Island Current Immigration Problems Bibliography 1933 July 10
Box Folder Title Date
13 1 Committee on Ellis Island News Bulletin 1933 September
Box Folder Title Date
Report of the Ellis Island Committee, Proof Copy with Kohler Edits
[See Box 16, Folder 7: Printed Materials]		 1934 March 13
13 2 Committee on Ellis Island Reports undated, 1929-1933
Ellis Island Clippings
[See Box 22, Folder 11: Printed Materials, Clippings]		 1933

G) German Jewry,  undated, [1884], 1933-1934.

Arrangement:

Arranged in alphabetical order.

Scope and Content:

Box 13, Folder 3-6. This section of the Immigration subseries contains correspondence and reports relating to German Jews. Not all of the material is directly related to immigration, but was originally filed with the group of papers and has been kept more or less in original order. Box 13, Folder 4 contains correspondence, a report, list of committee members, list of atrocities against Jews, and a list of scholars by name, age, rank, subject taught, and institution, regarding the Emergency Committee in Aid of Displaced German Scholars. The Committee aimed to insure the immigration of German professors to the United States or other countries. Folder 5 contains correspondence between Kohler and David Hunter Miller, along with a mimeographed letter dated October 10, 1822 from U.S. Consul Buck in Hamburg to Secretary of State Henry Clay and research material from the Library of Congress. The letter regards the appointment of Vincent Rumpff as the German liaison in regards to the Hanseatic Treaty negotiations. For additional material on German Jewry and the rise of Hitlerism, see Series II: Printed Material - German Jewry, Box 16, Folder 8.

Box Folder Title Date
13 3 von Eisendecker to Wolf Correspondence June 19, 1884
Box Folder Title Date
13 4 Emergency Committee in Aid of Displaced German Scholars Correspondence, List of Scholars, and Report 1933
13 5 Hanseatic Republics Correspondence
[See also Box 16, Folder 8: Printed Material - German Jewry]		 1933
Box Folder Title Date
Hitler and German Jewry Printed Material
[See Box 16, Folder 8: Printed Material - German Jewry]
13 6 Woldman, Albert, Complaint Against German Consul Dr. Hinrichs, Cleveland, OH May 19, 1934

H) Russian Jewry,  undated, 1880-1881.

Scope and Content:

Box 13, Folder 7. This section contains one folder of a German-language report regarding Jewish education in Russia (Die judische Elementarsschulbuildung in Russland). See also Department of State mimeographed correspondence from 1880-1881 regarding Russian and Chinese immigrants (Box 22, Folder 10). For a Kohler writing on Russia/U.S. relations, see Series I: Personal, Subseries 4: Writings - Immigration, Box 5, Folder 8, "Some Recent Light on Our Pre-War Relations to Russia, with Particular Reference to the Jews," written circa 1920.

See also Series I: Personal, Subseries 3: Writings - Immigration, Box 5, Folder 8 and Series VII: Oversized Material - U.S. Dept. of State, Russian Jewry and Chinese Immigration, Box 22, Folder 10

Box Folder Title Date
13 7 Jewish Elementary Education in Russia (Die judische Elementarsschulbuildung in Russland) undated

I) Miscellaneous,  undated, 1891, 1909-1910, 1929, 1933.

Arrangement:

Arranged chronologically.

Scope and Content:

Box 13, Folders 8-9. The section contains reports, minutes, press releases, and information sheets on various matters of immigration.

Box Folder Title Date
13 8 Reports undated, 1891, 1909, 1910, 1929, 1933
13 9 Reports, Minutes, Press Releases, Information Sheets undated, 1933

J) United States Agencies,  undated, 1887, 1909-1934.

Arrangement:

Arranged in alphabetical order by agency.

Scope and Content:

Box 13, Folders 10-16; Box 14, Folders 1-2. This section includes all correspondence, general orders, reports, statistics, and analysis regarding United States government agencies, including the Dept. of Commerce and Labor; the Dept. of Labor, Bureau of Immigration; the Dept. of State; the House of Representatives, and the Presidential Office. Materials related both to HIAS' 1909-1910 investigation of Ellis Island and the Department of Labor's investigation of 1933-1934 may be found here. Dept. of Labor Bureau of Immigration Correspondence ( Box 13, Folder 11), contains various letters between Kohler and the Solicitor General of the Labor Department regarding immigration matters and the classification of "Hebrew" as a race; Folders 12-14 include Bureau of Immigration General orders, reports, and statistics. Folder 16 contains House of Representatives correspondence between the House of Representatives and members of the Committee on Immigration and Naturalization, with a letter from Fiorella LaGuardia (2/9/24) regarding the Johnson Immigration Bill, imposing a quota on immigrants; Resolution 154 sponsored by Senator Tydings urging the German Reich to alter its current policies (1/24/34); and various other bills and correspondence. Presidential correspondence ( Box 14, Folder 1) contains letters of acknowledgement from the Secretary of the President, Charles D. Norton concerning letters sent by Kohler on behalf of the Board of Delegates. Folder 2 contains notes made by Kohler, minutes and reports on immigration by the Subcommittee on Legislation, New York County Lawyers’ Association, 1927. Dept. of State photstat correspondence from 1880-1881 relating to Russian and Chinese immigrants may be found in Oversized Materials, Box 22, Folder 10.

Box Folder Title Date
13 10 Department of Commerce and Labor Correspondence undated, 1909-1911
Box Folder Title Date
13 11 Department of Labor, Bureau of Immigration Correspondence (1908), 1911, 1913, 1917, 1927-1934
13 12 Department of Labor, Bureau of Immigration, General Orders and Reports undated, 1922-1923
Box Folder Title Date
13 13 Department of Labor, Bureau of Immigration, General Orders and Reports 1925, 1929
13 14 Department of Labor, Bureau of Immigration Statistics and Analysis 1932
13 15 Department of State Correspondence and Reports 1887, 1921, 1930-1934
13 16 House of Representatives Correspondence and Bills 1910-1911, 1923-1934
Box Folder Title Date
14 1 President, Office of the, Correspondence 1910-1911
14 2 Subcommittee on Legislation, N.Y. County Lawyer's Association, Report and Minutes 1927; 1928

Subseries 4: Jewish Life and History,  undated, [1781], 1800s, 1901-1934.

The predominant language of the series is English with some German.
Box 14, Folders 3-4 - Box 15, Folders 1-9
Arrangement:

All materials are arranged in alphabetical order unless otherwise noted. The subseries is divided into three sections: Jamaica, Research, and the United States.

Scope and Content:

This subseries contains correspondence, notes, and research by Kohler (or Leon Huhner) regarding matters of Jewish life and history primarily in the United States and Jamaica. Historical writings by Kohler may be found in Series I: Personal, Subseries 4: Writings, Box 5, Folders 10-14, as well as throughout all of the scrapbooks located in Series IV. German-language journals on Jewish history may be found in Series III: Printed Material, Subseries 2: Pamphlets and Publications, Box 16, Folder 9 Ost und West, Der Morgen and Clippings, 1914, 1920, 1928. Oversized clippings on Jews in early America may be found in Oversized Materials, Box 22, Folder 12.

See also Series 1: Personal, Subseries 4: Writings, Box 5, Folders 10-14; Box 6, Folders 6-10; Series III: Printed Material, Clippings (Oversized), Box 22, Folder 12 and Publications, Box 16, Folder 9.

A) Jamaica,  undated, 1900-1902.

Scope and Content:

Box 14, Folder 3. This section contains correspondence between Kohler and Texas newspaperman and land agent, Phineas De Cordova. Born in Pennsylvania, De Cordova moved to Jamaica to seek his fortune in the early 1800s. His correspondence to Kohler gives vivid accounts of his memories of Jamaica in general, and Jews in particular. See Scrapbook #1 and Scrapbook #2 (Box 17 and 18) for Kohler articles on the history of Jews in the Caribbean. See also Series I: Personal, Subseries 2: Correspondence, I-J, Box 2, Folder 17 for correspondence from J. Fortunatus Judah, who conducted a search of Jamaican records for Kohler; and Correspondence, D ( Box 2, Folder 12), regarding a letter from N. Darnel Davis concerning the history of Jews in Barbados.

See also Series I: Personal, Subseries 2: Correspondence, D ( Box 2, Folder 12), regarding a letter from N. Darnel Davis concerning the history of Jews in Barbados; and Series II: Subjects, Subseries 3: American Jewish Historical Society, Correspondence, I-J ( Box 6, Folder 17), for correspondence of G. Fortunatus Judah, searcher of records and registries in Jamaica.

Box Folder Title Date
14 3 De Cordova, Phineas Correspondence (Jamaica) undated, 1900-1902

B) Research,  undated, 1800s, 1901, 1920s, 1932-1934.

Arrangement:

Arranged in alphabetical order.

Scope and Content:

Box 14, Folders 4-12. This section is primarily comprised of handwritten, research-related notes on Jewish history. Folder 12 contains correspondence, extracts, and research notes between Kohler and Library of Congress Division of Semitic Literature librarian, Joseph L. Rubin concerning the Seligman family. See also Box 15, Folder 7 for additional research on the Seligman family.

Box Folder Title Date
14 4 Jewish History Extracts undated
14 5 Jewish-related Bibliographies undated, 1901
Box Folder Title Date
14 6 Manuscript Research Notes undated
14 7 Manuscript Research Notes undated
14 8 Manuscript Research Notes undated
14 9 Manuscript Research Notes undated
14 10 Manuscript Research Notes undated
14 11 Research Material, German (1800s), 1920s
Box Folder Title Date
14 12 Seligman Family Research Correspondence, Extracts, and Notes 1932-1934

C) United States,  undated, [1781], [1810-1861], 1901-1934.

Arrangement:

Arranged in alphabetical order b subject.

Scope and Content:

Box 14, Folders 13-17; Box 15, Folders 1-8. This section is comprised of correspondence, memoranda, and research relating to issues of American-Jewish history. The material consists of correspondence between Kohler and various researchers, correspondence typed or hand-copied from collections, some notes, and clippings. Folders 16 and 17 contain correspondence and research notes of Leon Huhner of the American Jewish Historical Society, concerning papers being written by Huhner on early American-Jewish history and Col. David Salisbury Franks.

Box Folder Title Date
14 13 Algeciras Congress Correspondence and Notes [1905-1906]
14 14 Belmont, August Research Material and Correspondence undated, [1861], 1932-1934
Box Folder Title Date
14 15 Founding of the Hebrew Orphan Asylum Society Notes by Kohler undated
Box Folder Title Date
14 16 Franks, Col David Salesby (Salisbury): History on Jews in Early America, Huhner Notes, Papers, and Miscellaneous undated
14 17 Franks, Col. David Salesby (Salisbury): Huhner-de la Sola, Clarence Correspondence and Research Notes undated, 1917-1918
Box Folder Title Date
15 1 Franks, Rebecca Correspondence Copies [undated, 1781]
15 2 Jews in Early America Notes and Clippings undated, 1905
15 3 Jews in South Carolina Research Material circa 1901
15 4 Lee, Mary Curtis and Gertrude Deutsch re. William Saroni, Photostat Correspondence [1873]
15 5 Marshall, Louis, Memorial Committee Memoranda 1929
15 6 de la Motta, Noah, Washington, and Webster Correspondence [undated, 1810, 1818, 1820, 1849]
Box Folder Title Date
15 7 Seligman Family Material, Article Research undated, 1932
15 8 Walker, Robert J. Research Correspondence and Notes undated, 1932-1934

Subseries 5: Peace Conference of 1919,  1919-1934.

Box 15, Folder 10-12
Arrangement:

Arranged in alphabetical order.

Scope and Content:

This subseries holds materials relating to Kohler's research regarding the Paris Peace Conference of 1919. Kohler used this research to write on Louis Marshall and the protection of minorities; includes correspondence and transcripts of minutes from Judge Julian Mack (Folder 10), Louis Marshall/Lucien Wolf original correspondence, and correspondence to Kohler from Henry Morgenthau and Lucien Wolf (Folder 11), and correspondence with English historian Harold Temperley regarding research on the Conference. Correspondence regarding the Peace Conference is interspersed among several persons whom Kohler regularly or semi-regularly maintained contact.

Reference to the Peace Conference is made between Kohler and several correspondents in Series I, Subseries 2: Correspondence and Series II, Subseries 3, Immigration - Committees and Organizations: American Jewish Committee. Specific folders are listed as follows: Series I: Personal, Subseries 2: Correspondence: Miller, David Hunter; Moore, John Bassett; Morgenthau, Henry; Straus, Oscar; Wise, Stephen; Webster, Charles; Correspondence, A (Adler, Cyrus); and Correspondence, S (Samuel, Sir Herbert). In Series II: Subjects: Subseries 3: Immigration - Committees and Organizations, see also American Jewish Committee; and See Also in Subseries 3: Immigration - Correspondence, Marshall, Louis .

For historical perspective on the Peace Conference of 1919, see also the American Jewish Historical Society Library collection for the book God in Freedom

see also Series III: Printed Material: Paris Peace Conference of 1919, Box 16, Folder 10 for a 1931 pamphlet entitled Jewish Rights at International Congresses as well as the publication God in Freedom, located in the library collection of the American Jewish Historical Society.

Box Folder Title Date
15 10 Mack, Julian Correspondence 1919-1934
Box Folder Title Date
Jewish Rights at International Conferences, American Jewish Year Book Reprint
[See Series III: Printed Material: Peace Conference of 1919]		 1931
15 11 Peace Conference Correspondence and Documents undated, 1919, 1929-1931, 1933
Box Folder Title Date
15 12 Temperley, Harold Correspondence 1922
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Series III: Printed Material, 1888-1934.

The predominant language of the series is English with some German, French, and Yiddish.
Box 16; See also Series IV: Scrapbooks (Boxes 17-18) and Series VII: Oversized Materials (Boxes 22-25)
Arrangement:

The Printed Material series is divided into two subseries: Subseries 1: Clippings and Subseries 2: Pamphlets and Publications. Due to the size of some materials, and the nature of the original order of clippings and publications within Scrapbooks, see also Series IV: Scrapbooks and Series VII: Oversized Material.

Scope and Content:

Pamphlets and publications culled from the collection are housed together in Box 16, though the majority of pamphlets and publications are located in Series IV: Scrapbooks. Box 22 holds some clippings and oversized materials, though the majority of clippings are located in Series IV: Scrapbooks. OS2-Shared contains very large clippings regarding Baron and Baroness de Hirsch.

Subseries 1: Clippings,  1888-1934.

The predominant language of the series is English with some German, French, and Yiddish
Box 17-20, Boxes 22-25, and OS2-Shared
Arrangement:

The majority of clippings may be found in Series IV: Scrapbooks (Boxes 17-20) and Series VII: Oversized Materials (Boxes 22-25), although Box 16, Folder 9 holds one clipping.

Scope and Content:

The clippings subseries contains numerous articles from newspapers and journals, primarily written by Kohler. Topics include immigration law and rights, Jewish history, reviews, editorial, and opinion pieces. Some clippings derive from other writers on topics that were of interest to Kohler. Box 22 contains both oversized materials and clippings, with the subseries divided into sections according to previous headings in the collection. Box 22 contains clippings on Baron and Baroness de Hirsch and Fund, the Board of Delegates, Ellis Island (1933), and Jewish life and history, along with clippings on various and general themes. Box 22, Folder 13 contains miscellaneous clippings from scrapbooks, and OS2-Shared contains very large clippings on Baron and Baroness de Hirsch.

Rounding out the voluminous clippings in the collection are those located throughout the Scrapbooks of Max Kohler. The scrapbooks make up the vast assortment of clippings found in the collection, and in conjunction with the pamphlets and publications housed in the scrapbooks, reflect the full range of writings produced by Kohler in his lifetime.

Subseries 2: Pamphlets and Publications,  1895-1932.

The predominant language of the series is English with some German, French, and Yiddish.
Box 16-20, Boxes 23-25 (located in Series IV: Scrapbooks)
Arrangement:

Materials appear in the order in which they were pulled from their original files. Certain Kaufmann Kohler and Baron and Baroness de Hirsch and Fund Printed Material are in a phase box inside of Box 16. This phase box is numbered Box 16, Folder 15.

Pamphlets and publications may also be found in Series IV: Scrapbooks.

Scope and Content:

Materials in Box 16 of the Pamphlets and Publications subseries reflect those items in printed form removed from their original locations and housed together. They are filed in the order in which they were pulled from their original folders. Kaufmann Kohler and Baron and Baroness de Hirsch and Fund printed pamphlets and publications are housed together in a phase box within Box 16, and numbered Folder 15.

Of particular interest are the proof copy of the Report of the Committee on Ellis Island ( Box 16, Folder 7), printed material on the rise of Hitler and German Jewry ( Box 16, Folder 8), a 1931 pamphlet by Kohler on Jewish rights at international conferences ( Box 16, Folder 10), and an Open Letter written by Kohler on the furor created in his opposition to the erection of a monument to Haym Salomon ( Box 16, Folder 11). Folders 12-14 hold miscellaneous material in the collection, including an article by Helene Boas (daughter of anthropologist Franz Boas, who was a friend of Kohler's) on bean pods; cards announcing new addresses for Kohler's offices; and an invitation to the 250th anniversary celebration of the settling of Jews in America given by the Judeans.

As noted above, Series IV: Scrapbooks make for the vast majority of pamphlets and publications housed in the collection, and reflect the full range of writings produced by Kohler in his lifetime.

A) God in Freedom

Box Folder Title Date
16 1 Moderní Stát and Národnostrní Obzor Journals Book Reviews 1932

B) Writings by Kohler - General

Box Folder Title Date
16 2 “Souvenir Book of the Fair,” Educational Alliance and the Hebrew Technical Institute 1895

C) Writings by Kohler - Immigration

Box Folder Title Date
16 3 Immigration Printed Material undated, 1912, 1919
Box Folder Title Date
16 4 Immigration Printed Material 1926, 1930

E) Kohler, Kaufmann

Box Folder Title Date
16 5 Biographical Sketch in Honor of His 70th Birthday [1913]
16 15 Printed Material by Kaufmann Kohler 1890s-1910s

F) Baron and Baroness de Hirsch and Fund

Box Folder Title Date
16 15 de Hirsch Printed Material 1897-1903

G) Committees and Organizations

Box Folder Title Date
16 6 “Alien Registration and American Democracy” and National Council of Jews and Christians Bulletin 1932, 1940

H) Ellis Island

Box Folder Title Date
16 7 Committee on Ellis Island, Report of the Ellis Island Committee, Proof Copy with Kohler Edits 1934

I) German Jewry

Box Folder Title Date
16 8 Hitler and German Jewry Printed Material undated, 1932-1933

J) Jewish Life and History

Box Folder Title Date
16 9 Ost und West, Der Morgen and Clipping 1914, 1920, 1928

K) Peace Conference of 1919

Box Folder Title Date
16 10 Jewish Rights at International Congresses 1931

L) Salomon, Haym

Box Folder Title Date
16 11 “Haym Salomon, The Patriot Broker of the Revolution,” An Open Letter by Max Kohler undated, 1931

M) Miscellaneous

Box Folder Title Date
16 12 Boas, Helene, “The Individuality of the Bean Pod as Compared with that of the Bean Plant” undated
Box Folder Title Date
16 13 Change of Business Address Cards undated
16 14 Judeans, The, 250th Anniversary Celebration Invitation 1905
16 15 Kohler, Kaufmann and the de Hirsches Printed Material 1890s-1910s
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Series IV: Scrapbooks, 1888-1934.

The predominant language of the series is English with some German, French, and Yiddish
Boxes 17-20, Box 22, Folder 15, Boxes 23-25 (located in Series VII: Oversized Materials)
Arrangement:

The subseries is divided in three subseries consisting of six scrapbooks: Subseries 1: Kohler Writings, Articles, and Memorabilia; Subseries 2: Salomon, Haym Controversy; and Subseries 3: Kohler, Max, Death of. Due to the sized of certain materials, this series is shared with Series VII: Oversized Materials, undated, 1880-1934.

Scrapbooks 1-7 are arranged in original order by numerical page number. Scrapbook 1-2, Kohler, Max - Death of, have no page numbers and are arranged in original order.

Scope and Content:

This series consists of six scrapbooks including Subseries 1: Kohler, Max Writings, Articles and Memorabilia, with some correspondence and memorabilia included (Boxes 17, 18, 19, 20, Box 22, Folder 15, Box 23 and 24); Subseries 2: Haym Salomon, consisting of one scrapbook regarding Kohler and his stand against the erection of a monument to Haym Salomon in New York City (Box 24); and Subseries 3: Kohler, Max, Death of, consisting of two scrapbooks compiled by his sister, Lili, regarding his death (Box 25).

Writings include publications, newspaper articles, and pamphlets authored by Kohler, newspaper articles on subjects close to Kohler, and materials authored by others. Of particular interest is a publication located in Scrapbook #3 (pages 111-120) entitled “The Board of Delegates of American Israelites, 1859-1878: Including the Correspondence of Myer S. Isaacs with General Benjamin F. Butler as to the Status of the Jews at the Time of the Civil War,” written by Kohler and published by AJHS in 1925. This pamphlet highlights details missing from AJHS' collection of Board of Delegates Records, particularly in regards to the correspondence between Isaacs and Butler.

Many of the scrapbooks are in poor or deteriorating condition. They have been removed from their original housings (Mark Twain trademark scrapbooks), and placed in acid-free folders by the original number given to each scrapbook. Folder titles are numbered according to the page number of the original scrapbook. Scrapbooks are scheduled for microfilming in the near future. At that time, the original scrapbooks will be restricted and researchers will be permitted to view the microfilm only. It is not known whether the scrapbooks were created by Kohler, or by his sister, Lili

Subseries 1: Kohler Articles, Writings, and Memorabilia,  1888-1934.

Boxes 17-20, Box 22, Folder 15, Boxes 23-25. (Boxes 23-25 are located in Series VII: Oversized Materials.)
Arrangement:

Arranged in original order by scrapbook and numerical page number.

A) Scrapbook #1,  1888-1903.

Arrangement:

Arranged in original order by scrapbook page number. See also Scrapbook #1, Series VII: Oversized Materials, Box 24, Folder 1 and 2.

Box Folder Title Date
17 1 Index and Frontmatter
Box Folder Title Date
17 2 Pages 1-10
17 3 Pages 11-20
17 4 Pages 21-30
17 5 Pages 31-40
17 6 Pages 41-50
17 7 Pages 51-60
17 8 Pages 61-70
17 9 Pages 71-80
17 10 Pages 81-90
17 11 Pages 91-100
17 12 Pages 101-110
17 13 Pages 111-120
17 14 Pages 121-130
17 15 Pages 131-140

B) Scrapbook #2,  1905-1915.

Arrangement:

Arranged in original order by scrapbook page number. See also Scrapbook #2, Series VII: Oversized Materials, Box 24, Folder 3.

Box Folder Title Date
18 1 Index
18 2 Pages 1-10
18 3 Pages 11-20
18 4 Pages 21-30
18 5 Pages 31-40
18 6 Pages 41-50
18 7 Pages 51-60
18 8 Pages 61-70
18 9 Pages 71-80
18 10 Pages 81-90
18 11 Pages 91-100
18 12 Pages 101-110
Box Folder Title Date
18 13 Pages 111-120
18 14 Pages 121-130
18 15 Pages 131-140
18 16 Pages 141-150

C) Scrapbook #3,  1916-1930.

Box Folder Title Date
19 1 Index
19 2 Pages 1-10
19 3 Pages 11-20
19 4 Pages 21-30
19 5 Pages 31-40
19 6 Pages 41-50
19 7 Pages 51-60
19 8 Pages 61-70
19 9 Pages 71-80
19 10 Pages 81-92
19 11 Pages 93-100
19 12 Pages 101-110
Box Folder Title Date
19 13 Pages 111-120
19 14 Pages 121-130
19 15 Pages 131-140
19 16 Pages 141-150

D) Scrapbook #4,  1926-1934.

Arrangement:

See Series VII: Oversized Materials, Box 23.

Scrapbook #5,  1923-1931.

Box Folder Title Date
20 1 Frontmatter and Pages 1-10
Box Folder Title Date
20 2 Pages 11-20
20 3 Pages 21-30
20 4 Pages 31-40
20 5 Pages 41-50
20 6 Pages 51-60
20 7 Pages 61-70
20 8 Pages 71-80
20 9 Pages 84-90
20 10 Pages 91-100
20 11 Pages 101-110
20 12 Pages 111-120
20 13 Pages 121-130
20 14 Pages 131-140
20 15 Pages 140-152

Scrapbook #6,  various dates.

Box Folder Title Date
20 16 Pages 1-3 undated, 1905-1930
20 17 Pages 4-17 1911-1914
20 18 Pages 18, 29, 31, 38, 41, 43-44 undated, 1912-1934

Subseries 2: Salomon, Haym, Controversy,  1931.

Arrangement:

See Series VII: Oversized Materials, Box 24, Folders 4-7

Subseries 3: Kohler, Max, Death of,  1934.

Arrangement:

See Series VII: Oversized Materials, Box 25

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Series V: Photographs, undated, 1899.

Box 8, Folder 19; Box 9, Folder 5 and 17; AJHS Photography Collection
Arrangement:

The collection contains three photographs, with one removed to the Photograph Collection. Two photographs (Gustave Held and Dr. Annette Kowler) are locataed in their original folders; a photograph of Baron Maurice de Hirsch is located in the AJHS Photography Collection.

Scope and Content:

Box 8, Folder 19, contains a carte de visite of Gustave Held, while Box 9, Folder 17, contains a photograph of a recipient of private charity from the Baroness de Hirsch. Madame Annette Kowler of Philadelphia received financial help from the Baroness in attending dental school, and graduated with a D.D.S. in 1899. The photograph is of Miss Kowler in her graduation gown. Box 9, Folder 5 contains a photocopy of Baron de Hirsch sent to Kohler by Gustave Held. The original was previously removed from the collection (date unknown) and placed in the photograph collection of the American Jewish Historical Society.

Box   Title Date
  Held, Gustave, Autographed Photograph
[See Box 8, Folder 19: Baron and Baroness de Hirsch and Fund; Biographical Data - de Hirsch, Baron and Baroness and Family, Held, Gustave Correspondence, undated, 1910-1912] 		undated
  De Hirsch, Maurice, Baron
[See AJHS Photography Collection.] 		undated
  Kowler, Annette, D.D.S., Madame Dr.
[See Box 9, Folder 17: Baron and Baroness de Hirsch and Fund; Correspondence - Baroness de Hirsch, Private Charity Cases Correspondence, 1897-1899]		 1899
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Series VI: Restricted Materials (Fragile), .

The predominant language of the series is English with one French-language document.
Box 21
Scope and Content:

Materials in this series are fragile documents that have been removed from the circulating Kohler collection.

N.B.: All materials have been photocopied and replaced in their original folders for researcher use.

1) Correspondence 

Box Folder Title Date
21 1 Correspondence

God in Freedom 

Box Folder Title Date
21 2 Book Review Clippings
21 3 Jewish Publication Society Correspondence
21 4 MacMillan Publishing Co. Correspondence

Writings 

Box Folder Title Date
21 5 Dreyfus Case Materials

Baron and Baroness de Hirsch and Fund 

Box Folder Title Date
21 6 Arbitrement of the Umpire in the Lawsuit of the Royal Turkish Government and the Oriental Railroad Original copy
Box Folder Title Date
21 7 Copybook Correspondence

Immigration 

Box Folder Title Date
21 8 Various documents

Jewish Life and History 

Box Folder Title Date
21 9 Franks, Col. David Salesby: Huhner-de Sola Correspondence and Research Notes
21 10 Jews in Early America Notes
21 11 Jews in Early America Notes
21 12 Jews in South Carolina Research Notes
21 13 Manuscript Research Notes

Clippings 

Box Folder Title Date
21 14 Clippings
[See also Box 22, Folders 13 and 14: Oversized Materials, Box 22, Folder 13 clippings are restricted due to their fragility. See Box 22, Folder 14 for photocopies.]
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Series VII: Oversized Materials and Clippings, undated, 1880-1934.

The predominant language of the series is English with one document in Italian included.
Boxes 22-25. (See also Series IV: Scrapbooks)
Arrangement:

This series is shared with Series III: Printed Material and Series IV: Scrapbooks. The series contains oversized clippings and scrapbooks containing numerous pamphlets and publications. Box 22 holds documents produced by Kohler, organizations in which he was involved, research materials used by him, or general articles on various topics. Two scrapbooks from Series IV are physically located in Oversized Materials. The materials are presented under sections that reflect headings in the collection.

Scope and Content:

Included under personal items are God in Freedom reviews, a memorial pamphlet celebrating the 100th anniversary of Dr. David Einhorn (Kohler's grandfather, See also Box 24, Folder 3 for clippings on the event), a safe passage document from Kohler's travels in 1900, and a funeral notice for Nina de Beneditti, wife of Italian psychiatrist Cesare Lombroso. Leon Huhner published material on Jewish history topics may be found in Folder 7. A list of expenditures from the Baron de Hirsch Fund (and other items) may be found in Folder 8. Photostat copies of Department of State correspondence concerning Russian and Chinese immigration from 1880-1881 may be found in Folder 10. Folders 13 and 14 contain general clippings, Folder 15 contains miscellaneous scrapbook clippings, and OS2-Shared contains very large clippings regarding Baron and Baroness de Hirsch.

Box 24 contains oversized materials from Scrapbooks #1 and 2, including Jewish Encyclopedia page proofs, while Folders 4-7 contain Scrapbook #7, a collection of materials regarding Kohler's stand against the erection of a monument to Haym Salomon. Box 25 holds two scrapbooks compiled by Lili Kohler on the death of her brother, Max. Items include condolences, obituaries, tributes, and clippings. (See also Box 1, Folder 12 for a memoriam book, notices, and arrangements concerning Kohler's passing.

- Personal 

Box Folder Title Date
22 1 de Beneditti, Nina, Funeral Notice (Italian) 1932
22 2 Celebration of the 100th Anniversary of Dr. David Einhorn Memorial Pamphlet 1909
22 3 God in Freedom Reviews 1930-1932
22 4 Insurance Policies 1923
22 5 “The Oldest Tombstone in New York and Translations of Many Quaint Tombstones” undated
22 6 Safe Passage Document 1900

- American Jewish Historical Society 

Box Folder Title Date
22 7 Huhner, Leon Published Material undated, 1901, 1908, 1932, 1938

- Baron and Baroness de Hirsch and Fund 

Box Folder Title Date
22 8 Articles, Clippings, Lot Map, and Expenditures undated, 1890

- Board of Delegates 

Box Folder Title Date
22 9 Louisiana Political Map of the State and Clippings undated

- Chinese Immigrants 

Box Folder Title Date
22 10 Department of State, Russian Jewry, and Chinese Immigration Photostat Correspondence 1880-1881

- Ellis Island 

Box Folder Title Date
22 11 Ellis Island Layout Map, Deportation Sample List, and Clippings 1933

- Jewish Life and History 

Box Folder Title Date
22 12 Jews in Early America Clippings 1893, 1905, 1908

- Printed Material: Clippings 

Box Folder Title Date
22 13 Clippings, Various and General (RESTRICTED)
[See Folder 14]
22 14 Clippings, Various and General undated, 1910-1934

- Russian Jewry 

Box Folder Title Date
22 10 Department of State, Russian Jewry, and Chinese Immigration Photostat Correspondence 1880-1881

- Scrapbooks 

Box Folder Title Date
22 15 Various Clippings 1894, 1912, 1916, 1918, 1922-23, 1934

OS2-Shared 

Box   Title Date
  Hirsch, Baron and Baroness Clippings (English) 1906, 1921, 1931

Subseries 1: Kohler Writings, Articles, and Memorabilia Scrapbook #4, 1926-1934 

Box Folder Title Date
23 1 Frontmatter - pg. 9
23 2 Pages 10-41
23 3 Pages 42-70
23 4 Pages 71-100

Subseries 1: Scrapbook #1, 1888-1903
Subseries 1: Scrapbook #2, 1905-1915
Subseries 2: Scrapbook #7: Salomon, Haym Controversy, 1931 

Box Folder Title Date
24 1 Scrapbook #1, pages 141-150 and Various Clippings 1888-1903
Box Folder Title Date
24 2 Scrapbook #1 Jewish Encyclopedia Page Proofs undated
24 3 Scrapbook #2, Einhorn, David Memorial Volume Clippings undated, 1909, 1911, 1921
24 4 Scrapbook #7, Salomon, Hyam Controversy (1 of 4) 1931
24 5 Scrapbook #7, Salomon, Hyam Controversy (2 of 4) 1931
24 6 Scrapbook #7, Salomon, Hyam Controversy (3 of 4) 1931
24 7 Scrapbook #7, Salomon, Hyam Controversy (4 of 4) 1931

Subseries 3: Kohler, Max - Death of Scrapbook #1 and #2, 1934 

Box Folder Title Date
25 1 Scrapbook #1 (1 of 3)
Box Folder Title Date
25 2 Scrapbook #1 (2 of 3)
25 3 Scrapbook #1 (3 of 3)
25 4 Scrapbook #2 (1 of 3)
25 5 Scrapbook #2 (2 of 3)
25 6 Scrapbook #2 (3 of 3)
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