Tucked away in the Jewish community library at the Gordon Jewish Community Center is a treasure trove of the history of Jewish Nashville. The Annette Levy Ratkin Archive is a collection of stories, artifacts, photographs, and records dating back to 1851 when the community was founded. The archive itself was founded in 1978 by the Jewish Federation’s Jewish Educational Services committee, and was funded after Ratkin wrote a grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.
The archive was initially staffed by professionals from Vanderbilt University. Eventually Ratkin earned a master’s degree in library science at Peabody College and took classes at the Jewish archive in Cincinnati, and returned to become Nashville’s Jewish community archivist, a position she held until her retirement.
In 2000 Lynn Fleischer became the community librarian, managing all the Jewish community libraries. When budget cuts led to the elimination of her position, she was asked to assume the role of archivist, a job she continues to hold.
With a background in data processing and computer programming Fleischer is an unlikely archivist. After working for several years, she stopped to have children and raise a family and become what calls a “professional volunteer” for the next 20 years. By the time she was ready to return to the work force, she says everything in the computer industry had changed.
Fleischer’s friend Susan Pankowsky was the community librarian at that time and was looking for a successor. She asked Fleischer for help with the library, and it was the systematic organization that appealed to her. “Susan told me how to process books, create call numbers and do the joint catalogue, and I loved it.” The rest, as they say, is history.
Today the archives house the collections that make up the fabric of Jewish Nashville. There are record groups, which are the main organizations such as The Jewish Federation, Gordon JCC, and Jewish Family Service. The 44 manuscript collections are larger and contain the records of Congregation Sherith Israel, West End Synagogue, Congregation Micah, other organizations and several families. And finally, there are about 250 small collections, mostly from families.
When it comes to the family collections, Fleischer says they come from anyone who has ever lived in Nashville, many of whom do not live here anymore. She frequently receives calls from people who are cleaning out family homes. “This man called me recently and said his mother has a lot of material on the Rettleheimers in Nashville. So, I went to the collection to see what we had, and it was fascinating. Their history went back to the 1800s.” Fleischer says she is looking forward to adding new materials to the family’s collection.
The highlight for Fleischer is the minute books from congregation Ohava Emet, a reform temple founded in 1860. “The ledger book went with the family who had it in their possession. It was found in an art gallery by Heloise Kuhn’s daughter,” she says. She adds that the family who took it with them to Kentucky eventually allowed a child to use the book as a scrapbook, and the pages are now covered in newspaper clippings.
The archive is not only used as a repository. It also serves as a valuable resource and Fleischer has been working with interns for the last few years, one of whom began digitizing all the materials. Valeria Eadler is a Phd student at Middle Tennessee State University. She met Fleischer a few years ago while working out at the Gordon JCC. She stopped by the library to visit and the two became fast friends, leading Eadler to agree to work with Fleischer. What began as a six-month commitment led to a three-year deep dive into the Jewish community archive. “Lynnn is so passionate about the history, and she knows so much about the Jewish families.”
Eadler says the process is painstaking and difficult but rewarding. “It’s very interesting to read about the families, especially scanning old photographs, and thinking, ‘All those people are gone.’” Eadler’s interest was piqued and she began buying books about Jewish history, going to etate sales, and visiting Jewish museums.”
In addition to digitizing the archives, Eadler says the archive has been an important tool in her own research, which focuses on the history of the Germantown neighborhood. “I tried to find some connections about the Germans and the German Jews. There were a few who lived in Germantown. And that experience was very valuable for my research.”
Another highlight of the archive is the collection of Jewish Observer newspapers dating back to its creation in 1943. Current intern Ellie Smith is a graduate student assistant at the Center for Historic Preservation at MTSU, while studying America and the Holocaust and media studies. It was while visiting the archives to research The Observer that she broached the idea of digitizing the newspaper’s microfilm. “She said the microfilm reader is not great, but I told her if there’s microfilm, we can digitize that.” Her goal is to complete the process early this year so the newspapers will be keyword searchable and accessible at the archives.
For Smith, the archives will be a valuable tool in her ongoing research into reporting about the Holocaust. “For my PhD I’m proposing to continue this research into American Jewish English language newspapers about what they were publishing during the Holocaust.”
Smith’s work led her to discover that sometime at the beginning of 1942 many of The Observer’s bylines were from a source simply labeled JPS, which stood for the independent Jewish Press Service. After some digging, Smith found similar bylines from cities around the world. “All that exists on the independent Jewish Press Service currently is a very small Wikipedia page. So, I discovered something through The Observer that hasn’t been written about,” she says.
In addition, Smith says it is through the pages written by Jacques Back, The Observer’s founding publisher and editor, that readers found meaningful information and perspective on the events unfolding in Europe. “He sees it so clearly for what it is. And it’s shocking to see someone in the summer of ’42 completely understanding what’s going on.”
Although the work to digitize the archives are tedious and slow, Fleischer believes these efforts are critical to the continuation of Jewish Nashville’s history. Funding is always an issue and support for the digitization of the archives themselves, separate from The Observer, has run out. The archive does have a designated fund with The Jewish Federation, and donors can make gifts directly there. For more information about the archive, contact Fleischer at archives@jewishnashville.org.
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