The Artifact as World Traveler

by ROBERTA NEWMAN

From its earliest days in Vilna, YIVO cast a wide net when it came to collection policies. Its Bibliographic Commission asked its volunteer collectors (zamlers) to be on the lookout not only for rare old books but also current books, journals, and newspapers. YIVO saw itself as playing a role similar to that of the Library of Congress, by serving as the depository of record for Jewish publications.

Though its base was in Poland, YIVO never saw itself as limited to studying and documenting only Yiddish-speaking Jews in Eastern Europe. It had zamlers all over the world, including Palestine, Latin America, and, of course, the United States, where a support committee, known as the Amopteyl (Amerikaner opteylung) helped raise money for YIVO.

Some of the Amopteyl members doubled as zamlers and one of them sent YIVO in Vilna this publication of the Greater New York Appetizer and Nut Shop Owners Association, The Appetizer. It is testament to YIVO’s broad interest in all aspects of Jewish life (economic, religious, cultural, political, and sociological) that it was incorporated into YIVO’s library.

The Appetizer is a world-traveler. It crossed the Atlantic Ocean from New York to Poland in 1932; was looted by the Nazis and shipped to Frankfurt; and then returned to New York in 1947 among the thousands of other documents, books, and periodicals rescued with the help of the U.S. Army.

Roberta Newman is YIVO’s Director of Digital Initiatives.