Adolph S. Oko Papers

Manuscript Collection No. 14

1911-1944. 3.7 Linear ft.

ACCESS AND PROVENANCE

The ADOLPH S. OKO PAPERS were donated to the American Jewish Archives
by Mrs. Adolph S. Oko in 1951. Property rights are assigned to the 
American Jewish Archives.  Literary rights have not been dedicated 
to the public. Any questions concerning literary or copyrights should be 
addressed to the Director of the American Jewish Archives.

The ADOLPH S. OKO PAPERS are open to all users. The original manuscript
collection is available in the reading room of the American Jewish Archives.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH top

Adolph S. Oko, librarian, scholar, and philanthropist, was
born to Tebel and Mariam Deborah (Popyolek) Oko near Kharkov,
Russia on January 5, 1883. Educated in Germany, Oko came to the
United States in 1902. After working in the Astor Library, New
York, NY in 1905-1906, Oko became librarian of the Hebrew Union
College in Cincinnati, Ohio, which position he held until his
resignation in 1933. Under Oko, the Library flourished,
outgrowing its quarters twice. Shortly after World War I, Oko
went to Europe and acquired some 18,000 volumes for the Library,
including the Edward Birnbaum music collection; he also brought
to the Library a fine Spinoza collection, the Chinese Jewish
manuscripts of Kai-Feng-Fu, and an outstanding collection of
incunabula. Oko also helped to start the Hebrew Union College
Museum. In 1931, the College awarded to Oko the degree of D.H.L.,
honoris causa.

Oko and the Board of Governors of the Hebrew Union College
had maintained an uneasy peace for 27 years; Oko found it
impossible to remain any longer due to the scandal caused by his
second marriage. Oko's first wife, Etta Weisinger, had died in
1924; in 1933 Dorothy Kuhn, wife of a man very active in the
affairs of the Hebrew Union College, divorced her husband to
marry Oko. Upon Oko's resignation from the College, he and his 
new wife moved to England, where he completed his Spinoza Bibliography.
Oko, a devotee of Baruch Spinoza, was a founder and United States
secretary of Societas Spinozana, an organization concerned with
Spinoza's life and works, and was a trustee of Domus Spinozana in
The Hague, Holland.

The Okos remained in England until 1938, at which time they
returned to the United States and Oko joined the staff of the
American Jewish Committee. In 1943 Oko became associate editor of
the AJC magazine Contemporary Jewish Record, and was serving in
this capacity until his death in 1944.

Oko wrote many essays and bibliographies, contributing many
articles to the Menorah Journal, of which he was an associate
editor. Among the bibliographies he published were his Spinoza
Bibliography and works on Solomon Schechter and Kaufmann Kohler.

Though not a man of means, Oko was extremely active in
philanthropic work, making use of his reputation as a librarian
and scholar and with a talent for persuading friends to provide
necessary funds. He made tremendous efforts to rescue colleagues,
friends, and their families and friends from Europe before World
War II, and was expert at providing funds for impoverished
colleagues in a manner that would not injure their pride.

SCOPE AND CONTENT top

The ADOLPH S. OKO PAPERS (1911-1944) document the career
and interests of Adolph S. Oko, librarian of the Hebrew Union
College, associate editor of the Menorah Journal and Contemporary
Jewish Record, bibliographer, essayist, and philanthropist. The
collection consists of personal and official correspondence,
notes, and articles and essays by Oko and others concerning his
numerous activities. The PAPERS have been organized into five
series: 

                A. PERSONAL CORRESPONDENCE 
                B. SPINOZIANA
                C. MENORAH ASSOCIATION 
                D. CONTEMPORARY JEWISH RECORD
                E. ESSAYS AND LECTURES. 

The PERSONAL CORRESPONDENCE SERIES (1911-1944) consists of
three and one-half Hollinger boxes. This correspondence is
arranged alphabetically by the name of the correspondent or
subject of the correspondence, and in chronological order
whenever possible. Access to many of the important individuals
and subjects may be made through the Box and Folder List and the
Subject Tracings at the end of the inventory.

The SPINOZIANA SERIES (1914-1944) consists of two and one-half Hollinger 
boxes containing correspondence, notes for Oko's/Spinoza Bibliography, 
and essays and letters concerning Baruch Spinoza by Oko and others. This
material is arranged alphabetically by the name of the correspondent or 
subject of the material, and in chronological order wherever possible. Access
to the more significant subjects and correspondents may be made
through the Box and Folder List and through the Subject Tracings.

The MENORAH ASSOCIATION SERIES (1916-1943) consists of two
Hollinger boxes. This material is arranged alphabetically by the
name of the correspondent or subject of the correspondence, and
in chronological order wherever possible. Access to the more
significant subjects and correspondents may be made through the
Box and Folder List and the Subject Tracings.

The CONTEMPORARY JEWISH RECORD SERIES (1943-1944) consists
of one-third of a Hollinger box. This material is arranged
alphabetically by the name of the correspondent or author of the
article, and in chronological order wherever possible. Access to
the articles and correspondence may be made through the Box and
Folder List, the Subject Tracings, and the Appendices which
catalogue the correspondents and articles.

The ESSAYS AND LECTURES SERIES (1920-1944; many undated)
consists of two-thirds of a Hollinger box. Biographical essays
and lectures are alphabetized by the name of the subject, others
by the title when one is provided and by the subject matter when
there is no title. Access to the essays and lectures may be made
through the Box and Folder List, the Subject Tracings, and the
Appendix which catalogues the essays and articles.

BOX AND FOLDER LIST top

Box  Folder    Contents

SERIES A. PERSONAL CORRESPONDENCE

NOTE: Selective access to additional individuals and topics
in this series may be made through the Subject Tracings. Please
note that a subject or individual may appear in this collection
more often than indicated in the Subject Tracings or Appendices.

1      1       A, General, 1916-1944
       2       Adler, E.N., 1922-1938
       3       Anonymous Fund, 1922-1923; n.d.
       4       Asch, Sholem, 1929-1943
       5       B, General, 1917-1944
       6       Baumgardt, David and Carol, 1936-1940
       7       Beer-Hofmann, Richard and Miriam, 1937-1944
       8       Bentwich, Norman, 1931-1941; n.d.
       9       Berkowitz, Henry J., 1925-1937
       10      Boyle, Katherine E., 1936-1940
       11      Brunner, Constantin and Lotte [Stigter], 1915-1939
       12      Brunschvicg, Leon, 1937-1941; n.d.
       13      Buber, Martin, 1936-1944
       14      C, General, 1915-1942
       15      Chinese Jewry [articles and correspondence]
       16      D, General, 1916-1941
       17      E, General, 1915-1944
       18      Elbogen, Ismar, 1924-1942
       19      Epstein, Jacob and Margaret, 1924-1939
       20      Epstein, Jacob and Margaret, 1940-1943
       21      Epstein, Jacob and Margaret, [not dated]

2      1       F, General, 1917-1943
       2       Feibleman, James K., 1935-1943
       3       Frank, Waldo, 1925-1942
       4       Frank. Waldo, [not dated]
       5       Frankel, David, 1932-1941
       6       Freed, Abraham, 1924-1928
       7       G, General, 1918-1941
       8       Goldschmidt, Lazarus, 1941
       9       Greene, Pearl Oko, 1937
       10      Guest, George and Mary Lapsley, 1934-1939
       11      H, General, 1917-1941
       12      Hebrew Union College-Board of Governors, 1911-1923
       13      Horne, Charles F., 1916-1917
       14      Husik, Isaac, 1917-1940
       15      I, General, 1921-1936
       16      J, General, 1913-1944
       17      K, General, 1920-1944
       18      Kohler Family, 1913-1943
       19      Kohn, Hans, 1936-1941
       20      Kohut, George Alexander, 1916-1931; 1934

3      1       L, General, 1919-1944
       2       Landauer, Brigitte and Gudula, 1925-1941
       3       Lowenthal, Marvin, 1929-1942 [?]
       4       M, General, 1917-1943
       5       Magnes, Judah Leon and Beatrice, 1935-1938
       6       Maritain, Jacques, 1938-1943
       7       Marx, Alexander, 1917-1943
       8       Mattuck, Israel I., 1924-1937 [?]
       9       Morgenstern, Julian, 1932-1944
       10      N, General, 1914-1943
       11      O, General, 1917-1946
       12      Ochs, Adolph S. and Iphigene Wise Ochs, 1918-1940
       13      Orloff, Chana, 1929-1935
       14      P-Q, General, 1917-1943
       15      Pollock, Sir John, 1937-1942
       16      R, General, 1916-1943
       17      Rawidowicz, Simon, 1936-1938
       18      Rothman, Walter and Ellen, 1923-1944

4      1       Sa-Si, General, 1917-1944
       2       Schecter, Solomon - Bibliography, 1916-1940
       3       Senator, Werner, 1935-1939
       4       Shunami, S., 1931-1940
       5       Sj-Sz, General, 1919-1943
       6       Solow, Herbert, 1930-1941
       7       T, General, 1916-1943
       8       Taggard, Genevieve, 1934-1936
       9       U-V, General, 1912-1944
       10      W, General, 1912-1944
       11      Wise, Stephen S., 1923-1944
       12      X-Y-Z, General, 1920-1943
       13      unidentifiable, 1917-1940

SERIES B. SPINOZIANA

       14      A, General, 1923-1943
       15      B, General, 1925-1941
       16      C, General, 1921-1942
       17      Carp, J.H., 1925-1936
       18      Cohen, Morris Raphael, 1922-1940
       19      D, General, 1928-1936
       20      De Casseres, Benjamin, 1925-1931
       21      Domus Spinozana 1923-1935
       22      E, General, 1914-1932
       23      F, General, 1925-1932

5      1       G, General, 1922-1940
       2       Gebhardt, Carl, 1921-1937
       3       H, General, 1922-1937
       4       Haight, Gordon S., 1940-1943
       5       Hutcheson, David, 1889-1925
       6       I-J, General, 1924-1937
       7       K, General, 1923-1951
       8       Kaufmann, Fritz, 1936-1944
       9       Knopf, Alfred, 1937-1940
       10      L, General, 1915-1942
       11      M, General, 1916-1940
       12      N-O-P-Q, General, 1917-1936
       13      Pollock, Sir Frederick, 1934-1936
       14      R, General, 1925-1944
       15      Rothschild, Herbert, 1928-1935
       16      S, General, 1922-1938
       17      Sard, Frederick N., 1926-1932
       18      Societas Spinozana, 1920-1932
       19      Spinoza Institute of America, 1931-1933
       20      T-U-V, General, 1921-1929
       21      Thilly, Frank, 1923-1931

6      1       W, General, 1914-1934
       2       Wolfson, Harry Austryn, 1917-1943
       3       X-Y-Z, General, 1922-1944
       4       Notes, A-M
       5       Notes, N-Z and unclassifiable
       6       Essays
       7       Other authors, General
       8       Other authors - Ames, Van Meter, 1928
       9       Other authors - Boyle, Robert
       10      Other authors - Hitchcock, E.A. and Samuel, 1922-           1929
       11      Other authors - Maccall, William

SERIES C: MENORAH ASSOCIATION

       12      A, General, 1919-1923
       13      Aid to Austrian Students
       14      Alexander, Hartley Burr, 1919-1924
       15      Altkirch, Ernst, 1921-1923
       16      Askowith, H., 1918-1921

7      1       B, General, 1919-1925
       2       C, General, 1919-1925
       3       University of Cincinnati, 1919-1922
       4       Cincinnati Graduate Menorah Society, 1916-1929
       5       Cohen, Elliot E., 1918-1931
       6       D-E, General, 1919-1925
       7       F, General, 1918-1926
       8       Fechheimer, S. Marcus, 1917-1929
       9       G, General, 1919-1928
       10      H, General, 1918-1922
       11      Harvard Menorah Society, 1922-1927
       12      Hurwitz, Henry, 1916-1918
       13      Hurwitz, Henry, 1919
       14      Hurwitz, Henry, 1920
       15      Hurwitz, Henry, 1921
       16      Hurwitz, Henry, 1922
       17      Hurwitz, Henry, 1923-1927
       18      Hurwitz, Henry, 1928-1937
       19      Hurwitz, Henry, 1938-1943; n.d.

8      1       I-J, General, 1918-1920
       2       Isaacs, Nathan, 1917-1926
       3       Isaacs, Nathan, 1927-1946; n.d.
       4       K, General, 1918-1925
       5       Kahn, Julietta, 1921-1923
       6       Kaufmann, Fritz, 1939
       7       L, General, 1919-1922
       8       Lehman, Irving, 1920
       9       Lowenthal, Marvin, 1921-1926
       10      Ma-Md, General, 1919-1923
       11      Mauthner, Fritz, 1921-1933
       12      Menorah Educational Conference, 1919-1923
       13      Menorah Societies, 1919-1931
       14      Me-Mz, General, 1916-1920
       15      Mischkind, Louis A., 1918-1930
       16      Moore, George Foot, 1921-1922
       17      N, General, 1918-1923
       18      College of the City of New York Menorah Society, 1919-1921
       19      O-P-Q, General, 1918-1923
       20      Pann, Abel, 1919-1930
       21      R, General, 1919-1926
       22      S, General, 1919-1926
       23      Solow, Herbert, 1928-1931
       24      T-U-V-W, General, 1919-1929
       25      Wolfson, Harry Austryn, 1917-1923
       26      Wormser, Leo F., 1919-1923

9      1       X-Y-Z, General; unidentifiable
       2       Zangwill, Israel, 1919-1923
       3       Correspondence, General, 1942-1944
       4       Correspondence - Salwson, John, 1943-1944
       5       Memoranda
       6       Introductions to articles
       7       Aren't, Hanna-"American Foreign Policy and Palestine"
       8       Draftees, Camille-"Letters from a French Jew"
       9       Frank, Waldo-"For a Bill of Human Rights," 1944
       10      Neumann, Emanuel-"Behind and After the Resolutions"
       11      Palestine-The Position of the American Jewish Committee, 1944

SERIES E: ESSAYS AND LECTURES

       12      A-I, General
       13      Bergson, Henri, 1941
       14      "The Ethics of a Modern Jew"
       15      Gebhardt, Carl, 1934
       16      "In Praise of Learning"
       17      J-P, General
       18      "The Jew in Our Day"
       19      "Jewish Book Collections in the United States"
       20      Syllabus on "The Jews and the War"
       21      Mauthner, Fritz
       22      "The Mood of a Sceptic," 1924
       23      Pollock, Sir Frederick
       24      Q-Z, General
       25      Santayana, George
       26      Schnitzler, Arthur
       27      "The Yale (Jewish) Exhibit in its Cultural Aspects," 1940
       28      Zunz, Leopold
       29      Articles by others

SUBJECT TRACINGS top

Note: The following list represents a selective guide to the
significant subjects and correspondents within the ADOLPH S. OKO
PAPERS. References are to boxes and folders; e.g. 2/1 = Box 2,
Folder 1.  This list should be used in conjunction with the Box
and Folder List and the Appendices to this inventory.

Altkirch, Ernst 1/3, 6/15
Arendt, Hannah 9/6, 9/7
Asch, Sholem 1/4

Bergson, Henri 3/4, 9/13
Brunner, Constantin 1/3, 1/11, 9/12

Chekhov, Michael 1/14
Chinese Jewry 1/15
Croffut, Bessie B. 6/10

Domus Spinozana 4/21

Epstein, Jacob 1/19-1/21, 2/11, 3/12, 4/1, 5/15

Fechheimer, S. Marcus 1/3, 7/8
Frank, Waldo 2/3, 2/4, 9/9, 9/12
Freiberg, Sidney and Ruth 3/2

Gebhardt, Carl 5/2, 9/15

Hebrew Union College-Board of Governors 2/12
Hertz, J.A. 2/11
Heschel, Abraham 1/13
Hurwitz, Henry 7/12-7/19, 9/12
Husik, Isaac 1/5, 2/11, 2/14, 3/10, 3/16, 9/12
Hutcheson, David 5/5

Isaacs, Nathan 8/2, 8/3, 9/12

"Jewish Book Collections in the United States" 9/19
Jonas, Harold 9/3, 9/12

Kaplan, Modecai Menahem 2/17
Kaufmann, Fritz 5/8, 8/6
Kohler, Kaufmann 2/13, 2/18, 8/4, 9/17

Landauer, Brigitte and Gudula 1/18, 3/2
Lapsley, Mary 2/10
London, Hannah R. 3/2
Lowenthal, Marvin 3/3, 8/9

Magnes, Judah Leon 3/5
Maritain, Jacques 3/6
Maritain, Raissa 3/4, 9/13
Marshall, Louis 8/10
Marx, Alexander 3/7
Mattuck, Israel I. 3/8, 5/11
Mauthner, Fritz 8/11, 9/21
"Merchant of Venice" 1/1, 1/14
Mischkind, Louis A. 8/15, 9/29
Montagu, Ashley 9/3
Moore, George Foot 3/4, 5/11, 8/16, 9/17
Morgenstern, Julian 3/9
Mumford, Lewis 3/4

Neumann, Emanuel 9/6, 9/10

Ochs, Adolph S. and Iphigene Wise Ochs 3/12
Orloff, Chana 3/13

Palestine 9/3-9/7, 9/10, 9/11
Philipson, David 3/14
Pollock, Sir Frederick 3/15, 5/13, 9/23
Pollock, Sir John 3/15

Rathenau, Walter 1/11
Rosenwald, Julius 3/16, 8/21
Rothman, Walter 3/18
Rukeyser, Muriel 9/3

Schechter, Solomon - Bibliography 4/2
Schneiderman, Harry 9/3, 9/24
Scholem, Gershon 4/1
Societas Spinozana 5/18
Solow, Herbert 4/6, 8/23

Wise, Stephen S. 4/11, 6/1, 8/4
Wolfson, Harry Austryn 6/2, 8/25
Wormser, Leo F. 8/26

APPENDIX top

SERIES D: CONTEMPORARY JEWISH RECORD

APPENDIX A: Folder 9/3 - Correspondence, General

       American Jewish Committee - Library Committee
       Feibelman, Julian B.
       Holzberg, Julius
       Kahn, Julietta
       Jonas, Harold J.
       Montagu, Ashley
       Oelsner, Toni
       Rukeyser, Muriel
       Schneiderman, Harry
       Sloan, Samuel
       Stroock, Alan M.
       Waldman, Morris David

APPENDIX B: Folder 9/6 - Introductions to articles

       Darmesteter, James - "Race and Tradition"
       Montefiore, Claude Goldsmid
       Palestine - Neumann and Arendt articles


SERIES E: ESSAYS AND LECTURES

APPENDIX C: Folders 9/12, 9/17, 9/24 (A-I, J-P, Q-Z, General)

9/12   Bendavid, Lazarus
       Brunner, Constantin
       "Cataloguing"
       Frank, Waldo
       Gans, Eduard
       Ginzberg, Louis
       [Hebrew Union College Library]
       Heine, Heinrich
       Herder
       Hoffman, David
       "High Holy Days, Festivals and Fasts"
       Hurwitz, Henry
       Husik, Isaac
       Isaacs, Nathan

9/17   "The Jews in the Western World: A Survey of Jewish History and Thought Since 70"
       [Jewish Literature]
       Jonas, Harold J.
       "Judaism and American Ideals and Institutions"
       " Christian Europe Today' by Adolph Keller"
       Kohler, Kaufmann
       "The Law of the Land is Binding Law"
       "Lessing and the Life of Reason"
       "Martin Luther: Von den Jden und iren Lgen"
       Moore, George Foot
       Moser, Moses
       "A Museum of Jewish Cultural History"
       Oko, Adolph S.
       Oko, Etta Weisinger
       "The Prime Need"

9/24   [Religious Education]
       [Robinson's Outline]
       Schneiderman, Harry
       [Shelley, Percy Bysshe]
       "Some Christian Estimates of Judaism"
       Toller, Ernst
       Weizmann, Chaim
       [Yom Kippur]
       Three partial bibliographies
       Partial inventory and appraisal of a book collection
       Headings for an article
       Eulogy for Ed, janitor at the Hebrew Union College Library
       
APPENDIX D. Folder 9/29 - Articles by others

       Cannan, Gilbert - "The Rights of Minorities"
       Hurwitz, Maximilian - "Ami, Ami, Lomo Osavtoni?"
       Mischkind, Louis A. - [report on a conference, perhaps of
               the CCAR]
       Rosenbloom, Sol - "Uniting Faith and Reason (A Viewpoint on the Hebrew University)"

top