TABLE OF CONTENTS


Introduction

Biographical Sketch

Scope and Content Note

Arrangement Note

Restrictions

Related Material

Administrative Information

Search Terms

Box Folder Listing

Series A. Papers. 1947-2008.

A Finding Aid to the Erwin Herman Papers. 1947-2008 (bulk 1970-2000).

Manuscript Collection No. 822

NHPRCFunding, in part, for the arrangement and description of this collection was provided by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.

Introduction

Repository: The Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives
Creator: Herman, Erwin, 1923-2008
Title: Erwin Herman Papers
Dates: 1947-2008
Bulk Dates: 1970-2000
Quantity: 1.4 linear feet (1 record carton and 1 Hollinger box)
Abstract: Correspondence, sermons and other papers pertaining to his rabbinic career.
Collection Number: MS-822
Language: Collection material in English.

Biographical Sketch

Erwin Herman was ordained at the Hebrew Union College in 1949. He began his rabbinical life in congregations in Winston-Salem, NC and Scranton, PA. In 1957, he joined the staff of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, serving as Director of New Congregations. He had a special passion for young people in congregations and in the growing network of Reform camps. In 1965, he became the director of the Union's Pacific Southwest region centered in Los Angeles. He and his wife Agnes spearheaded a campaign to advance equal justice and gay rights within the Reform movement and beyond. Rabbi Herman was a strong supporter in establishing the first Jewish gay congregation in America, Beth Chayim Chadashim, in Los Angeles.


Scope and Content Note

The Erwin Herman papers consist of sermons dating back to his student days at Hebrew Union College. Also included are correspondence files pertaining to his rabbinic work, his work in gay rights as an AIDS activist, plus exchanges with colleagues and congregants, together with personal and miscellaneous items.


Arrangement Note

This collection is arranged in a single series.


Restrictions

Terms of Access and Use

This collection is open to all users. The original manuscript collection is available in the Barrows-Loebelson Reading Room of the Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives.

Property and Literary Rights

Agnes Herman, by the act of donating this collection to the American Jewish Archives, assigned all property rights to the American Jewish Archives. Literary rights are retained by the Herman family and their heirs. Literary rights may also be retained by specific creators of some materials.

Questions concerning rights should be addressed to the Executive Director of the American Jewish Archives. For more information see the American Jewish Archives copyright information webpage.


Related Material

Related material may be found in the AJA Online Catalog under Herman, Erwin.


Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Footnotes and bibliographic references should refer to the Erwin Herman Papers and the American Jewish Archives. A suggestion for at least the first citation is as follows:

[Description], [Date], Box #, Folder #. MS-822. Erwin Herman Papers. American Jewish Archives, Cincinnati, Ohio.

Provenance

The Erwin Herman Papers were received from Agnes Herman, Lake San Marcos, Calif., in May, 2009.

Processing Information

Processed by Kevin Proffitt, September 2011.

This collection was arranged and described according to minimal-processing standards. Funding, in part, for the arrangement and description of this collection was provided by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.


Box Folder Listing

Series A. Papers. 1947-2008.
Box Folder
1 1-20 Correspondence, services, chaplaincy. 1950-1990.
1 21-37 Sermons and writings. 1947-2008.
1 38-44 Personal and miscellaneous. 1966-1993.
Box Folder
2 1-9 UAHC AIDS Committee, Jewish family and gay rights issues. 1987-1992.

Search Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the AJA Online Catalog.

Persons and Families

Herman, Erwin, 1923-2008.

Institutions

Beth Chayim Chadashim (Los Angeles, Calif.)
United States. National Historical Publications and Records Commission.

Subjects

AIDS activists.
Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders.
Jewish camps.

Genres and Forms

Jewish sermons, American.

Occupations

Rabbis -- California -- Los Angeles.