The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee () announced that Pamela Joy Shatzkes and Lior Sternfeld, two scholars, were named Fred and Ellen Lewis Archives Fellows. Designed for scholars engaged in graduate level, post-doctoral, or independent study, the Fellowship — now in its second year — is for research in the Archives facilities in or .
‘We’re delighted to award the Archives Fellowship to Dr. Shatzkes and Mr. Sternfeld, scholars whose research will undoubtedly enrich our understanding of modern Jewish history. At a time when historic archives are being accessed in new and exciting ways, this Fellowship actively encourages the use of ‘s renowned collection by anyone seeking insight into Jewish life and ‘s life-saving work for nearly one hundred years,’ said Global Archives Director Linda Levi.
Pamela Joy Shatzkes, a London-based scholar with a Ph.D. from the London School of Economics, is author of . Her Fellowship research will focus on the recovery of Jewish orphans who survived the Holocaust in the care of Christian families, monasteries, and convents. Lior Sternfeld is a Ph.D. candidate inHistory at the University of Texas at Austin. His Fellowship research will focus on the Jewish community in pre-revolution Iran who lived under the reign of Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi (1941-1979).
The Fellowship — created through a bequest from former, longtime employee Ellen Lewis (whose family was helped by in the Shanghai Ghetto) — is designed for research in the fields of twentieth century Jewish history, general history, and humanitarian assistance, as well as other areas of academic or cultural research covered in the archival collections. An Academic Advisory Committee consisting of leading scholars as well as Board Member Jerome Spitzer and Adam Sacks of the Archives Committee was responsible for selecting the inaugural fellows. Scholars include ProfessorMarion Kaplan of NYU, Professor Jane Gerber of the City University GraduateCenter, and Professor David Fishman of the Jewish Theological Seminary.
‘s Global Archives document activities of the world’s leading Jewish humanitarian assistance organization from its inception in 1914 to today. The repository houses one of the most significant collections in the world for the study of modern Jewish history. Comprising the organizationalrecords of , the Archives includes over 3 miles of text documents, 100,000 photographs, 1,100 audio recordings including 95 oral histories, 1,300 video recordings, and 157 recorded historic speeches and broadcasts. A sampling of these materials can be viewed at ‘s Global Archives website at .
