Our ancestors arrived from different places and at different times, but all as immigrants to America. Each encountered challenges, trying to gain legal entry, adapting to a new culture, and finding ways to make ends meet. The artifacts in this gallery trace these fascinating experiences, linking the past to our Jewish lives today.
The significance of this artifact to our family is that my great grandfather, the son of Russian immigrants, used these shears in his fabric and drapery business which he started in Philadelphia and eventually moved to Columbia, SC. This was probably one of the more important tools he used. My grandmother still has many of his sewing tools. The interesting point to the story was that he began in the burlap bag business and ended up in the custom drapery business when a mistake in an order was made by a supplier who sent him fabric instead of burlap.
The pamphlets (3) address the rise in anti-Semitism in the U.S. as a result of immigration to our country, and the rise of Communism in the Soviet Union. Many believed that Jewish people were involved in the overthrow of the Russian monarchy. The pamphlets also address rising anti-Semitism in Germany before the rise of Hitler. It is ironic that the pamphlets address "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion", which has been used as anti-Semitic propaganda throughout history and still today.
This passport is important to my family because it allowed my great grandfather Josef to leave Romania and come to America. He was one of the first people in my family to come to the USA. He went through Ellis Island in New York, where many other Jewish immigrants also entered the USA. It is also important because it gives my family a written timeline of when he arrived.