Guide to the Esther Brenner "1939" Club Collection
Special Collections & Archives
University Library
California State University, Northridge
18111 Nordhoff Street
Northridge, CA 91330-8326
Contributing Institution:
Special Collections & Archives
Title: Esther Brenner "1939" Club Collection
Creator:
Brenner, Esther, 1931-2015
Identifier/Call Number: URB.EBC
Extent:
2.23 linear feet
Date (inclusive): 1952-1996
Date (bulk): 1988-1995
Abstract: Esther Brenner was a dedicated
community advocate active in many civic and Jewish organizations in Los Angeles, including
The "1939" Club—a fraternal organization of Holocaust survivors founded in 1952. During the
late twentieth century Brenner served as a member of the Yearbook Editorial Committee on the
club's Board of Directors. The
Esther Brenner "1939" Club
Collection documents aspects of Brenner's involvement within
the organization, especially the planning of the 42nd Anniversary Celebration in 1994 and
the club's annual yearbook.
Language of Material: English,
Hebrew
Biographical Information:
Esther Lerner Brenner was born in Washington, D.C. on July 27, 1931. She was the second
child of Jewish immigrants from Palestine and Lithuania.
In the early 1950s, Brenner moved to Los Angeles where she worked as a teacher and speech
therapist while raising her three sons. She was a graduate of George Washington University
and after completing her Master of Business Administration at the University of Judaism, she
served as the West Coast Regional Director for the United States Holocaust Museum and as
Director of Development at Aviva Family and Children's Services.
Brenner was a dedicated community advocate active in many civic and Jewish organizations
in the Los Angeles area including the Beverly-Angeles Homeowners' Association, the Los
Angeles Hebrew High School, and The "1939" Club -- a fraternal organization of Holocaust
survivors founded in Los Angeles in 1952. Throughout its history, The "1939" Club has
coordinated numerous social, educational, and charitable initiatives to support Holocaust
remembrance. In the 1990s, Brenner served on the club's Board of Directors as a member of
the Yearbook Editorial Committee.
On August 7, 2015 Esther Lerner Brenner died at her home in Beverly Hills, California at
the age of 84.
Scope and Contents
The
Esther Brenner "1939" Club
Collection documents aspects of Brenner's tenure on the club's
Board of Directors during the late twentieth century. The collection is composed of two
series:
Club Activity Files (1952-1996) and
Press Clippings and Collected Publications (1986-1995).
Series I,
Club Activity Files, contains materials related to
the planning and promotion of club events and publications, particularly the 42nd
Anniversary Celebration in 1994 and the club's annual yearbook. Materials include
correspondence, meeting agendas and notes, fliers and programs, and yearbook mock-ups with
photographic prints. A manuscript draft of the club's history is also included as well as
reproductions of the club's earliest meeting notes from 1952-1953. Materials are arranged
alphabetically by subject and chronologically within.
Series II,
Press Clippings and Collected Publications, contains
newspaper clippings of various topics related to the Holocaust and Jewish communities which
were likely used in the construction of membership publications for The "1939" Club. The
series also contains collected personal narratives and publications from affiliated
organizations, such as newsletters, fliers, and posters. Posters include Hotel Terminus: The
Life and Times of Klaus Barbie by Marcel Ophüls, One Family by the Israel Emergency
Solidarity Fund, Martyrs Memorial and Museum of the Holocaust, A Hard Lesson by New York
Times Magazine, Night of Pogroms by the U.S. Holocaust Memorial, and the U.S. Holocaust
Memorial Writing Contest. Materials are arranged alphabetically by subject and
chronologically within.
Arrangement of Materials:
Series I: Club Activity Files, 1952-1996
Series II: Press Clippings and Collected Publications, 1986-1995
Related Material
Conditions Governing Access:
The collection is open for research use.
Conditions Governing Use:
Copyright for unpublished materials authored or otherwise produced by the creator(s) of
this collection has been transferred to California State University, Northridge. Copyright
status for other materials is unknown. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected
by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair use requires the
written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be
commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility for any
use rests exclusively with the user.
Accruals:
2013
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Esther Brenner. 02/2011, 2013
Preferred Citation:
For information about citing items in this collection consult the appropriate style manual,
or see the
Citing Archival Materials
guide.
Processing Information:
Christine Hertzel and Inderdeep Kaur, 2015
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Documents
Photographs
Series I: Club Activity Files, 1952-1996
Box 1, Folder 1
42nd Anniversary Celebration Planning Materials,
1993-1994
Box 1, Folder 2
Club History Manuscript Draft,
1991-1992
Box 1, Folder 3
Correspondence,
1989-1993
Box 1, Folder 6
Correspondence to Members,
1989-1992
Box 1, Folder 7
Event Fliers, Invitations, and Programs,
1989-1994
Box 1, Folder 8
Meeting Agendas and Minutes,
1952-1953, 1989-1990, 1992
Box 1, Folder 9
Newsletter Materials,
1989-1990, 1992
Box 1, Folder 11
Various Planning Materials, Notes, and Drafts,
1988-1990, 1995
Box 2, Folder 3
Yearbook Mock-up,
1994-1995
Series II: Press Clippings and Collected Publications,
1986-1995
Box 1, Folder 13
Anti-Defamation League,
1989-1992
Box 1, Folder 15
B'nai B'rith Messenger,
1992 March 13
Box 1, Folder 16
Child Survivors' Group Newsletter Number 12,
1989 March
Box 1, Folder 17
Concentration Camps,
1992-1994
Box 1, Folder 18
Holocaust Denial and Anti-Semitism,
1992, 1995
Box 1, Folder 19
Holocaust Oral History Project,
1990
Box 1, Folder 20
Holocaust Survivors,
1986-1995
Box 1, Folder 21
Israeli History, Politics, and Culture,
1989-1992
Box 1, Folder 22
Jerusalem Post International Edition,
1992 May 09
Box 1, Folder 23
Los Angeles Holocaust Monument,
1992
Box 1, Folder 24
Martyrs Memorial and Museum of the Holocaust,
1988-1992
Box 1, Folder 26
Nazi War Criminals,
1992-1994
Box 1, Folder 27
Near East Report,
1992 January 27
Box 1, Folder 28
Personal Writings,
1988-1992
Box 1, Folder 31
U.S. Holocaust Memorial,
1989
