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Finding Aid of the Joseph Roos papers
0313
0313
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Title: Joseph Roos papers
Collection number: 0313
Contributing Institution:
USC Libraries Special Collections
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
13.0 Linear feet
13 boxes, 1 map case folder
Date (inclusive): 1921-1999
Language of Materials: Most of the materials found in the Joseph Roos Papers are in English; however, some of Roos's correspondence and research
was conducted in German.
Abstract: This collection contains papers documenting the activities of Joseph Roos (1905-1999) from his retirement from the Community
Relations Committee of the Jewish Federation Council in 1969 until his death in 1999. These papers include correspondence,
research files, memoranda and publications. Some documentation of Roos's earlier activities investigating the activities of
the German Bund in Los Angeles in the 1930s is also present.
creator:
Roos, Joseph, 1905-1999
Joseph Roos (1905-1999) was a pioneering community relations adviser and activist who helped to infiltrate the prewar Nazi
movement in Los Angeles. Roos was born in Vienna, Austria, and came to the United States in 1928. He became a Chicago newspaperman
during the height of the Depression and in 1933 worked with George C. Marshall to launch the first government investigation
of Nazi activities in America.
Roos came to California in 1934 to work in book publishing and wound up working as a publicist for Universal Pictures. He
later became a story editor at United Artists and RKO Studios. In 1938, Roos began working with the Jewish Community Committee,
which became the Community Relations Committee of the Jewish Federation Council. The pro-Nazi German American Bund, a national
organization, arose in Los Angeles in the 1930s around the same time Adolf Hitler gained power. Roos took a leading role in
investigations that would expose white supremacy groups and help to arouse the local Jewish community to the seriousness of
the Third Reich's threat. Under the leadership of the Hitler-appointed American Fuhrer, Fritz Kuhn, the Bund tried to organize
boycotts of Jewish-run businesses, especially those in the movie industry. Ultimately, the Bund hoped to purge the United
States of Jews, minorities, Communists, and anyone who did not share its notion of Aryan supremacy.
Roos went on to serve as executive director of the Committee from 1945 to 1969, when he retired. In his work with the Committee,
Roos gained a national reputation as a pioneer in the fields of race and community relations. In 1969 he started his own firm,
Community Relations Consultants, and in 1984, Roos helped form USC's Office of Civic and Community Relations, the university's
community outreach arm. He continued to advise USC on community relations matters until 1993. Roos was honored in 1979 by
USC's School of Journalism with its Distinguished Achievement in Journalism Award. In 1997 at USC's second annual Jewish Community
Luncheon, President Steven B. Sample awarded Roos a Lifetime Achievement Award for his service to the Southern California
Jewish community. Roos was also a founder and board member of the Pacific Coast Council in Inter-Cultural Relations and of
the Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations.
The Urban Archives Center at California State University, Northridge, has material from Joseph Roos in its Jewish Federation-Council
of Greater Los Angeles Community Relations Committee collection.
This collection primarily documents the career and activities of Joseph Roos from his retirement from the Community Relations
Committee of the Jewish Federation Council in 1969 until his death in 1999, although Roos's earlier activities are also documented.
Papers present in this collection include correspondence, manuscripts of radio scripts, articles and books, research files,
and publications. These papers document the business activities of Roos's firm, Community Relations Consultants, his work
with the University of Southern California, and Roos's research on Nazis and other white supremacist groups in Southern California.
Also included in this collection are transcripts of Roos's oral histories and a copy of the 1938 report
Summary Report on Activities of Nazi Groups and Their Allies in Southern California. Please see the Scope and Content notes of individual series for more information.
COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE. Advance notice required for access.
The collection contains published materials; researchers are reminded of the copyright restrictions imposed by publishers
on reusing their articles and parts of books. It is the responsibility of researchers to acquire permission from publishers
when reusing such materials. The copyright to unpublished materials belongs to the heirs of the writers. Permission to publish,
quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository and the copyright holder.
The Joseph Roos Papers were donated to USC by Leonard Roos in 2002 as an agent of the Joseph and Alvina Roos Trust.
[Box/folder# or item name], Joseph Roos papers, Collection no. 0313, Special Collections, USC Libraries, University of Southern
California
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Ferenz, F.K.
German American Bund. -- Archives
Jewish Federation Council of Greater Los Angeles . -- Archives
Pitt, Leonard -- Correspondence
Roos, Joseph, 1905-1999 -- Archives
University of Southern California. -- Archives
Clippings
Correspondence
Ephemera
Exiles--Austria--20th century--Archival resources
Exiles--United States--20th century--Archival resources
Jews--California--Los Angeles--20th century--Archival resources
Los Angeles (Calif.)--History--Archival resources
Manuscripts
Memorandums
National socialism--California--Los Angeles--Archival resources
Nazis--California--Los Angeles--Archival resources
Notes
Oral histories (document genres)
Pamphlets
Photographs
Printed ephemera
Public relations consultants--California--Los Angeles--Archival resources
Publications
Typescripts
White supremacy movements--United States----20th century--Archival resources