Collection context
Summary
- Creators:
- Brodsky, Frank, 1933-, Brodsky, Frank, 1933-, and Brodsky, Elayne, 1937-
- Abstract:
- Frank Brodsky (b. 1933) is a native of Philadelphia and worked in finance. He and his wife Elayne "Bunny" Brodsky (b. 1937, neé Green) were not only active in the local Jewish community of Philadelphia, but also they were active participants in the community's efforts to support Refuseniks in the USSR during the 1980s. They remain active in the Jewish community of Philadelphia today. This small collection of materials primarily documents their work for Refuseniks and with other activists in Philadelphia working on behalf of Refuseniks in the USSR. These materials include, but are not limited to correspondence, travel guides, data sheets about individual Refuseniks and their families, and trip reports. This material is supplemented by newspaper clippings and newsletters which document the activism work, contemporary correspondence between former refuseniks and activists as well as other documents supporting the Brodskys' work.
- Extent:
- 2.5 Linear Feet (1 archives box; 1 newspaper box)
- Language:
- Materials are predominately in English, with some materials in Russian (Cyrillic text) and Hebrew.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item]. Frank Brodsky papers, 2023.027.001. Archive. Wende Museum.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
The Frank Brodsky papers contains materials created and collected by Frank Brodsky and his wife, Bunny (Elayne) Brodsky. These materials document: the Brodskys' activities as activists in the United States working for the emigration of Refuseniks from the USSR, correspondence between the Brodskys and other activists in the United States and abroad, their continued communication with former Refuseniks after the fall of Communism in the USSR and their continued activity with the greater Philadelphia Jewish community. The collection contains Brodsky's personal materials, including: correspondence, travel guides, data sheets about individual Refuseniks and their families, and trip reports. This material is supplemented by newspaper clippings and newsletters documenting the activism work, contemporary correspondence between former refuseniks and activists as well as other documents supporting the Brodskys' work as well as the general Refusenik movement in the United States.
- Biographical / historical:
-
Frank Brodsky was born on June 10, 1933 in Philadelphia to Max (Mordche) Brodsky (Krasnobrodsky), a Russian-Jewish immigrant and Gertrude (Kaufman) Brodsky. In 1951, he graduated from Overbrook High School. He continued his education at Pierce Business School (now Pierce College) where he briefly studied business before being drafted into the Army in 1953. While enlisted, he served in the Korean War and was stationed in Japan and South Korea. Brodsky briefly worked in the family business (automotive upholstery) before starting his own investment business in 1956. From 1970 through 1989, he worked at Drexel Burnham Lambert Incorporated as stockbroker and Senior Vice President, Investments. He then transitioned to Prudential Securities (1989-2003), Wells Fargo (2003-2020) and Raymond James Associates (2020-present)... also as Senior Vice President, Investments. During his tenure with Wells Fargo, he joined the Gitter, Kanteliotis, Brodsky Investment Group. This group more recently operates as Kanteliotis Wealth Management and was acquired by Raymond James Associates in 2020. He is a former member of the Board of Governors of the Philadelphia Securities Association.
Beyond his career in finance, Brodsky, along with his wife Bunny (Elayne) Brodsky (b. 1937) are active members of the Philadelphia Jewish community. In the 1980s, their work in the local Jewish community expanded into greater activism on behalf of Jewish persons abroad, namely Refuseniks in the former Soviet Union. On the local level, the Brodskys held positions of leadership for multiple organizations. They were active with the Soviet Jewry Council of the Jewish Community Relations Council (SJC), Golden Slipper Club, B'nai B'rith Adelphi Lodge (Adelphi Lodge), Federation of Jewish Agencies of Greater Philadelphia (FJA) and others. In 1980, Frank Brodsky served as President of the Adelphi Lodge. He is also a former President of the Golden Slipper Club and the Jewish National Fund of Philadelphia. In 1984, he was awarded the Golden Slipper Club's Golden Medallion. He also served on the Board for the Golden Slipper Uptown Home for the Aged and Golden Slipper Camp. Working with the FJA, he served on the Board of Trustees and in 1986 was honored by the FJA's Investments Division. The Soviet Jewry Council (SJC) elected him Co-Chair of the organization for 1986-87 and 1987-88. In addition to Co-Chairing the SJC at this time, Frank Brodsky also Co-Chaired the 1986 Soviet Jewry "Silent No More" Tribute. Bunny Brodsky served as an Officer in the role of Vice President for the SJC for the 1988-1989 year.
Aside from their commitment to these organizations, the Brodskys worked towards bettering the lives and overall awareness of the situation of Soviet Refuseniks. Together, they traveled to the USSR three times during the 1980s. On these trips they met with Refuseniks, gave the Refuseniks supplies and literature, gathered testimonials from the Refuseniks and then drafted reports detailing their experiences on these mission trips. They first visited the USSR in July, 1985. They traveled to the USSR together over the next 2 years : late September - early October, 1986 and in early December 1987. In October 1989, Frank Brodsky traveled to the USSR with Leon Uris, author of Exodus, in a six-person contingent sponsored by B'nai B'rith. This particular trip was to commemorate the anniversary of Exodus existing in the USSR through underground (samizdat) publication. Frank Brodsky also traveled to Iceland in October 1987 to support the cause of the emigration of Soviet Jews during the Reykjavik Summit between Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev.
More recently, Frank Brodsky traveled to Israel in December, 2011 for the National Council on Soviet Jewry (NCSJ) 40th Anniversary Leadership Mission to Israel. This year (2024), Frank and Bunny Brodsky were the Tikkun Olam Honorees at the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia's 26th Annual Circle of Partners Celebration.
- Acquisition information:
- Donated by Frank Brodsky, 2023.
- Accruals:
-
Accruals are expected.
- Physical / technical requirements:
-
This collection does not have any special technical requirements and is open for access. If you have questions about these materials please email collections@wendemuseum.org.
- Physical location:
- Stored onsite at the Wende Museum.
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Indexed terms
- Subjects:
- Soviet Union--Ethnic relations
Soviet Union--Emigration and immigration
Soviet Union--Description and travel
Refuseniks
Jews--Soviet Union--Social conditions
Jews, Soviet
Jews--Soviet Union--Politics and government
Jews--Persecutions--Soviet Union
Jews -- Soviet Union
Jews -- United States
Jews, Soviet -- Israel - Names:
- National Conference on Soviet Jewry (U.S.)
Greater Philadelphia Council for Soviet Jews
Soviet Jewry Council (Philadelphia, Pa.)
Smukler, Alexander
Taratuta, Aba
Taratuta, Ida
Slepak, Vladimir, 1927-
Shraer-Petrov, David (1936)
KosharovskiÄ, Iï¸ U︡liÄ (1941-2014)
Brodsky, Frank, 1933-
Brodsky, Frank, 1933-
Brodsky, Elayne, 1937-
Wurtman, Enid
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
The collection is open for access, however, items in this collection do not circulate and may be used in-house only.
Some materials in the collection are restricted; consult repository for details.
- Terms of access:
-
Copyright restrictions may apply.
Property rights to the physical object belong to the Wende Museum. Literary rights, including copyright, are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where the Wende Museum does not hold the copyright.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item]. Frank Brodsky papers, 2023.027.001. Archive. Wende Museum.
- Location of this collection:
-
10808 Culver BoulevardCulver City, CA 90230, US
- Contact:
- (310) 216-1600