us-005521-ms 307
includes or included: us-005521-ms 307-07
includes or included: us-005521-ms 307-12
conditions of access: The collection is open for use; no restrictions apply.
includes or included: us-005521-ms 307-04
has record set type: Collection
identifier: MS-307
record resource source of information: Footnotes and bibliographic references should refer to the Bertha V. Corets Papers and the American Jewish Archives. A suggestion for at least the first citation is as follows:
type: RecordSet
includes or included: us-005521-ms 307-11
results or resulted from: http://lod.ehri-project-test.eu/units/us-005521-ms_307/acquisitions/1
title: Bertha V. Corets Papers
includes or included: us-005521-ms 307-10
date: 1930-1965 (bulk 1933-1940)
includes or included: us-005521-ms 307-a
includes or included: us-005521-ms 307-03
scope and content: Bertha Vera Corets (1897-1973) was a wife, mother, businesswoman, and store-owner who became an energetic and effective advocate for social justice. Her papers contain correspondence concerning her social justice activities, particularly in opposition to the rise of Nazism in the 1930s, together with publications and brochures of and pertaining to the many organizations and causes that she supported and led. The Bertha Vera Corets papers are important for many reasons. First, they document the anti-Nazi movement through her work in the Non-Sectarian Anti-Nazi League to Champion Human Rights. Much of the material in Box 1 pertains to these activities. Second, the Corets papers reveal the challenges of her life as an American woman who stood out and made her voice heard for the rights of women in the U.S. and Germany. For example are materials related to the American League for the Defense of Jewish Rights, the forerunner of the Non-Sectarian Anti-Nazi League, whose stated purpose was"to acquaint the ladies with the conditions which confront all the Jewish people as well as all the women in Hitler's Germany today" Third, the Corets papers contain two boxes of pamphlets, brochures and publications of numerous anti-Nazi groups together with other social justice issues and causes such as Zionism, anti-Semitism, and support of the Allied effort in World War II. These publications provide contemporary looks at the international Jewish scene in the 1930s and 1940s and show the extent of Bertha Corets’ involvement in pursuit of peace and justice during this time. The Bertha Corets papers provide an important, and rare, glimpse of the life of an active and committed American Jewish woman during one of the most important decades of the 20th century. It is a valuable resource for scholars and students of Jewish, military, social and women’s history — and for anyone interested in studying this time period.
record resource extent: 1.2 linear feet (3 Hollinger boxes)
record resource source of information: Preferred Citation
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record resource source of information: [Description], [Date], Box #, Folder #. MS-307. Bertha V. Corets Papers. American Jewish Archives, Cincinnati, Ohio.
includes or included: us-005521-ms 307-02
includes or included: us-005521-ms 307-09
includes or included: us-005521-ms 307-14
includes or included: us-005521-ms 307-06
conditions of use: This collection has been placed in the permanent care, custody, and control of the American Jewish Archives (AJA) by the donors of the collection. Questions concerning rights to use or publish materials from the collection should be addressed to the Executive Director of the AJA. For more information, see the American Jewish Archives copyright information webpage.
has or had some members with language: eng
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includes or included: us-005521-ms 307-05
has or had holder: us-005521
biographical history: Bertha Vera (Levine) Corets, wife, mother, businesswoman, store-owner and advocate for social justice, was born to Ethel and Harris Levine on December 24, 1897, in Troy, New York. Her parents had immigrated to the United States from Russia in the 1880s. Bertha was the second of three children. Her older brother, Meyer, born February 7, 1895, died of tuberculosis in 1913. Her younger brother, Joseph Gabriel Levine (later Dr. Joseph Lee) was born March 20, 1899. At age 21, he graduated from the University and Bellevue Hospital Medical College (later NYU School of Medicine). Bertha attended PS 40 in the Bronx and graduated from the 8th grade in 1910. Her formal education was put on hold for several years while she worked at her father’s retail dry goods business. During World War I she worked for the United States War Production Board. From 1918 to 1921, Bertha worked for the US Shipping Board (USSB) as a stenographer. She had risen to the position of Chief Stenographer when she resigned in 1921. Bertha met her future husband, Mark Corets, while working for the USSB. After the war, Bertha was a local activist in the passage and ratification of the 19th Amendment to the US Constitution (granting women the right to vote). This newly won right probably compelled her to return to formal schooling. While working full time during the day, Bertha enrolled in the Bronx Evening High School in November 1922 and completed four years of high school in just seven months, a feat covered widely in local Bronx and Yiddish newspapers. She was also valedictorian of her class. The newspapers noted that Bertha intended to study law after graduation because she saw it as a profession where she could do a great deal of good and work to root out injustice. Over the next few years Bertha took several college extension classes including a law correspondence course. Although Bertha was never able to formally attend law school, she would soon find her voice in the pursuit of justice by advocatin…
includes or included: us-005521-ms 307-08
includes or included: us-005521-ms 307-13