Henrietta Reifler papers, 1918-1989

Overview of the Collection

Interviewee
Reifler, Henrietta
Title
Henrietta Reifler papers
Dates
1918-1989 (inclusive)
Quantity
2 sound cassettes plus 1 transcript, 2 vertical files and 108 pages
Collection Number
3696
Summary
Writings by Henrietta Reifler including "A 75th Anniversary for Congregation Ezra Bessaroth" and "The Shanghai Jewish Community - Recollections Fifty Years Later" as well as an oral history with her.
Repository
University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections
Special Collections
University of Washington Libraries
Box 352900
Seattle, WA
98195-2900
Telephone: 2065431929
Fax: 2065431931
speccoll@uw.edu
Access Restrictions

Consult the access restrictions information for each of the accessions listed below.

Languages
English

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

Consult the scope and content information for each of the accessions listed below.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Restrictions on Use

Consult the restrictions governing reproduction and use for each of the accessions listed below.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Arrangement

Organized into 5 accessions.

  • Accession No. 3696-001, Henrietta Reifler papers, 1918-1985
  • Accession No. 3696-002, Henrietta Reifler papers, circa 1930-1939
  • Accession No. 3696-003, Henrietta Reifler writing, 1982
  • Accession No. 3696-004, Henrietta Reifler oral history interview, 1987
  • Accession No. 3696-005, Henrietta Reifler manuscript, 1989

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

 

Accession No. 3696-001: Henrietta Reifler papers, 1918-1985Return to Top

1 document (7 pages)

Scope and Content: Historical article, 1985; photocopied clippings, 1918.

Article by Henrietta Reifler, "A 75th Anniversary for Congregation Ezra Bessaroth" traces history of the Sephardic congregation from about 1909 to 1985.

Restrictions on Access: Open to all users.

Restrictions on Use: Creator's literary rights transferred to the University of Washington Libraries.

Acquisition Info: Donated by Henrietta Reifler, 1/17/1986.

Description
Henrietta Reifler papers

Accession No. 3696-002: Henrietta Reifler papers, circa 1930-1939Return to Top

1 vertical file

Scope and Content: AMIT Women brochure; photocopied issue of the "Monitor" 1934; photocopied clipping, 1930s.

Mrs. Reifler was part of the Shanghai Jewish community in the 1930s. The clipping shows Beth Aharon Synagogue in Shanghai; the "Monitor" was a newsletter of Shanghai B'nai B'rith.

Restrictions on Access: Open to all users.

Restrictions on Use: Creator's literary rights transferred to the University of Washington Libraries.

Acquisition Info: Donated by Henrietta Reifler, 4/1/1986.

Description
Henrietta Reifler papers

Accession No. 3696-003: Henrietta Reifler writing, 1982Return to Top

1 vertical file

Scope and Content: Writing, "The Shanghai Jewish Community - Recollections Fifty Years Later" by Henrietta Reifler.

Writing describes Jewish community during World War II.

Restrictions on Access: Open to all users.

Restrictions on Use: Creator's literary rights transferred to the University of Washington Libraries.

Acquisition Info: Donated by Henrietta Reifler, 9/2/1986.

Description
Henrietta Reifler writing

Accession No. 3696-004: Henrietta Reifler oral history interview, 1987Return to Top

2 sound cassettes; transcript

Scope and Content: Tape-recorded interview with transcript conducted by Isabel Stusser, 4/16/87. A detailed summary was written in 1987.

Henrietta Reifler's father, Rabbi Mendel Brown, became the Rabbi of Ohel Rachel Synagogue and principal of the Shanghai Jewish School in 1932. Henrietta arrived in Shanghai in September 1935. In 1937, the Sino-Japanese War broke out. Because Shanghai was an open port, a number of Jews persecuted by Hitler came from Germany. Facilities were set up to resettle those refugees and Rabbi Brown was Chairman of the Education Committee and joint honorary secretary of the organization to deal with the refugees. Henrietta taught English in a Chinese girl's school and later worked for the editor of the "Shanghai Jewish Chronicle," a refugee newspaper. In September 1939, she married Erwin Reifler and moved to Hong Kong. They returned to Shanghai in June 1940 after the Japanese army invaded Canton and the Hong Kong government urged wormen and children to leave the island. In March 1943, she was interned as a British citizen by the Japanese gendarmerie together with American and British nationals. She describes the conditions in the internment camp and in Shanghai.

Digital Content/Other Formats: Listen to the audio recording and view the transcript of this interview on the Libraries Digital Collections site.

Restrictions on Access: Open to all users.

Restrictions on Use: Creator's literary rights transferred to the University of Washington Libraries.

Acquisition Info: Donated by Henrietta Reifler, 5/28/1987.

Description
Henrietta Reifler oral history interview

Accession No. 3696-005: Henrietta Reifler manuscript, 1989Return to Top

101 pages

Scope and Content: Manuscript of writing with photographs and other illustrations, 1989.

Final version, unbound, of Mrs. Reifler's writing "Seattle Jews from China: Oral Histories." Thirty Jews who came to Seattle via China were interviewed, and their reminiscences were papraphrased by Henrietta Reifler into a narrative text with a section for each person. There are numerous illustrations including portraits of the interviewees. Informants names: Bing, Friedericke (Fritzi); Birulin, Sol; Bolotin, Ruth; Eulenberg, Hannah; Fleischer, Stefanie; Froelich, Lola; Gallinger, Ida; Graudenz, Samuel; Green, Ida Zetling Zelikovsky; Hutton, Esther Robbins; Kahn, Margot; Lacker, Arnold; Lacker, Inna; Levinson, Ruth Kahn; Lewinson, Joe; Mannhalt, Bluma; Mannheim, Hilda; Posner, Tatiana (Tanya); Puechler, Alfred; Reifler, Henrietta; Samter, Gustav; Samter, Ruth; Sondland, Edith; Sondland, Harry; Tarrasch, Hannah; Zelikovsky, Abe; Zhou, Edward (Ed Chao); Zunterstein, Alfred; Zunrerstein, Eva.

Restrictions on Access: Open to all users.

Restrictions on Use: Creator's literary rights transferred to the University of Washington Libraries.

Acquisition Info: Donated by Henrietta Reifler, 4/29/1991.

Description
Henrietta Reifler manuscript

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Immigrants--Washington (State)--Seattle--Interviews
  • Jewish newspapers--China--Shanghai
  • Jews, British--China--Shanghai--Interviews
  • Jews, British--Washington (State)--Seattle--Interviews
  • Jews--Washington (State)--Seattle--Interviews
  • Sino-Japanese War, 1937-1945
  • World War, 1939-1945--Prisoners and prisons, Japanese

Personal Names

  • Brown, Mendel
  • Reifler, Erwin,  -1966
  • Reifler, Henrietta--Archives

Corporate Names

  • AMIT Women
  • Congregation Ezra Bessaroth (Seattle, Wash.)
  • Ohel Rachel Synagogue (Shanghai, China)
  • Shanghai Jewish Youth Community Center

Other Creators

  • Personal Names
    • Bing, Friedericke (Fritzi) (interviewee)
    • Birulin, Sol (interviewee)
    • Bolotin, Ruth (interviewee)
    • Eulenberg, Hannah (interviewee)
    • Fleischer, Stefanie (interviewee)
    • Froehlich, Lola (interviewee)
    • Gallinger, Ida (interviewee)
    • Graudenz, Samuel (interviewee)
    • Hutton, Esther Robbins (interviewee)
    • Kahn, Margot (interviewee)
    • Lacker, Arnold (interviewee)
    • Lacker, Inna (interviewee)
    • Levinson, Ruth Kahn (interviewee)
    • Lewinson, Joe (interviewee)
    • Mannhalt, Bluma (interviewee)
    • Mannheim, Hilda (interviewee)
    • Posner, Tatiana (Tanya) (interviewee)
    • Preuss, Rolf (interviewee)
    • Puechler, Alfred (interviewee)
    • Samter, Gustav (interviewee)
    • Samter, Ruth (interviewee)
    • Sondland, Edith (interviewee)
    • Sondland, Harry (interviewee)
    • Tarrasch, Hanna (interviewee)
    • Zelikovsky, Abe (interviewee)
    • Zelikovsky-Green, Ida (interviewee)
    • Zhou, Edward (Ed Chao) (interviewee)
    • Zunterstein, Alfred (interviewee)
    • Zunterstein, Eva (interviewee)

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Personal Papers/Corporate Records (University of Washington)