Restrictions to Access

No restrictions. Open for research.

Copyright Notice

Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], in the Sidney M. Berkowitz Papers #5241-z, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Special Collections Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Acquisitions Information

Received from Roger Berkowitz of Pittsboro, N.C. in October 2005 (Acc. 100240), February 2006 (Acc. 100331), May 2006 (Acc. 100427), and December 2007 (Acc. 100828).

Sensitive Materials Statement

Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, the North Carolina Public Records Act (N.C.G.S. § 132 1 et seq.), and Article 7 of the North Carolina State Personnel Act (Privacy of State Employee Personnel Records, N.C.G.S. § 126-22 et seq.). Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill assumes no responsibility.

Processed by: Jodi Berkowitz, 2006

Encoded by: Jodi Berkowitz, 2006

Finding aid updated in June 2008 by Kathryn Roth because of addition.

The following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.

Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.

• Berkowitz family.
• Berkowitz, Sidney M., d. 1983.
• Hebrew Union College--Students.
• Jews--Alabama.
• Jews--England--Cambridge.
• Jews--England--Oxford.
• Jews--Indiana.
• Jews--Ohio.
• Judaism--Relations--Catholic Church.
• Loeser family.
• Lowry Air Force Base (Colo.)--History.
• Mobile (Ala.)--Religious life and customs.
• Mobile (Ala.)--Social life and customs.
• Rabbis--United States.
• Scrapbooks.
• Terre Haute (Ind.)--Religious life and customs.
• Terre Haute (Ind.)--Social life and customs.
• United States. Army--Chaplains.
• University of Cambridge--Students.
• University of Cincinnati--Students.
• University of Oxford--Students.
• World War, 1939-1945--Chaplains--United States.
• World War, 1939-1945--Participation, Jewish.
• Youngstown (Ohio)--Religious life and customs.
• Youngstown (Ohio)--Social life and customs.

• Sidney M. Berkowitz Papers, 1939-1982, Special Collections and Archives, Kent State University
• Dr. Sidney M. Berkowitz Collection, Mahoning Valley Historical Society, Youngstown, Ohio

Rabbi Dr. Sidney M. Berkowitz, originally of Terre Haute, Ind., graduated from the University of Cincinnati in 1933 and from Hebrew Union College in 1936, at which time he was ordained as a rabbi. A fellowship eabled him to do graduate work at the University of Cambridge, the University of Oxford, and at the Sorbonne. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge in 1939. Berkowitz became rabbi of Congregation Sha'arai Shomayim (the Gates of Heaven), Mobile, Ala., in 1940 and volunteered to be a chaplain in the United States Army in 1942, where he served 42 months and was discharged with the rank of Major. After World War II, Berkowitz became rabbi of Congregation Rodef Shalom, Youngstown, Ohio, where he served until a month before he died in 1983 at the age of 71. He was committed to interfaith cooperation and had a deep and longstanding friendship with Bishop James W. Malone, who later gave the eulogy at Berkowitz's funeral.

Berkowitz was married to Pauline Anderson of England. They had two sons, Roger and R. Laurence.

The collection includes a scrapbook, personal papers, clippings, other papers, and photographs of Rabbi Dr. Sidney M. Berkowitz. The scrapbook, compiled by Pauline Berkowitz, contains clippings, photographs, letters, and event programs related to Berkowitz's education and professional career. It primarily documents Berkowitz's time as rabbi of Congregation Sha'arai Shomayim in Mobile, Ala., until joining the United States Army as a chaplain in 1942. Personal papers include transcripts from the University of Cincinnati and Hebrew Union College; tuition bills and receipts of payment from the University of Cambridge; programs of events from the Cambridge Jewish Society and the Oxford Jewish Society; and other items. Other papers include inventories of Berkowitz material elsewhere and a partial oral history of Pauline Berkowitz. Also included is a Loeser family tree (Berkowitz's maternal family). Clippings are primarily from Berkowitz's World War II service as United States Army chaplain and from around his death in 1983. Photographs document events during his time as Army chaplain, with most photographs from a 1943 Passover seder and 1944 Rosh Hashanah services at Lowry Air Force Base in Colorado. The Addition of 2007 contains a copy of the eulogy read by Bishop James A. Malone at Berkowitz's funeral, clippings, and a Christmas card.

• Image Folder (PF-5241/1)
• Oversized Volume (SV-5241/1)
• Rolled Item (R-5241/1)