Guide to the Papers of Walter P. Zenner (1933-2003),
1958-2002 (bulk 1960-1988)

ASF AR-4

Subgroup I: Writings of Walter P. Zenner, 1955-2001.

Arrangement:

Alphabetically by the title.

Scope and Content:

This subgroup contains various texts written by Walter P. Zenner on the subject of Sephardic Jews, especially the Jews of Syria. The collection documents and reflects Zenner's interest in this subject throughout his academic career. It includes finished and published articles, conference papers, various memoranda, drafts and manuscripts, Zenner's dissertation, a portion of his M.A. thesis, and some of his papers from the Jewish Theological Seminary of America. Several documents are undated, and the purpose of some of the papers is not always clearly stated. The researcher may be interested in the documents in the folder Syrian Jews of Brooklyn: A Preliminary Report that also contains Zenner's field notes and some transcripts of interviews he carried out in the years 1968-1970. This latter is complementary to the Series V of the Subgroup II - Antropological Research.

Subgroup II: Anthropological Projects, 1958-1988.

Arrangement:

Chronologically by project date.

Scope and Content:

These series cover Zenner's research projects on customs and life conditions of the Sephardim in Israel, Britain, and the United States. Except for Series I – The Sephardic Jews in America outside of the USA, all series contain hand-written records of Zenner's observations and interviews with members of the Sephardic Jewish communities that were transcribed later. A smaller portion of the transcripts is in Hebrew. Zenner particularly focused on the everyday practices of the Syrian Jews: describing how their customs and habits differed from the dominant practices of their surroundings, as well what was specific for their life style, whether in Israel, Britain or Greater New York. They are mostly the immediate products of Walter Zenner's research, such as transcripts of interviews, correspondence related to the research or field notes that are located in this series. Other documents which provide background information, such as announcements, notes from secondary literature constitute the Subgroup III - Notes and background materials on Sephardic Jews. Some of the series contain photos.

Series 1: Syrian Jews in America outside of the USA,  1958-1959.

Scope and Content:

These folders contain letters from representatives of Canadian Jewish organizations answering Walter Zenner's inquiry about the situation of the Sephardic Jews in Canada. They also contain two sheets of Zenner's travel journal to Mexico in 1958. This makes up the entirety of the series on Syrian Jewry in America outside of the USA.

Series 2: Israel,  1961-1963.

Scope and Content:

The Israel files are divided into three major groups: handwritten notes, transcripts in English and transcripts in Hebrew. The letters written and received by Zenner are included with the observation transcripts, partly because they were part of the original arrangement and partly because they provide contextual information; i.e., explaining and illuminating the situations in which Zenner appeared and the people were interviewed. Originally, the notes were divided into categories Synagogues, Family, Economical life, History, Family relations, Leisure time, Statistics, Customs on holidays, Community, Household and women, Ideology, Outlines etc., and Scientific literature. This arrangement, however, was not maintained until the time of processing and the documents tended to be rather loosely arranged. Therefore, to aid and assist the user, the collection was divided into the three above-mention sections: including English transcripts, Hebrew transcripts, and hand-written notes. The sequence of cards and letters nevertheless is maintained throughout.

Series 3: Syrian Jews in Manchester, England,  1987-1988.

Scope and Content:

In 1987 Walter Zenner spent several weeks in Manchester, Britain. He used the time exploring the history of the Syrian Jews in the English port. Besides transcripts of interviews and correspondence the series contains some photos.

Series 4: Sephardic Community in Chicago,  1988.

Scope and Content:

During the second half of 1988 Walter Zenner investigated Chicago's Sephardic community. Ironically, according to his own testimony, Zenner had hardly noticed the Sephardic community when he was growing up in Chicago. Besides the transcripts of interviews the series contains Zenner's correspondence with various members of the Sephardic community in Chicago. This correspondence sheds some light on the life of the community and its history. Zenner received a small grant from Kohl Foundation for this research.

Series 5: Syrian Jews in New York City, NY State and NJ,  1958-1988.

Scope and Content:

In 1958 Walter Zenner received a small amount of funding for research into the Syrian Community in Greater New York. He carried out several interviews with various members of these communities. The interviewees included not merely Sephardic Jews, but also a number of representatives of the Syrian Orthodox Church on the East Coast of the United States. Thirty years later he interviewed descendents of Sephardic Jews coming from the area of Middle East, living in the area of Greater New York. In a letter to Dr. Glock filed in a Correspondence folder, Zenner explained in some depth the methods he used in the research as well as impressions he had derived from his encounter with Brooklyn's Syrian community.

Subgroup III: Notes and Background Materials on Sephardic Jews, 1958-2000.

Arrangement:

Alphabetically by topic.

Scope and Content:

This series contains texts that served as background material for Walter Zenner's research. It includes photocopied articles, archival documents, and correspondence not directly related to his research. Drafts and early versions of Zenner's publications can also be found here together with hand-written notes. Many of the topics parallel Zenner's academic activities, while others relate to more contemporary issues, i.e. political situation in Syria. In the 1970's several actions on behalf of Syrian Jews were organized by the American Jewish Committee and other organizations. Walter Zenner understandably took part in some of the events and followed up on the developments in Syria. This can be seen from the collections of newspaper clippings and press releases of various Jewish organizations that show support and solidarity for Syrian Jewry.

Subgroup IV: Various materials on Sephardic Jews, 1929-2000.

Arrangement:

Alphabetically.

Scope and Content:

Walter Zenner gathered during his academic career a great number of articles, conference papers and off-prints that deal with the history and contemporary issues of the Sephardic Jewry and particularly the Jews from Syria. A part of this series are papers from the International Conference On Jewish Communities in Muslim Lands. Another important part of this series is a collection of off-prints, mostly in English, but also in Hebrew dealing with the same subject. Two of the graduate works also provide interesting information on the life of Sephardic Jews in the USA.