The University of Iowa Libraries

Alternate Extent Statement: 1 audiocassette [AC324]
1  videocassette [V324]

Arrangement: Two folders, shelved in SCVF.

Access: The oral history and associated papers are open for research.

Use: Copyright has been transferred to the University of Iowa.

Acquisition: The papers (donor no. 361) were donated by Rosalie Braverman in 1996.

Preferred Citation: Rosalie Braverman papers, Iowa Women's Archives, The University of Iowa Libraries, Iowa City.

Repository:	Iowa Women's Archives
Address:	100 Main Library University of Iowa Libraries Iowa City, IA 52242
Phone:	319-335-5068
Curator:	Kären Mason
Email:	lib-women@uiowa.edu
Website:	http://www.lib.uiowa.edu/iwa

Rosalie Braverman, wife, mother, clubwoman and community worker, was born in Grajewo, Poland in 1910. In September 1921 she immigrated to the United States with her mother and two sisters to join her father in Council Bluffs, Iowa. She attended school in Council Bluffs and graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School in 1928. After attending college at the University of Nebraska for a year, she transferred to the University of Iowa. She completed three semesters at Iowa before dropping out to marry David Braverman, a local grocer and fellow immigrant. Rosalie Braverman had five children and was not able to return to college until 1964, when the youngest was in school. In 1965 she graduated with a major in fine arts. While raising her family, Braverman became very active in her community. She joined the Iowa City Women's Club, the Sisterhood (her synagogue's ladies aid society), various Jewish charitable organizations and the University Club Writers.

The Rosalie Braverman oral history was taped on June 19, 1996, when Rachel Bohlmann interviewed Rosalie Braverman in Braverman's Iowa City home. The history was recorded on audio tape and is just under one hour in length. No transcript exists.
 
The Braverman interview provides an oral record of one woman's life as a Jewish immigrant in Iowa, as an active community member, and mother. It also reveals tensions inherent in being a member of a minority community in Iowa City in the 1930s and 1940s.
A short story written by Rosalie Braverman is also available in the Archives.
 
Interview Table of Contents (with counter numbers):
Side One
#000-146 Emigration from Poland to the United States
146-404 Student life and marriage
405-439 Hillel and Jewish fraternities and sororities
440-456 Anti-Semitism and segregation
Side Two
#000-040 Anti-Semitism and segregation (cont.

This collection is indexed under the following subject terms.

Personal Names:
Braverman, Rosalie, 1910-2010

Dates:
1990-1999

Topics:
Jewish women
Women
Antisemitism
Immigrants
Twentieth century
Women and war
Jewish way of life
Jews, American

Occupations:
Community activists
Civic leaders
Authors

Geographic Names:
Grajewo (Poland)
Council Bluffs (Iowa)
Iowa City (Iowa)

Genre/Form of Materials:
Personal papers
Oral histories (Document genres)
Memoirs

Browse:
Jewish Women in Iowa
Women and War