Title: Louise R. Berman Papers
Inclusive Dates: 1929-1959

Creator:

• Berman, Louise R., 1908-1977

Call Number: Mss 416; PH 6634

Quantity: 2.5 cubic feet (8 archives boxes), 0.1 cubic feet of ephemera (4 folders) and 14 photographs (3 folders) in 1 archives box

Repository:

Wisconsin Historical Society, Division of Library, Archives, and Museum Collections

Archival Locations:

Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)

COLLECTION MAY BE STORED OFF-SITE: see catalog entry to request materials and for additional information.

Abstract:

Papers of Louise R. Berman, a California social activist and philanthropist mainly concerned with the various left wing causes and organizations for which she worked and to which she contributed financially. Included are correspondence, speeches, reports, policy statements, minutes, publications, clippings, ephemera, and photographs. Files on social action organizations, 1931-1959, comprise almost the entire collection and relate to groups such as the American-Russian Institute, the Civil Rights Council of Northern California, the Democratic Youth Federation of California, the Rosenberg Foundation, and various other civil rights, civil liberties, political, peace, and anti-fascist organizations. Letters from prominent people in the arts and politics occur throughout. Personal papers, 1929-1958, include correspondence written during a 1933 trip to Russia and clippings and copies of testimony during her two appearances before the House Committee on Un-American Activities in 1948 and 1949.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-mss00416

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Louise R. Berman, social activist and philanthropist, was born in California, the only child of Abraham and Alice Rosenberg, descendants of Gold Rush pioneers. She was an heiress to Rosenberg Brothers and Company, one of the largest independent handlers of dried fruit in the country, which was started in 1893 by her father and his brothers, Adolph and Max Rosenberg. She attended Vassar and the University of California but left college in 1929 to marry Richard Bransten, a Hollywood film writer and owner of the leftist magazine, New Masses. They had one son, Thomas, born in 1931. They were divorced in 1937 and in 1947 she married Lionel Berman, a film maker from New York.

Throughout her life Louise Berman devoted her time and money to various left wing causes and organizations, most of which were California based. She was active in the campaigns to free labor leader Tom Mooney, the “Scottsboro boys,” and others that she considered to be unjustly accused of wrongdoing. She started a campaign which resulted in the hiring of blacks as street car motormen for the first time in San Francisco. A leader of the Democratic Youth Federation of California, she was its lobby representative and wrote its bimonthly newsletter, Democracy at Work. She was also executive secretary for the Civil Rights Council of Northern California and for the American-Russian Institute, where she worked to promote mutual understanding between the United States and the Soviet Union, a country she visited in 1933. The press referred to her as the “pinko heiress” when she was called before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) in 1948 and in 1949. For refusing to answer most of the questions asked, she was cited for contempt in 1950, but was acquitted of the contempt charges the following year.

Louise Berman worked for Progressive and American Labor Party candidates and was a writer in the research division of the Wallace for President campaign organization in 1948. In her later years she was involved in world peace causes and helped organize and run a project on improving Arab-Israeli relations.

The Louise Berman papers are concerned mainly with the various organizations for which she worked and to which she donated money during her lifetime. Only a small portion of them reflect her personal life. The collection has been separated into three series: SOCIAL ACTION ORGANIZATIONS, 1931-1959; PERSONAL PAPERS, 1929-1958; and VISUAL MATERIALS.

The SOCIAL ACTION ORGANIZATIONS series is divided into 14 sections: American Labor Party; American-Russian Institute; Anti-Nazi, Anti-Fascist Organizations; Booker T. Washington Community Center; Civil Rights Congress; Civil Rights Council of Northern California; Democratic National Committee, Women's Division; Democratic Youth Federation of California; Lincoln Brigade; Nisei Japanese-American Materials; Northern California Committee for the Protection of Foreign Born; Peace Organizations; Progressive Party; and Rosenberg Foundation. Letters from prominent people in the arts and in politics occur throughout. (See the Appendix for a List of Prominent Correspondents.)

The American Labor Party files, 1949-1959, contain speeches and materials for various political campaigns including W.E.B. DuBois' race for senator from New York in 1950 and Vito Marcantonio's race for mayor of New York City that same year. Also included here is some later material and memorabilia on DuBois. The American-Russian Institute section, 1938-1948, consists of correspondence, annual reports, policy statements, articles of organization, radio scripts, and publications. The Anti-Nazi, Anti-Fascist Organizations files, 1934-1951, includes correspondence and miscellaneous items of the National Committee to Aid the Victims of German Fascism and of the visit of Lord Dudley Marley, chairman of the World Committee. Louise Berman was secretary of the San Francisco branch of this organization. Also included here is material and correspondence of other organizations such as the American Committee for the Relief of Victimized German Children, American League Against War and Fascism, American Committee Against Fascist Oppression in Germany, and the Spanish Relief Ship Project.

The Booker T. Washington Community Center file contains correspondence and minutes of meetings of the Board of Directors. Louise Berman was a director of this San Francisco center designed to improve the recreational, educational, and cultural opportunities of people in the Fillmore area. The major portion of this file deals with the attempts of blacks in 1945 to buy the building in which the center was located. The building was owned by interned Japanese-Americans.

The Civil Rights Congress section, 1949-1958, includes correspondence of this organization, and some related material on civil rights issues in the South including letters concerning attempts to find a job for Rosa Parks, the woman who sparked the campaign for the integration of public transportation in the South. The Civil Rights Council of Northern California segment, 1938-1944, contains correspondence, minutes of meetings and files on the various political campaigns and issues and civil rights cases to which the organization directed its efforts. The council was founded in 1936 as the Academic and Civil Rights Council and its purpose was to protest and to bring pressure against the curtailment of civil liberties and violations of the Bill of Rights. That organization died out in 1937-1938 but was revived, renamed, and affiliated itself with the National Federation for Constitutional Liberties in 1939. The Democratic National Committee, Women's Division file, 1939-1940, consists of correspondence relating to the Reporter Plan, a program designed to help create a better informed electorate. Louise Berman was a member of the Executive Committee of the Women's Division of the Democratic Party of Northern California and senior reporter for that area.

The Democratic Youth Federation of California segment, 1938-1943, includes the supplementary studies and materials about California and its youth, labor, agricultural, and housing conditions that are mentioned throughout the correspondence. Originally named the Young Democratic Club of California this organization was sued by a group with a similar sounding name and in 1940 a court order required the Young Democratic Club to change its name.

The [Abraham] Lincoln Brigade file contains letters written to Louise Berman in 1937 by various members of this Spanish Civil War Loyalist brigade, which describe their lives both on and off the battlefield. The Nisei Japanese-American Materials, 1941-1943, include letters to Louise Berman by Ernest S. Iiyama, president of the Nisei Democratic Club of Oakland, who was interned at the Tanforan Assembly Center in San Bruno, California. The letters document the life of the people and the conditions in the camp. Also included are copies of the Tanforan Totalizer, 1942-1943, and the News Letter, 1944. A 1943 copy of Volunteers for Victory published by the Council for Japanese-American Civil Rights is also here.

The Northern California Committee for the Protection of Foreign Born files, 1940-1959, contain minutes of the meetings, a constitution, and correspondence of the organization. Also filed here are summaries of proceedings of the annual meetings for 1941 and 1942 of the American Committee for the Protection of Foreign Born.

The Peace Organizations file, 1939-1941, includes correspondence and pamphlets of the San Francisco Coordinating Council for Peace, the American Peace Mobilization, and the Hollywood Peace Forum. The Progressive Party file, 1948-1952, contains leaflets, newsletters, and speeches of various party candidates, especially those of Henry Wallace during his Presidential campaign. The Rosenberg Foundation segment, 1931-1951, has material on the foundation established by Max Rosenberg to distribute grants to various worthy organizations in California. Louise Berman was a director of the foundation until 1951 when pressure from other members concerned about her appearances before the House Un-American Activities Committee caused her to resign.

The PERSONAL PAPERS series is divided into three files: Rosenberg Family Miscellany; Louise Berman's Letters from Russia; and House Un-American Activities Committee. The Rosenberg Family Miscellany, 1929-1958, contains newspaper clippings, and a few letters relating to the family and to its dried fruit business. Included here is a letter written by Louise Berman detailing the family history. The typewritten copies of Louise Berman's Letters from Russia were addressed to her mother in 1933. The letters are lengthy and express Louise Berman's feelings about the country and what she saw while visiting it. The House Un-American Activities Committee file, 1948-1953, contains newspaper clippings and copies of Louise Berman's testimony during her two appearances before the Committee. There is nothing in the collection relating to Louise Berman's activities during the last years of her life.

The VISUAL MATERIALS series relates to Berman's involvement in various social causes. The ephemeral materials include flyers, handbills, short publications, and greeting cards related to the American Labor Party, the Committee to Restore Paul Robeson's Passport, W.E.B. DuBois, and Women for Wallace. The photographs relate to the American-Russian Institute and document classroom activities and a reception for Molotov in May 1954. There is one image labeled “LRB [Labor Relations Board] members” gathering signatures in New York, and images of Revels Cayton, Lord Marley, and an unidentified man giving a speech.

A few of Louise R. Berman's papers are with the Abraham and Alice Rosenberg collection at the Judah Magnes Museum in Berkeley. A copy of the inventory of that collection is located in this collection in the Rosenberg family miscellany file (Box 8, Folder 9).

Acquisition Information

Placed on deposit by Louise R. Berman, New York, New York, May 21, 1971 and July 19, 1971. Accession Number: M71-112, M71-183, M94-070

Processing Information

Processed by K. Brennan (archives intern) and Joanne Hohler, November 27, 1977; and by David Benjamin, 2010.

Mss 416	Series: Social Action Organizations
Box   1 Folder   1-2	American Labor Party, 1949-1959
	American Russian Institute
Box   1 Folder   3	General Correspondence, 1938-1948
Box   1 Folder   4	Annual Reports, 1945-1948
Box   1 Folder   5	Articles and Purposes of Organization, 1938-1947
Box   1 Folder   6	Minutes of Meetings of Board of Directors, 1946-1947
Box   1 Folder   7	Radio Scripts, 1943-1944
Box   1 Folder   8	“Salute to Our Russian Ally,” dinner, 1942
Box   1 Folder   9	Manuscript Copies of ARI Magazine Articles
Box   1 Folder   10	Notes on USSR, newsletter, 1945
Box   1 Folder   11	USSR Fact Sheet, newsletter, 1945-1946
Box   2 Folder   1-3	ARI Publications
	Anti-Nazi, Anti-Fascist Organizations
Box   2 Folder   4	National Committee to Aid Victims of German Fascism, 1934-1935
Box   2 Folder   5	Visit of Lord Dudley Marley, 1934
Box   2 Folder   6	Miscellaneous Organizations, 1934-1951
Box   2 Folder   7	Booker T. Washington Community Center, 1945
Box   2 Folder   8	Civil Rights Congress, 1949-1958
	Civil Rights Council of Northern California
	Correspondence
Box   3 Folder   1-6	General, 1939-1944
Box   3 Folder   7	Membership, 1942-1944
Box   3 Folder   8-9	With National Federation for Constitutional Liberties, 1940-1943
Box   4 Folder   1	With American Civil Liberties Union, 1939-1941
Box   4 Folder   2	With San Francisco Labor Unions, 1938-1943
Box   4 Folder   3	Intellectual Freedom, 1940-1941
	Board of Directors Meetings
Box   4 Folder   4	Correspondence, 1940-1941
Box   4 Folder   5	Minutes, 1939-1942
	Civil Rights Cases
	General
Box   4 Folder   6	Academic, 1940-1941
Box   4 Folder   7	Communist Party, 1941-1943
Box   4 Folder   8-9	Miscellaneous, 1940-1942
	Specific
Box   4 Folder   10	Alameda Housing Project, 1941
Box   4 Folder   11	Bridges, 1940
Box   5 Folder   1	Gray's Harbor, 1940
Box   5 Folder   2	KYA Radio Station, 1940-1941
Box   5 Folder   3	King, Ramsey, Conner, 1940-1941
Box   5 Folder   4	Mare Island, 1941
Box   5 Folder   5	1940 May
Box   5 Folder   6	Mooney, 1938-1940
Box   5 Folder   7	Oklahoma, 1940-1941
Box   5 Folder   8	Ruggs, 1940-1942
Box   5 Folder   9	Schneiderman-Darcy, 1940-1941
Box   5 Folder   10	State, County, and Municipal Workers, 1941
Box   5 Folder   11	Vanessi-Robeson, 1941
	Subject File
	California Legislature
Box   5 Folder   12	Issues and Activities, 1940-1941
Box   5 Folder   13	Tenney Committee, 1941-1943
Box   5 Folder   14	California State Conference for Civil Rights, 1941
	Federal Legislature
Box   5 Folder   15	Issues and Activities, 1940-1943
Box   6 Folder   1	Poll Tax, 1941-1942
Box   6 Folder   2	Olsen-Warren Campaign, 1942
Box   6 Folder   3	Our Inalienable Rights, newsletter, 1940-1941
Box   6 Folder   4	Theodore Dreiser Dinner, 1941
Box   6 Folder   5	Democratic National Committee, Women's Division, 1939-1940
	Democratic Youth Federation of California
Box   6 Folder   6-9	General Correspondence, 1938-1943
Box   6 Folder   10	Platform and Policy Statements, 1940
Box   7 Folder   1	Subscribers to Democracy at Work, 1939
Box   7 Folder   2	Democracy at Work, newsletter, 1939-1940
Box   7 Folder   3-5	Supplementary Materials, 1935-1939
Box   7 Folder   6	[Abraham] Lincoln Brigade, 1937
	Nisei Japanese-American Materials, 1941-1943
Box   7 Folder   7	Correspondence
Box   7 Folder   8	Newsletters
Box   7 Folder   9	Northern California Committee for the Protection of Foreign Born, 1940-1959
Box   7 Folder   10	Peace Organizations, 1939-1941
Box   8 Folder   1	Progressive Party, 1948-1952
	Rosenberg Foundation
Box   8 Folder   2-3	General Correspondence, 1931-1951
Box   8 Folder   4	Annual Report, 1937
Box   8 Folder   5	Grant Criteria and Purpose of Organization, 1945
Box   8 Folder   6	Grants Awarded, 1935-1949
Box   8 Folder   7	Statement of Financial Operations, 1935-1941
Box   8 Folder   8	Ten Year Report, 1937-1946
	Series: Personal Papers	⇧
Box   8 Folder   9	Rosenberg Family Miscellany, 1929-1958
Box   8 Folder   10	Louise Berman's Letters From Russia, 1933 Note: Typed copies
Box   8 Folder   11	House Un-American Activities Committee, 1948-1953
PH 6634	Series: Visual Materials	⇧
	Ephemera
Box   1 Folder   1	American Labor Party, circa 1950-1953
Box   1 Folder   2	Committee to Restore Paul Robeson's Passport, 1954
Box   1 Folder   3	W.E.B. DuBois
Box   1 Folder   4	Women for Wallace
	Photographs
Box   1 Folder   5	American-Russian Institute
Box   1 Folder   6	Labor Relations Board
Box   1 Folder   7	People

Appendix: Selected List of Prominent Correspondents

Correspondent	Date	Box	Folder
Thomas Addis	6/17/38	3	1
	8/19/38	3	1
	12/8/41	4	1
	12/14/41	3	4
	3/19/42	4	7
	12/9/42	4	10
	12/17/42	4	10
Aneurin Bevan	8/16/35	2	4
Herbert Biberman	12/11/39	3	1
Harry R. Bridges	6/5/39	3	1
Lion Feuchtwanger	10/5/41	5	14
Dashiell Hammett	2/23/40	3	2
Harold Ickes	3/19/46	1	3
Corliss Lamont	9/30/42	1	5
Jennie Lee	12/15/41	2	4
Carey McWilliams	7/2/40	6	8
Heinrich Mann	6/17/43	2	6
Alexander Meiklejohn	6/26/40	4	1
	10/15/40	4	1
	3/1/41	4	1
	3/14/41	4	1
Yehudi Menuhin	9/15/44	2	6
Edward L. Parsons	2/23/40	3	2
	6/3/40	3	3
	7/12/40	3	3
	3/7/41	4	1
	3/8/41	4	1
	11/27/41	4	1
	12/5/41	4	1
Pablo Picasso	4/27/51	2	6
Max Radin	undated	3	3
Eleanor Roosevelt (signed by secretary)	3/4/46	1	3