IOWA WOMEN’S ARCHIVES

UNIVERSITY OF IOWA LIBRARIES

IOWA CITY, IOWA

ROSALIE BRAVERMAN (1910- )

ORAL HISTORY AND ASSOCIATED PAPERS, 1996 and undated

0.25 linear inches and

audiovisual material

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

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

AUDIOVISUAL: One audiocassette shelved in audiocassette collection (AC324).

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

PHOTOGRAPHS: In folder 1.

PROCESSED BY: Rachel Bohlmann, 1996.

Biography

          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.

Scope and Content Note

         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.)

041-074 Women's Club of Iowa City

074-164 Jewish organizations

164-193 Housework and family business

193-218 Jewish religious observations

219-267 Jewish community in Iowa City

267-289 Braverman's mother's Shabbat silver

289-319 Conclusion

SCVF Description

Folder 1 Short story, photographs, 1996 and undated
Oral history, 1996 [shelved in audiocassette collection: AC324]
                        Videocassette [shelved in videocassette collection: V212]

Folder 2 “Youthful Journeys in Poland and Germany”