IOWA WOMEN’S ARCHIVES

UNIVERSITY OF IOWA LIBRARIES

IOWA CITY, IOWA

TITLE:»SHLOSS AND MANNHEIMER FAMILIES

PAPERS, DATES:»1896-1986

»QUANTITY:»2 linear feet

ACQUISITION:	The »papers (donor no. 458) were donated by »Joan and Robert Mannheimer in 1997.
ACCESS:	The »papers are open for research.
ARTIFACTS:	In box 8.
COPYRIGHT:	»Copyright held by the donors has been transferred to the University of Iowa.
PHOTOGRAPHS:	In boxes 1-7.
PROCESSED BY:	Your name, year»Natalie S. Brody, 1998; revised by Kären Mason, 2001. [ShlossMannheimer.doc]

»Biography

Rose Sheuerman and Max Shloss were married in Marengo, Iowa in 1884. Rose Sheuerman Shloss was the daughter of Abraham Sheuerman and niece of Leopold Sheuerman, Babette Frankel, Rose Adler, and Sophie Stern. Max Shloss was president of Lederer and Strauss and Company and a widely recognized philanthropist. Rose and Max Shloss had three children, Irma, Sam, and Marie Shloss.

Irma Shloss (1890-1974) was born in 1890 in Des Moines. She graduated from West High School in Des Moines and attended Bryn Mawr College from 1908 to 1910. Irma Shloss and Eugene Mannheimer wereBegin text here:» married on April 17, 1917 in Des Moines, where Mannheimer had served as rabbi of Temple B'nai Jeshurun since 1905. Throughout their lives both Irma and Eugene Mannheimer were recognized and honored as eminent civic leaders who served the Jewish community, the city of Des Moines and the state of Iowa.

An active leader in the Des Moines community, Irma Shloss Mannheimer was a member of the founding board of the Iowa Maternal Health League, a forerunner of Planned Parenthood of Iowa. In 1938 she was elected president of the Des Moines Women's Club, the first Jewish woman to hold that position. She was also a member of the board of the Jewish Welfare Federation, the Iowa Jewish Home, and the Des Moines Civic Music Association. Irma Shloss Mannheimer died in 1974. She received a posthumous award that year from the National Conference of Christians and Jews for distinguished leadership in the field of human relations.

Eugene Mannheimer (1880-1952) was born in Rochester, New York in 1880, the son of Louise and Sigmund Mannheimer. Eugene Mannheimer spent most of his childhood in Cincinnati, Ohio, where his father was a professor at the Hebrew Union College and from which Eugene Mannheimer graduated in 1902. His brother Leo Mannheimer was also a rabbi; they had two sisters, Jane and Edna Mannheimer. Eugene Mannheimer served for three years at a congregation in Sioux City, Iowa, before moving to Des Moines in 1905. When he retired from his position in 1947 due to a heart condition, he had served not only the congregation for more than forty years but the entire community. He died at age seventy-one in 1952, survived by his wife and his sons, Robert and Richard Mannheimer.

Scope and Content Note

Begin text here:The» papers of the Shloss and Mannheimer Families date from »1896 to 1986 and measure »2 linear feet. The »papers» are arranged in »four series: »Sheuerman and Shloss, Irma Shloss Mannheimer, Eugene Mannheimer, and Artifacts. They are a rich collection of photographs, newspaper clippings, and other records of the families’ civic and social activities, particularly Eugene Mannheimer's rabbinate at Temple B'nai Jeshurun and Irma Mannheimer's civic involvement, including her role as president of the Des Moines Women's Club.

The Sheuerman and Shloss series (1883-1986) contains letters and a reminiscence of Neckar Binau, Germany, by Leopold Sheuerman and a biographical sketch of Babette Sheuerman Frankel by Louise Noun (1986). Also included are Rose Shloss’s correspondence and photographs from the years 1924-1945 and her 1883-1909 scrapbook, which contains telegrams, newspaper clippings, and other items pertaining to her wedding to Max Shloss in 1884, a family photograph taken on their 45^th wedding anniversary in 1929, and obituaries (1899 and 1904) of her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Abraham Sheuerman.

In the Irma Shloss Mannheimer series (1908-1970) are a Memory Book and a diary she kept while attending Bryn Mawr College (1908-1910); photograph albums; scrapbooks; and speeches she delivered from 1923 to 1967. The 1908-1939 Photograph album and scrapbook concerns family trips to Europe, her father Max Shloss, her marriage to Eugene Mannheimer, the B’nai Jeshurun Temple dedication, and the Des Moines Women's Club. A small notebook includes notes she wrote about her infant sons Robert and Richard Mannheimer.

The Eugene Mannheimer series (1880-1952) comprises diaries, correspondence, and newspaper clippings from his rabbinate at the B’nai Jeshurun Temple; many of his sermons and speeches; items about the Community Memorial Service conducted after his death in 1952; and photographs.

The Artifacts consist of three pairs of baby shoes worn by Irma Shloss.

Related Collections

Eugene Mannheimer papers, Special Collections Department, University of Iowa Libraries (MsC 386) include "Reminiscences of My Three Score Years and Nine,"; a calendar, 1905-1950; and recordings of six Matins services by WOI-Ames (Iowa State University), April-May, 1947.

Begin text here:»

Box no. Description

Box 1

Sheuerman and Shloss

Leopold Sheuerman, 1912

Babette Sheuerman Frankel: biographical sketch by Louise Noun, 1986

Rose Shloss

Correspondence, 1924-1945 and undated

Photographs, undated

Scrapbook, 1883-1909

Max Shloss

Memory Book, 1930-1975 [oversize: in box 7]

[re: Max and Rose Shloss family; Eugene and Irma Mannheimer family]

Will and tributes, 1930-1931

Irma Shloss Mannheimer

Biographical information, 1895-1974

Memory Book, 1908-1912

[re: Bryn Mawr College, 1908-1909; family trips, 1912]

Diary, 1908-1910

Box 2

Photograph album and scrapbook, 1908-1939 [oversize]

[re: Bryn Mawr, 1908; European trips, 1910, 1924, 1926; Max Shloss’s 75th birthday, 1930, and obituary, 1931; B’nai Jeshurun Temple dedication, 1932; Des Moines Women's Club, 1938]

Box 3

Photograph album, 1913-1923

[re: travels, 1913-1916; family and home, 1917-1923]

Photographs, 1908-1970

Wedding album, 1917

[with congratulatory letters on Eugene Mannheimer's 55th birthday, 1935]

Wedding gifts (record of), 1917

Mother’s notes re: infancy of her sons Robert and Richard Mannheimer, 1919, 1925

Speeches (1 folder). Includes:

“The Influence of the Sisterhood on the Congregation” [Convention of District 20, National Federation of Temple Sisterhoods, Davenport, Iowa, December 4-5, 1923]

“The Perpetuation of Judaism through Spirituality and Personal Conduct” [Sioux City Temple, November 1-2, 1927]

“Judaism as a Way of Life” [Senior Hadassah, November 6, 1928]

“Israel, Go Forward!” [delivered at the Sisterhood Service, Temple of Milwaukee, November 8, 1929, and at the Sisterhood, Temple B’nai Jeshurun, November 24, 1929]

Untitled [Brotherhood Week, dedicated to Stoddard Lane, February 20, 1947]

“World Understanding Begins in the Community” [National Conference of Christians and Jews, Windsor Heights Presbyterian Church, Des Moines, April 27, 1949]

Untitled [YWCA panel, Savery Hotel, Des Moines, January 28, 1967]

“The Jewish View of Jesus,” undated

“Building Unity in the Community,” undated

“Your Religion and Mine,” undated

“The Torah,” undated

Eugene Mannheimer

Biographical information, 1880-1952 (scattered)

Family, 1896-1940 and undated

Diaries, 1918-1930, 1939-1951 (2 vols.)

Box 4

Scrapbook: 1893-1955 (scattered)

Box 5

Scrapbook: 1938-1949 [oversize]

Box 6

Sermons, speeches, and writings

1902-1925 (scattered)

1930-1951 and undated

In memoriam

Memorial service instructions, 1947, 1951

Community Memorial Service, December 1, 1952

Temple B'nai Jeshurun, 1924-1948 (scattered) (2 folders)

Photographs, 1893, 1939 and undated

Book of Life, annotated, 1903-1949

Box 7

Oversize:

Sheuerman and Shloss

Rose and Max Shloss scrapbook, 1930-1975

Box 8

Artifacts

Baby shoes, 3 pair