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Luna Kaufman collection, 1939-2013

 Collection
Identifier: Mss 0102

Scope and Contents

This collection contains materials dating from 1939 to 2013 documenting the life and work of Luna Kaufman. It includes teaching resources, diaries, correspondence, printed materials, photographs, ephemera, audio-visual materials, and scrapbooks. This collection will be of interest to researchers studying the life of Luna Kaufman, Jewish-Christian relations, anti-Semitism, and the Holocaust.

Dates

  • 1939 - 2013

Conditions Governing Access

This collection includes audio-visual materials. Access copies of audiotapes, audio cassette tapes, video cassette tapes, film reels, or other audio-visual materials may need to be ordered prior to on-site research. Please contact us to inquire about access to audio-visual materials.

Conditions Governing Use

All materials available in this collection (unless otherwise noted) are the property of the Monsignor William Noé Field Archives & Special Collections Center and Seton Hall University, which reserves the right to limit access to or reproduction of these materials. Reproduction of materials or content is subject to United States copyright restrictions and may be subject to federal or state privacy regulations. The Archives and Special Collections center does not hold the copyright to materials in this collection and cannot provide permission to publish reproductions from the collection.

Biographical / Historical

Luna Kaufman (nee Luna Fuss) was born in Krakow, Poland in 1926. She is a holocaust survivor who spent four years in ghettos and concentration camps. She lost many relatives during the war, including her father and teenaged sister. After the war Luna and her mother returned to Krakow, where she studied musicology at Jagiellonian University. She left Poland in 1950 to emigrate to Israel. While there, she married Alex Kaufman, who she had met in Krakow and corresponded with after he emigrated to the United States. He returned to the United States, and six months later she followed. The couple eventually settled in Watchung, New Jersey.

Kaufman became a tireless advocate for Jewish-Christian understanding, engaging in many forms of activism including public speaking, Holocaust education, and service in many organizations dedicated to promoting Jewish-Christian relations. She was inspired by her close friend Sister Rose Thering, a Catholic nun and activist against anti-Semitism, and served as the chair of the Sister Rose Thering Fund for Education in Jewish-Christian Studies for many years. Her memoir Luna’s Life: A Journey of Forgiveness and Triumph was published in 2009.

Extent

15 boxes

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

This collection contains materials dating from 1939 to 2013 documenting the life and work of Luna Kaufman, a holocaust survivor who became an advocate for Jewish-Christian relations. The collection consists of Kaufman’s papers, audio-visual materials, and scrapbooks relating to her life and activism.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged into three series:

I. Personal papers

II. Audio-Visual

III. Scrapbooks

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Collection was the gift of Luna Kaufman to the Archives and Special Collections Center in 2013. Additional materials were donated by the Sister Rose Thering Fund for Education in Jewish-Christian Studies in 2016.

Title
Luna Kaufman collection, 1939-2013
Status
Completed
Author
Brianna LoSardo, Jacquelyn Deppe
Date
2017 August 24
Language of description
Undetermined
Script of description
Code for undetermined script
Language of description note
Finding aid written in English.

Repository Details

Part of the The Monsignor Field Archives & Special Collection Center Repository

Contact:
Archives, Walsh Library
400 South Orange Ave
South Orange NJ 07079 US
973-761-9476