Jean Nordmann papers Nachlass Jean Nordmann (1908-1986)
Extent and Medium
43,948 digital images, PDF
Creator(s)
- Jean Nordmann
Biographical History
Jean Nordmann (1908-1986) was a son of Isidore Nordmann, merchant, and Alice Bloch. After leaving the college of Saint-Michel in 1925, Nordmann was trained in Germany, England and France. During the Second World War, he worked with his wife to help Jewish refugees. He was elected to the Jewish Central Committee (1943), then to the Directorate (1944) of the Swiss Federation of Jewish Communities, over which he presided from 1973 to 1980. He sat on the Committee of the Swiss Jewish Christian Community from 1948 to 1986, and presided over the Jewish Community of Friburg from 1957 to 1986. In 1964, He was the first Jew to become a colonel in the Swiss Army. Radical member of the Grand Council of Friburg (1967-1971). Through his contacts with the political world and the clergy, and thanks to his political talent, Nordmann contributed greatly to the dialogue between Jews and Christians.
Archival History
Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich. Archiv für Zeitgeschichte - Archivleitung
Acquisition
Source of acquisition is the Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich. Archiv für Zeitgeschichte (AfZ), Switzerland; Archival signature: NL Jean Nordmann. The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Archives received the collection via the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s International Archives Programs Division in March 2017.
Scope and Content
Private papers of Jean Nordmann, president of the Schweizerischer Israelitischer Gemeindebund, SIG (Swiss Federation of Jewish Communities). The collection consists of correspondence, reports, minutes of meetings, speeches related to Nordmann's activities in the Swiss Federation of Jewish Communities, the Swiss Jewish Christian Community, and the Jewish Community of Freiburg. Also included are papers of Nordrmann's father, son and daughter.
System of Arrangement
Arranged in six series: 1. Materials for the biography of Jean Nordmann: Curriculum vitae, testimonies, poems, family events, photos; 2. Activities in the Swiss Federation of Jewish Communities (SIG) and other organizations, 1944-1980: commitment to politically prosecuted persons, refugee aids, etc.; 3. Correspondence with Dr. Willy Guggenheim, Peter Woog, Alec Plaut, and other records related to various Jewish organizations; 4 Speeches by Jean Nordmann; 5. Documentation on antisemitism, Holocaust, assistance to Jewish refugees, Israel affairs; 6. Additional materials delivered to the Archiv für Zeitgeschichte (AfZ) in 2011 (Jewish Community Fribourg, and family papers of Isidore Nordmann, Claude Nordmann, Bluette Nordmann-Giger). The pre-arrangement of papers was made by Jean Nordmann and was largely followed.
Conditions Governing Reproduction
Copyright Holder: Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich. Archiv für Zeitgeschichte - Archivleitung
People
- Nordmann, Claude.
- Weizmann, Chaim, 1874-1952.
- Nordmann-Ciger, Bluette.
- Guggenheim, Willy, 1929-
- Plaut, Alec.
- Woog, Peter.
- Messinger, Eugen.
- Mathez, James-Albert.
- Nordman, Jean, 1908-1986.
- Nordmann, Isidore.
Corporate Bodies
- Unesco
- World Health Organization
- Swiss Federation of Israelite Communities (SIG)
Subjects
- Religious communities.
- Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)
- Switzerland--Foreign relations--Germany.
- Judaism--Relations--Christianity--Switzerland--History--20th century.
- Fribourg (Switzerland)
- World War, 1939-1945--Jews--Rescue--Switzerland.
- Jews--Switzerland--History--20th centuary.
- Jewish refugees--Europe.
- Antisemitism--Europe--History--20th century.
- Switzerland--Politics and government--20th century.
Genre
- Correspondence.
- Poems.
- Reports.
- Curriculums.
- Speeches.
- Document
- Photographs.
- Minutes.