Guide to the Ruth Oppenheim papers, 1963–2016
John Hay Library, University Archives and Manuscripts
Box A
Brown University
Providence, RI 02912
Telephone: Manuscripts: 401-863-3723; University Archives: 401-863-2148
Email: Manuscripts: hay@brown.edu; University Archives: archives@brown.edu
Published in 2023
Collection Overview
| Title: |
Ruth Oppenheim papers |
| Date range: |
1963–2016 |
| Creator: |
Oppenheim, Ruth |
| Extent: |
0.75 linear feet
(1 file box and 1 half-file box)
|
| Abstract: |
Ruth Oppenheim served for 15 years as the office manager for Brown University's English department, followed by six years as the manager of the dean of the College's office. This collection includes clippings, correspondence, photographs, and writings Oppenheim gathered by, about, and with various Brown University professors and their partners. Professors include Elmer Blistein and his wife Sophie, Michael Harper, and Mark Spilka. Materials date from 1963 to 2016. |
| Repository: |
John Hay Library, University Archives and Manuscripts
|
| Collection number: |
Ms.2023.006 |
Scope & content
Ruth Oppenheim served for 15 years as the office manager for Brown University's English department, followed by six years as the manager of the dean of the College's office. This collection includes clippings, correspondence, photographs, and writings Oppenheim gathered by, about, and with various Brown University professors and their partners. Professors include Elmer Blistein and his wife Sophie, Michael Harper, and Mark Spilka. Materials date from 1963 to 2016 and are arranged into one series alphabetically by last name.
Access Points
Subject Topics
Arrangement
This collection is arranged into one series alphabetically by last name.
Biographical/Historical Note
Ruth Oppenheim was born on November 28, 1927, to Albert Heimann and Rosa Fromm. She grew up in Werne, Germany with her two older sisters, Julie and Hannelore, and younger brother, Herbert, being one of only ten Jewish families in the area, and the only Jewish children. As the Nazis came to power in 1933, she remembers gradual restrictions on Jewish people that eventually led to them being banned from movies, concerts, swimming pools and skating rinks. After that, her classmates weren't allowed to talk to her. By 1937, she was still allowed to attend school but was not allowed to participate. She survived Kristallnacht in November 9, 1938, after a Nazi mob stormed her family's home. "They were shouting 'out with the Jews,'" Oppenheim said. "I heard my father pleading, 'I will come with you, just spare my family.'"
Her father survived, along with the Torah he saved from their synagogue, and the family gradually escaped Germany. Her oldest sister, Julie, emigrated to the United States first in May 1939. Their father followed next, and Ruth, her mother, her sister, and her brother were in the United States by early 1940. They were fortunate enough to escape Germany on one of the last ships to cross the Atlantic during World War II. She still mourns relatives who could not escape or survive, including her 5-year-old cousin, whom she loved like a little brother and who was killed with his parents. The tragic loss of family members "remains a wound that never heals," she says.
The Heimann family lived first on Audubon Avenue and then on Fort Washington Avenue in the Washington Heights neighborhood of New York City. The family endured the hardships of moving to a country where they did not speak the language or know the culture. She recalls, "Most of the time I felt like an outsider, self-conscious of my German clothes and my different ways. I remember the first American dress I bought at Klein's discount store in downtown New York. It was light blue with a white sailor collar, trimmed with matching light blue piping. I liked myself in my American dress."
Oppenheim acclimated to her new life over time and on June 21, 1947, married Walter Oppenheim who thrived in the jewelry business. They have two children, Claudia and Jeff. After her children went off to college, Oppenheim joined Brown University where she served for 15 years as the office manager for the English department, followed by six years as the manager of the dean of the College's office. In these roles, Oppenheim formed close relationships with the students, staff, and faculty.
In 2016 she wrote her memoir,
Beyond Survival: The Story of My Life, where she details the horrors of growing up in Nazi Germany as well as the richness of her life since.
To learn more about Oppenheim, watch her
2023 keynote address for Brown University's Global Day of Inclusion.
Access & Use
| Access to the collection: |
There are no restrictions on access, except that the collection can only be seen by prior appointment. Some materials may be stored off-site and cannot be produced on the same day on which they are requested. |
| Use of the materials: |
All researchers seeking to publish materials from the collections of the John Hay Library are requested to complete a Notice of Intent to Publish, prior to reproducing, quoting, or otherwise publishing any portion or extract from this collection. Although Brown University has physical ownership of the collection and the materials contained therein, it does not claim literary rights. It is up to the researcher to determine the owners of the literary rights and to obtain any necessary permissions from them. |
| Preferred citation: |
Ruth Oppenheim papers, Ms.2023.006, Pembroke Center for Teaching and Research on Women, Brown University Library. |
| Contact information: |
John Hay Library, University Archives and Manuscripts
Box A
Brown University
Providence, RI 02912
Telephone: Manuscripts: 401-863-3723; University Archives: 401-863-2148
Email: Manuscripts: hay@brown.edu; University Archives: archives@brown.edu
|
Administrative Information
| ABOUT THE COLLECTION |
| Acquisition: |
Gift of Ruth Oppenheim in 2023 |
|
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|
|
| ABOUT THE FINDING AID |
| Author: |
Finding aid prepared by Amanda Knox, on behalf of the Pembroke Center for the Teaching and Research on Women and the Brown University Library. |
| Encoding: |
This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-11-21. |
| Descriptive rules: |
Finding aid based on Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS) |
| Sponsor: |
Curatorial work and processing provided by the Pembroke Center for Teaching and Research on Women on behalf of the Brown University Library. |
Additional Information
Inventory
| Box [31236104064350] 1, Folder 1 |
|
Anderson, Ethel: clippings
|
|
2004 |
| Box [31236104064350] 1, Folder 2 |
|
Anderson, Ethel: correspondence
|
|
1984 - 2004 |
| Box [31236104064350] 1, Folder 3 |
|
Anderson, George K: writing
|
|
1963 |
| Box [31236104064350] 1, Folder 4 |
|
Bass, George: clippings and signed poem
|
|
1984, 1991, 1996 |
| Box [31236104064350] 1, Folder 5 |
|
Beckham, Barry: signed clipping
|
|
1981 |
| Box [31236104064350] 1, Folder 6 |
|
Blistein, Elmer M.: clippings
|
|
1975 - 1995 |
| Box [31236104064350] 1, Folder 7 |
|
Blistein, Elmer M.: correspondence
|
|
1984 - 2009 |
| Box [31236104064350] 1, Folder 8 |
|
Blistein, Elmer M.: department budget forms
|
|
1988 |
| Box [31236104064350] 1, Folder 9 |
|
Blistein, Elmer M.: donation cards and receipts
|
|
circa 1993-1994 |
| Box [31236104064350] 1, Folder 10 |
|
Blistein, Elmer M.: memorial service pamphlets
|
|
1993 |
| Box [31236104064350] 1, Folder 11 |
|
Blistein, Elmer M.: photographs
|
|
1992, 1999, n.d. |
| Box [31236104064350] 1, Folder 12 |
|
Blistein, Elmer M.: program
|
|
1985 |
| Box [31236104064350] 1, Folder 13 |
|
Blistein, Elmer M.: writings
|
|
1986n.d. |
| Box [31236104064350] 1, Folder 14 |
|
Blistein, Sophie: clippings
|
|
2005 |
| Box [31236104064350] 1, Folder 15 |
|
Blistein, Sophie: correspondence
|
|
1993 - 1994 |
| Box [31236104064350] 1, Folder 16 |
|
Blistein, Sophie: memorial service pamphlet and related clippings
|
|
2009 |
| Box [31236104064350] 1, Folder 17 |
|
Bloom, Edward: correspondence
|
|
1981 - 1993 |
| Box [31236104064350] 1, Folder 18 |
|
Bloom, Edward: clippings
|
|
n.d. |
| Box [31236104064350] 1, Folder 19 |
|
Bloom, Lillian: pamphlet for lecture
|
|
1981 |
| Box [31236104064350] 1, Folder 20 |
|
Cassill, R.V.: funeral materials
|
|
2002 |
| Box [31236104064350] 1, Folder 21 |
|
Davis, Walter: signed offprint
|
|
n.d. |
| Box [31236104064350] 1, Folder 22 |
|
Drummond, Alice Ruyter: clipping
|
|
n.d. |
| Box [31236104064350] 1, Folder 23 |
|
Harper, Michael: clippings and correspondence re: death
|
|
2016 |
| Box [31236104064350] 1, Folder 24 |
|
Harper, Michael: clippings and event flyers
|
|
1986 - 2013 |
| Box [31236104064350] 1, Folder 25 |
|
Harper, Michael: correspondence
|
|
1991, 1996, 2004, 2005, 2007 |
| Box [31236104064350] 1, Folder 26 |
|
Harper, Michael: poems
|
|
1996, 1997, 1999, 2003, 2005 |
| Box [31236104064350] 1, Folder 27 |
|
Henkle, Roger: clippings
|
|
1991 - 1993 |
| Box [31236104064350] 1, Folder 28 |
|
Henkle, Roger: correspondence
|
|
1985, 1991 |
| Box [31236104064350] 1, Folder 29 |
|
Henkle, Roger: funeral materials
|
|
1991 |
| Box [31236104064350] 1, Folder 30 |
|
Kapstein, Israel J.: clippings
|
|
1983 |
| Box [31236104064350] 1, Folder 31 |
|
Kapstein, Israel J.: invitations and pamphlet re: art exhibition
|
|
n.d. |
| Box [31236104064350] 1, Folder 32 |
|
Kapstein, Stella: correspondence
|
|
1983, 1987, 1989 |
| Box [31236104064350] 1, Folder 33 |
|
Kapstein, Stella: funeral materials
|
|
1994 |
| Box [31236104064350] 1, Folder 34 |
|
Kenny, Robert: clipping
|
|
1983 |
| Box [31236104064350] 1, Folder 35 |
|
Montgomery, Marjorie: correspondence
|
|
n.d. |
| Box [31236104064350] 1, Folder 36 |
|
Schevill, James: signed Brown University Theatre Arts booklet
|
|
1982 |
| Box [31236104064343] 2, Folder 1 |
|
Spilka, Mark: clippings, writings, and booklets
|
|
1974, 1990, 1993 |
| Box [31236104064343] 2, Folder 2 |
|
Spilka, Mark: correspondence
|
|
1980 - 1995 |
| Box [31236104064343] 2, Folder 3 |
|
Spilka, Mark: obituaries and memorial service materials
|
|
2001 |
| Box [31236104064343] 2, Folder 4 |
|
Swearer, Howard: clippings
|
|
1985, 1991, 1992 |
| Box [31236104064343] 2, Folder 5 |
|
Van Nostrand, A.D.: clippings
|
|
1974, 1977, 2008 |
| Box [31236104064343] 2, Folder 6 |
|
Van Nostrand, A.D.: writing re: death
|
|
2008 |
| Box [31236104064343] 2, Folder 7 |
|
Vogel, Paula: clippings
|
|
2017n.d. |
| Box [31236104064343] 2, Folder 8 |
|
Vogel, Paula: theatre pamphlet: The Baltimore Waltz
|
|
1993 |
| Box [31236104064343] 2, Folder 9 |
|
Waggner, Hyatt: clippings
|
|
1976, 1978, 1979, 1988 |
| Box [31236104064343] 2, Folder 10 |
|
Waggner, Hyatt: correspondence
|
|
1990 |
| Box [31236104064343] 2, Folder 11 |
|
Waggner, Hyatt: signed lecture poster and booklet
|
|
1979, 1981 |