Title
Hanna Silver Papers

Dates
1946-2003

Collection ID
Acc. 998, PC-101

Creator
Silver, Hanna, 1910-2003

Quantity
1.53 linear feet (4 boxes)

Repository
Special Collections Research Center, Temple University Libraries

Language
Materials in English.

Detailed Collection Information

Biographical Note

Hanna Silver, born Hanna Bornowsky in Berlin in 1910, survived the Holocaust during World War II. After the war, Silver was able to secure work as a photographer for the American Red Cross. There she met a GI doctor named George Silver, and they eventually married in 1948 and left Berlin for the United States.

On December 15, 1948, Hanna and George arrived in the United States and settled in the Strawberry Mansion area of Philadelphia. Hanna Silver worked with many civic organizations in the area including the North City Congress and the Health and Welfare Council. She also actively protested the establishment of taprooms in the Strawberry Mansion neighborhood. Her most notable work, however, was with the Strawberry Mansion Council of Block Organizations. She served as the Chairman of the Recreation Committee from 1958 to 1962. In 1963, she served as the first Vice President of the organization. During these years she helped organize summer day camps, helped build a playground for neighborhood children, and worked on several other notable projects.

Later in life, worked with the Living History Project at Brandeis University. She recorded and translated many accounts of Holocaust survivors for Brandeis. In 1979, she also began to lend her services to the newly formed Gratz College Holocaust Oral History Archive. She worked with both institutions until her death in April 2003.

Description of Collection

The collection consists of materials related to Silver’s volunteer work in the Strawberry Mansion neighborhood from 1958 until 1964, which is mainly focused on her work with the Strawberry Mansion Council of Block Organizations.

Organization and Arrangement

The collection is arranged into 8 series as follows:

Series 1: Biographical, 1946-2003
Series 2: Miscellaneous Documents, 1963-2003
Series 3: Projects/Organizations, 1955-2001
Series 4: Strawberry Mansion Council of Block Organizations, 1958-2003
Series 5: Audiovisual, 2002, undated
Series 6: North Penn News, 1958-1960
Series 7: Scrapbook and Drawings, 1958-2003
Series 8: Photographs (PC-101), 1945-2003

Series 1:  Biographical, 1946-2003, is arranged alphabetically, and contains writings by Silver, awards and certificates, correspondence, obituaries from local papers describing Silver’s life shortly after her death in 2003, and contains ration cards, travel documents, and membership cards dating from 1946 to 1977.

Series 2:  Miscellaneous Documents, 1963-2003, is arranged alphabetically. This series contains one folder of awards, political flyers, and display items that might have been used in an exhibition on Silver’s life, and other materials.

Series 3: Projects/Organizations, 1955-2001, is arranged alphabetically. It contains documents and correspondence related to Silver’s volunteer activities. Crime Prevention Association contains member lists, and a hardcopy of a presentation giving to Philadelphia City Council in 1963. Health and Welfare Council contains notes, documents, and correspondence from 1961 to 1963. Miscellaneous contains undated membership cards, notes, and correspondence related to various organizations that Silver was involved in. The North City Congress folder contains a budget, correspondence, reports, membership cards, and programs dated from 1960 to 1976. Oral History Work has articles and publications discussing Silver and the oral history institutions she volunteered with, 1973-2002.  

Series 4: Strawberry Mansion Council of Block Organizations, 1958-2003, is arranged alphabetically. This series contains correspondence, reports, and publications during Silver’s tenure as Chairman of the Recreation Committee and as first Vice President of the organization. Also included are member directories, reports, newspaper clippings, financial records, handbooks about the Strawberry Mansion area, booklets, programs, flyers, tickets and newsletters published by the organization. The series also includes correspondence, tickets, and documents pertaining to the creation of the Joseph E. Mander Playground, and notes, magnets, correspondence, and newspaper articles related to Smith Memorial Playground. The series also contains minutes, notes, documents and lists from the Recreation Committee.

Series 5: Audiovisual, 2002, undated, contains two cassette tapes, one dated December 2002.

Series 6: North Penn News, 1958-1960, is arranged chronologically. This series contains copies of the North Penn Newspaper from 1958 and 1960. This newspaper discusses issues in the greater Northern Philadelphia area and also includes a column written by the Strawberry Mansion Council of Block Organizations.

Series 7: Scrapbook and Drawings, 1958-2003, contains a scrapbook of dated and undated photographs and drawings made by Silver.

Series 8: Photographs (PC-101), 1945-2003, contains four folders of black and white photographs and negatives.

Patron Information

Research Access

Collection is open for research.

Collections Stored Off-Site

This collection may be housed off-site at the Library Depository, and require up to two business days to retrieve. Please review the finding aid and be prepared to identify specific materials to be retrieved. Contact the Special Collections Research Center in advance of your visit, so that materials may be relocated to the reading room for research.

Technical Access

Original audiovisual materials, as well as preservation and duplicating masters, may not be played. Researchers must consult use copies, or if none exist must pay for a use copy. Please contact the Special Collections Research Center for more information.

Publication and Copyright Information

The Hanna Silver Papers are the physical property of the Special Collections Research Center, Temple University Libraries.  Intellectual property rights, including copyright, belong to the authors or their legal heirs and assigns.  Researchers are responsible for determining the identity of rights holders and obtaining their permission for publication and for other purposes where stated.

Preferred Citation

[Description and date of item], [Box/folder number], Hanna Silver Papers, Accession 998, PC-101, Special Collections Research Center, Temple University Libraries, Philadelphia, PA.

Administrative Information

Acquisition Information

Donated by Eva Abraham-Podietz on December 15, 2003. 

Processing Information

The collection was processed by Drexel Intern, Katie Bray in June 2006. Finding aid revised according to contemporary archival standards in June 2015.               

Index Terms

The following headings have been used to index the description of this collection in Temple University’s electronic catalog:

Personal/Family Names:
Silver, Hanna

Corporate Names:
Crime Prevention Association of Philadelphia (Pa.)
Health and Welfare Council (Philadelphia, Pa.)
Strawberry Mansion Council of Block Organizations (Philadelphia, Pa.)

Subjects:
Community development -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia
Community organization -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia
Neighborhood planning -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia
Urban renewal -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia

Places:
Philadelphia (Pa.)
Strawberry Mansion (Philadelphia, Pa.)

Material Types:
Administrative records
Correspondence
Minutes
Oral Histories
Photographs
Publications
Reports
Scrapbooks
Speeches