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Joe Byer
In this interview, Mr. Byer discusses his life in Europe including his early life, Jewish education and attending Rabbinical school in Israel, career as a police officer, and being part of the British Army during World War II. He also discusses his…
Rona G. Finkelstein
Rona G. Finkelstein (1927-2014) was an educator, author, and active community participant. She taught philosophy at Delaware State College and acted as the executive director of Delaware Humanities. In 2002, she published the book Where We Came…
Nisson Finkelstein Item #182
Nisson Finkelstein (1925-1989) was a physicist, businessman, and activist. He was the founder and former president of ILC Industries Inc., the company that designed and produced the spacesuits used in NASA’s Apollo program. He was heavily involved in…
Leo & Sybil Zeftel File #175
Leo Zeftel (1925-1999) was an organic chemist involved in the negotiations that resulted in an international chemical weapons treaty, ratified by the U.S. in 1997, and worked to raise awareness of the dangers of chemical weapons. He was deeply…
Drs. David and Ethel Platt
Drs. David and Edith Platt were physicians based in the Wilmington area. They established a private practice catering to working class people together after their marriage and completion of medical school. They remained with the practice for nearly…
Johana Heiman
Johana Heiman was born in Germany and came to the United States in 1938 to escape the Nazis. In March 1938, her husband left Germany to go to New York, but she was still in Germany during Kristallnacht. Mrs. Heiman describes her escape from Germany…
Estella Frankel Item #159
Estella Frankel (1902-2001), a second-generation Russian-American, was a Wilmington based violinist who began learning violin at the age of seven. She was heavily involved in Wilmington’s music scene throughout her life and taught music both as a…
Mrs. Rosa Keil interview File #149
Rosa Keil (1890-1980) was an Austrian immigrant who arrived in the U.S. at the age of 3, a homemaker, and an author of pose and poems. She wrote her 1952 novel, “A Woman Called Chaye”, while raising nine children. Keil was heavily involved in her…
Harry David Zutz
Harry David Zutz (1917-2008) was a second-generation Russian American insurance executive. Though he initially struggled to find work in the middle of the Great Depression, Zutz entered the insurance business as an office agent for U.S. Fidelity and…
Rabbi Gewirtz interview Item #140
Rabbi Leonard B. Gewirtz (1918-2003) was ordained in 1945. He moved to Wilmington, where he served the Adas Kodesch Congregation for over 50 years. As a rabbi, he began the state’s first bat mitzvah program, sanctioned a women’s prayer group, and…
Dr. Louis Levinson interview Item #135
Dr. Louis Levinson was a veterinarian, politician, and WWI army veteran from Middletown, Delaware. He grew up on a farm in Langhorne, Pennsylvania, where he acquired his love of caring for animals, and went on to study veterinary medicine at the…