Press Release
Contact: Gail Pietrzyk
Phone 302 655-6232
info@jhsdelaware.org
The Jewish Historical Society of Delaware (JHSD) is excited to share that we have been awarded a grant through the National World War II Museum in New Orleans, a National Park Service site.
The most generous grant will allow JHSD to digitize our “Dear Mollye” Collection which contains thousands of letters from nearly 350 Delaware Jewish American service members from World War II and the Y Recorder, a monthly newsletter which also included news about the Wilmington Jewish community and was distributed locally and to those serving in various domestic and international locations.
The “Dear Mollye” story has been previously published in Wilmington newspapers in the 1940s and 1990s. However, few have had the opportunity to read any of the thousands of letters written by young men and women throughout the war. The digitization of the correspondence will provide critical insights into the lived experience of service members from the Wilmington community to families, scholars and researchers across the globe. This grant was made possible through the World War II Heritage Cities Program with the special support of the City of Wilmington and will play a key role in elevating the status of the City of Wilmington and the JHSD as important centers of World War II research.
Throughout World War II Mollye Sklut, secretary of the Wilmington YM-YWHA at 6th and French Streets corresponded with many of the Jewish men and women who were serving in the military. In addition, the letter excerpts were also printed in the Y Recorder. The combination of Mollye’s letters and the Y Recorder connected the home front and the battlefront, creating a pre-internet version of social media for families, friends, and service members hungry for news of one another, teams and friends. The collection will also offer a wonderful way for students to learn about the important events and issues of World War II, coming from the words of young people close to their own age.
In response to Wilmington being named a WWII Heritage City in December of 2023, and through the outstanding direction and vision of our archivist, Gail Pietrzyk, JHSD has been able to attract amazing student interns in working with the “Dear Mollye” Collection. Allen Rosso, a graduate of Arizona State University’s World War II Studies Master’s Degree Program, answered our search. In May 2024, Rosso began working with JHSD through the internship program at Villanova’s Lepage Center for History in the Public Interest. He and Gail continue to catalog and research to the stories of Jewish service members during World War II and to enhance and promote our collection among the community of World War II scholars and historians.
In February 2025 an exhibit at Delaware Historical Society’s Old Town Hall brought together resources from the collections of the Delaware Historical Society and Mitchell Center for African American Heritage, Delaware’s World War II Fallen, the Jewish Historical Society of Delaware, and the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History to present “World War II: Voices of Service.” JHSD’s portion of the exhibition highlighted the stories of Delaware servicemen as seen through their correspondence with Mollye Sklut.
Many people and partner institutions contributed to securing the grant. Mayor John Carney and Wilmington’s Historic Preservation Planner Debra Martin provided invaluable support. The Delaware Historical Society has provided a home for the Jewish Historical Society of Delaware’s collections since 1975 and through that partnership, JHSD has a new home thanks to the Jewish Federation of Delaware and members of the Jewish community have strongly supported JHSD’s efforts to preserve and promote the history of Jewish life in Delaware.
This year, JHSD is celebrating our 50th anniversary of collecting, preserving and presenting the history of Delaware’s Jewish community and our collections are now located in the Delaware Center for Jewish History at the Coxe House on the campus of the Delaware Historical Society’s Willingtown Square at 515 North Market Street, Wilmington, DE 19801.
JHSD houses a research collection which is open by appointment. Visitors may learn more about the collections and resources at https://jhsdelaware.org Membership in the Jewish Historical Society of Delaware is open to all who are interested in supporting its mission. To learn about becoming a member, visit https://jhsdelaware.org/become-a-member/
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