Large collection of items documenting the activity of social worker and Zionist politician Anitta Müller-Cohen in Austria and Palestine, including a travel journal (most likely unpublished) documenting her lengthy journey to Palestine in the 1920s, containing information regarding the condition of the Jewish Yishuv and descriptions of meetings and encounters with leaders and heads of Zionist organizations; photographs; newspaper clippings; and various documents. [Palestine and Austria; first half of the 20th century]. German and some Hebrew.
Included in the collection:
• Anitta Müller-Cohen's travel journal of her journey to Palestine: Some 165 typewritten pages (various types of paper; unbound), with handwritten comments and corrections. In this journal, Müller-Cohen describes her experiences (in first person) of the journey to Palestine she made with her husband, Samuel (Sam) Cohen, and daughter, Blanka Müller, in the years 1926-27. A handwritten note in German appears at the top of the first page: "Palästina Tagebuch, 1. November 1926-27" ["Palestine Diary, November 1, 1926-27"]. To the best of our knowledge, this journal has never been published in book form. It contains intriguing documentation regarding the Yishuv (Jewish community in Palestine) in the mid-1920s. Müller-Cohen records her impressions regarding the places she visited, among them Tel Aviv, Haifa, Jerusalem (including a visit to the Hebrew University then recently established on Mt. Scopus), Tiberias, Safed, Ekron, Nahalal, Beit Alpha, Petah Tikvah, and many other sites, and writes about her meetings and encounters with both new immigrants and veteran residents, with inhabitants of cities, villages, and colonies, and with prominent personalities and officials such as Vladimir Ze'ev Jabotinsky (p. 73; Müller-Cohen speaks of her deep disenchantment with his militaristic approach to solving the country's problems), Meir Dizengoff (p. 75), Judah-Leib Magnes (p. 113), Henrietta Szold and others.
Müller-Cohen describes in great detail the work of Jewish women's organizations in Palestine, citing statistical data; the work of various international Jewish bodies (including WIZO, Hadassah, the Joint Distribution Committee, and other organizations); the Yishuv's educational system, and health and employment services; and both immigration and emigration. The journal reflects Müller-Cohen's personal sensitivity regarding the social matters she dealt with through most of her life – first in Austria and then in Palestine – as well as her practical approach to the Yishuv's burning issues, including treatment of orphans, problems of education and hygiene, food and housing shortages, unemployment, and other matters. She also relates to her own efforts to contribute to existing projects involving the development of the land and its institutions.
Müller-Cohen's account is imbued with a fascination over the sights she witnesses – of the vitality of the new Yishuv as well as of the country's landscapes: "The colors are breathtaking all the way through; anyone who hasn't [personally] experienced the brown color of the earth, the green of the fields, and above all, the blue of the skies, could never imagine [these things]; the hues of all these colors is spectacular" (p. XVI); "In Petah Tikvah we saw the monument above the graves of four pioneers, a [simple] obelisk, encircled by beds of flowers, with four names engraved upon it, and a [single] line of eulogy stating, ‘they fell for the sake of the land of their forefathers.' So often does one come across such lines of eulogy; they are engraved on the headstones of Jewish soldiers in all the cemeteries of Europe. But how different is the impact of reading such lines in the Land of Israel! Here one is inspired with the feeling that these four young Jews truly and genuinely gave their lives for the sake of the native land they so earnestly loved" (p. XVII). Alongside words in this spirit, the journal also contains criticism of conditions in the Yishuv. Among other things, Müller-Cohen writes: " In general, one sees here too little of the ‘New Man' ostensibly created [here] in the Land – from a moral, social, and national standpoint – and too much of the ‘Alte Golus' [the ‘Old Diaspora']. Even the socialist ways of life of the ‘kevutzah' [forerunner of the kibbutz] did not organically sprout here, from the soil of the Land of Israel; rather, they represent imitations of existing economic models that have in most respects already been tried in Europe" (p. 56).
The journal is incomplete; its pages are numbered, and based on the numbering it is apparent that pages are missing from the middle and end.
• Typewritten reports of various welfare organizations operating in Palestine (some bearing the handwritten label "Tagebuch" [journal]; one of these is signed by hand by the Zionist activist Hadassah Kalvari).
• Seven albums, with roughly 450 newspaper clippings (some dated by hand) mounted onto their leaves,
documenting the work of Müller-Cohen on behalf of public causes – both articles she had written herself and articles written about her – published in newspapers in Austria and other places, mostly from the 1920s. Most of the articles are in German.
• Album containing roughly 70 photographs of the Müller-Cohen family. Some are labeled by hand and dated to the 1920s.
• Handwritten report (by Müller-Cohen herself [?] on the official stationery of the Association of Immigrants from Germany and Austria), dealing with the subject of Jewish immigrants from Austria. [1930s].
• Additional items.
Size and condition vary. Overall fair condition.
Anitta Müller-Cohen (1890-1962), Zionist social activist, social worker, journalist, and politician, native of Austria. During World War I, she was involved in rescue and welfare operations on behalf of mothers, orphans, refugees, and the homeless. In recognition of her efforts during this period, she was awarded a Medal of Honor by Emperor Karl I. In addition to activity in the field of social work, she was active in Zionist affairs and journalistic reportage, and campaigned on behalf of women's rights. She was one of the first women to be elected to Vienna's city council (the "Wiener Gemeinderat").
Müller-Cohen traveled extensively in the course of her tireless public activity, journeying throughout Europe, the United States, and Palestine (the present travel journal documents one such expedition to the latter). Immigrated to Palestine in the 1930s, where she continued her social activism, serving as head of the Mizrachi Women's Organization and as president of the Austrian Immigrants' Association. Enlisted as a member of the Etzel (Irgun Tzva'i Le'umi; National Military Organization) and later was affiliated with the Herut party. Passed away in Tel Aviv.