The papers of A. J. Granoff document primarily his association with Eddie Jacobson, and most importantly the effort in which he and Jacobson joined to persuade President Truman to support the partition of Palestine and to recognize Israel. The collection also documents his work as a leader in the Kansas City Jewish community and his efforts to memorialize the contributions which Eddie Jacobson made to the Jewish people. The collection consists of correspondence files including the correspondence of A. J. Granoff, his son Loeb Granoff, and Eddie Jacobson; a subject file; and a file of newspaper clippings.

See also Oral History

Size: 1.2 linear feet (about 2,400 pages).
Access: Open.
Copyright: Loeb H. Granoff and Jo Ann G. Weiner donated their copyright interest in A. J. Granoff's writings in this collection, or in any other collection in the custody of the United States Government, to the people of the United States. In addition, documents prepared by United States Government employees in the course of their official duties are also in the public domain. Copyright interest in documents that do not fall in these two categories is presumed to remain with the creators of the documents.
Processed by: Dennis Bilger, Randy Sowell, Anita Smith, and Sharie Simon

1896 (February 22)		Born, Kiev, Russian Empire
1904		Emigrated with his family to the United States
1904-15		Lived in New York City; Palmerton, Pennsylvania; and Allentown, Pennsylvania
1915		Settled in Kansas City, Missouri
1920		LL.B., University of Kansas Law School
1924		Became member, Achtenberg, Fredman and Granoff law firm, Kansas City
1947-48		Involved, along with Eddie Jacobson, in efforts to persuade President Truman to support creation of a Jewish state in Palestine
1950-52		President of the Mid-West Lodge of B'nai B'rith (Lodge No. 184, Kansas City, Missouri)
1955		Named President of the Eddie Jacobson Memorial Foundation
1970 (January 6)		Died, Kansas City, Missouri

The papers of A. J. Granoff document primarily his work as a leader in the Kansas City Jewish community, his interest in the establishment and development of the state of Israel, and his historically significant friendship with Eddie Jacobson.

The collection consists of four series: an A. J. Granoff Correspondence File; an Eddie Jacobson Correspondence File; a Subject File; and a Printed Materials File. The A. J. Granoff Correspondence File contains correspondence and other materials documenting Granoff's personal life and public activities. Included in this series is information pertaining to the efforts made by Granoff and Eddie Jacobson to promote Jewish interests in Palestine and eventual U.S. diplomatic recognition of the new state of Israel in 1948. Granoff's involvement with the Jewish community of Kansas City, his association with B'nai B'rith and other Jewish organizations, his support for U.S. aid to Israel, and his efforts to memorialize Eddie Jacobson's contributions to the Jewish people are also documented in this series. Of particular interest are a folder containing Granoff's correspondence with President Truman, and another folder containing a number of letters from Granoff to his son, Loeb. Two folders at the end of the series contain Loeb Granoff's correspondence with Mr. Truman and others. The A. J. Granoff Correspondence File is arranged in an approximate chronological order.

The Eddie Jacobson Correspondence File consists of correspondence and other materials documenting Jacobson's activities from 1945 to 1955, and particularly his role in the founding of the modern state of Israel. Included in this series is Jacobson's correspondence with officials of B'nai B'rith and other Jewish organizations, with the Israeli Embassy in Washington, and with such prominent persons as Dr. Chaim Weizmann (the Zionist leader and first president of Israel), Israeli Ambassador Abba Eban, A. J. Granoff, and Abraham Feinberg. Other topics covered in this series include Jacobson's trip to Israel in 1949 and his interest in the new nation during its first years of existence. The presence of the Eddie Jacobson Correspondence File in the A. J. Granoff papers is a reflection of Jacobson's close relationship with Granoff, who evidently acted as his adviser during much of this period. The series is arranged in chronological order.

The Subject File includes correspondence, printed material, legal documents, and other items relating to Granoff's law practice; his friendship with Eddie Jacobson and involvement in various memorial tributes to Jacobson following his friend's death in 1955; his interest in Jewish affairs and the state of Israel; and his association with Harry S. Truman. One folder in this series, entitled "Granoff, A. J.--Notebooks," contains selected excerpts from notebooks kept by Granoff during an extended illness in 1947; in these excerpts, he refers to his boyhood in the Russian Empire, and describes the government of the Soviet Union as the worst tyranny in the history of mankind. The Subject File is arranged in alphabetical order.

The Printed Materials File contains newspaper clippings relating to A. J. Granoff, Loeb Granoff, Eddie Jacobson, Harry S. Truman, and the Harry S. Truman Library. Much of this material pertains to the Kansas City Jewish community and the early history of Israel. The Printed Materials File is arranged in an approximate alphabetical order.

Other holdings of the Truman Library that are relevant to this collection include the transcript of an oral history interview with Granoff (OH #68), conducted in 1969; the papers of Harry S. Truman (especially Official File 204-D and the President's Secretary's Files); and photocopied records from the Weizmann Archives in Rehovoth, Israel. In addition, the papers of Eddie Jacobson at the Truman Library contain material (including the bulk of his correspondence with President Truman) which does not appear in the Granoff papers.

Container Nos.		Series
1		A. J. GRANOFF CORRESPONDENCE FILE, 1945-1981
		Correspondence, newspaper clippings, handwritten notes, and other items relating to A. J. Granoff's personal life and public career; his support for U.S. diplomatic recognition of the new state of Israel; his relationships with President Harry S. Truman, Eddie Jacobson, and his son, Loeb Granoff; his leadership role in the Kansas City Jewish community; and his involvement with B'nai B'rith and other Jewish organizations. Also included in this series is Loeb Granoff's correspondence with President Truman and others. Arranged in an approximate chronological order.
2		EDDIE JACOBSON CORRESPONDENCE FILE, 1945-1955
		Correspondence, newspaper clippings, and other items relating to Eddie Jacobson, his involvement in the founding and early history of the modern state of Israel, and his relationships with A. J. Granoff and other prominent persons. Arranged in chronological order.
2-3		SUBJECT FILE, 1940-1987
		Correspondence, newspaper clippings, other printed material, handwritten notes, speech drafts, legal documents, and other items relating to A. J. Granoff's law practice; his friendship with Eddie Jacobson; his involvement in various memorial tributes to Jacobson; his interest in Jewish affairs and the state of Israel; and his association with President Harry S. Truman. Arranged in alphabetical order, primarily by name.
3		PRINTED MATERIALS FILE, 1945-1987
		Newspaper clippings and other printed materials relating to A. J. Granoff, Loeb Granoff, Eddie Jacobson, Harry S. Truman, and the Harry S. Truman Library. Arranged in approximate alphabetical order.

A. J. GRANOFF CORRESPONDENCE FILE, 1945-1981

• Correspondence with Loeb Granoff and Other Family Members, 1945-59
• Correspondence with Harry S. Truman, 1947-67, and Undated
• Correspondence, 1945-48
• Correspondence, 1949-50
• Correspondence, 1951-59
• Correspondence, 1960-61
• Correspondence, 1964
• Correspondence, 1965
• Correspondence, 1966
• Correspondence, 1967
• Correspondence, 1968-69
• Correspondence Regarding the Death of A. J. Granoff, 1970
• Correspondence--Miscellaneous and Undated
• Loeb Granoff Correspondence, 1950-81
• Loeb Granoff Correspondence with Harry S. Truman, 1948-71

EDDIE JACOBSON CORRESPONDENCE FILE, 1945-1955

• Correspondence, 1945-48
• Correspondence, 1949 [visit to Israel]
• Correspondence, 1950
• Correspondence, 1951
• Correspondence, 1952
• Correspondence, 1953
• Correspondence, 1954
• Correspondence, 1955

SUBJECT FILE, 1940-1987

• Alfange, Dean--Letter from Harry S. Truman, May 18, 1948 [regarding the recognition of Israel]
• B'nai B'rith [materials regarding the Kansas City Lodge, and letter to the Eddie Jacobson Lodge from Harry S. Truman, October 23, 1968]
• Brenner, Daniel--Testimonial Dinner [program]
• Collier's Magazine, February 4, 1955 [article on "Truman in Retirement" by Helen Worden Erskine]
• Englander, Siegfried Israel [German passport, etc., 1940]
• Goldberg, Abraham [speech in tribute to Eddie Jacobson]
• Granoff, A. J., Memorials to
• Granoff, A. J.--Notebooks [selections only; kept during an illness in 1947]
• Granoff, Mrs. A. J. [membership card, Kansas City Women Volunteers, 1945]
• Granoff, Loeb--Photographs
• Helm, Dr. Heinz [envelopes addressed to Loeb Granoff by Dr. Helm, care of Otto Kranzbuehler of Duesseldorf, Germany, with no letters included]
• Israel, Delegation to the United Nations, 1953
• Jacobson, Eddie--Biographical Sketch
• Jacobson, Eddie--Copy of Death Record [Menorah Hospital, Kansas City, Missouri, 1955]
• Jacobson, Eddie--"Eddie Jacobson, Unofficial Envoy," Kansas City Times, May 13, 1965
• Jacobson, Eddie--Memorial Dinner, 1958
• Jacobson, Eddie--Memorial Foundation
• Jacobson, Eddie--Memorial Service, 1955
• Jerusalem, A Letter to the World From
• Jewish Agency for Palestine--Provisional Government of Israel [includes draft of de facto recognition of Israel]
• Jewish Federation and Council of Greater Kansas City
• Kansas City Jewish Chronicle
• Kansas City Journal-Post Company--Bankruptcy Case, 1951
• Lawyers Association of Kansas City
• Liberal Judaism--Louis Rittenberg, Editor

• National Bankruptcy Conference [letterhead stationery]
• National Conference of Christians and Jews [program honoring Joseph Cohen, Clarence McGuire, and Judge Albert Ridge, 1959]
• Notes, Miscellaneous Handwritten
• Photographs--General
• Publications ["Harry Truman: Son of the Soil," by Edward R. Schauffler, and review by Frank J. Adler of Margaret Truman's book, Harry S. Truman, from the American Jewish Historical Quarterly, June, 1973]
• Ridge, Judge Albert A. [U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri; letter regarding the marriage of his law clerk, Loeb Granoff, 1953]
• Silver, Rabbi Abba Hillel--"Abba Hillel Silver: A Personal Memoir," by Leon I. Feuer
• Sosland, Ben [annotated envelope, "Expressions from Kansas City Friends"]
• Supreme Court of Missouri--Motion For a Rule Under Section 29(d) of Article V of the Constitution of Missouri, With Supporting Memorandum, 1954
• Truman, Harry S.--Letter of Introduction For Mr. and Mrs. Loeb H. Granoff, For Use on Their European Trip, March 11, 1965 [to U.S. diplomatic officials]
• Truman, Harry S.--Library Fund Dinner, 1954
• Weizmann, Dr. Chaim--Note from Israeli Ambassador Abba Eban, Acknowledging Expression of Sympathy Upon Dr. Weizmann's Death
• Weizmann, Dr. Chaim--Reception for Dr. Weizmann, 1949

PRINTED MATERIALS FILE, 1945-1987

• Newspaper Clippings Regarding A. J. Granoff
• Newspaper Clippings, Regarding Loeb Granoff
• Newspaper Clippings Regarding Eddie Jacobson
  [1 of 4]
  [2 of 4]
  [3 of 4]
  [4 of 4]
• Newspaper Clippings Regarding Harry S. Truman and the Harry S. Truman Library.

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