Louis Rosenblum facts for kids
Louis Rosenblum (born November 15, 1923, died April 4, 2019) was an important leader who helped Jewish people in the Soviet Union gain freedom to leave their country. He started the first group to help Soviet Jews, called the Cleveland Council on Soviet Anti-Semitism. He also became the first president of the Union of Councils for Soviet Jews. Besides his work for human rights, he was a research scientist at NASA's Lewis Research Center (now called the John H. Glenn Research Center).
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Early Life and Education
Lou Rosenblum went to the Yeshivah of Flatbush in New York. He started college at Brooklyn College in 1941. From 1943 to 1946, he served in the U.S. Army during World War II. He fought in the Battle of Okinawa and received a special award called the Bronze Star.
After the war, he finished his chemistry degree at Brooklyn College in 1948. Then, he went to Ohio State University and earned a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry in 1952. Lou Rosenblum loved folk dancing his whole life. He even appeared in a movie in 1947, dancing with Margot Mayo while Pete Seeger played the banjo.
Career at NASA
From 1952 to 1981, Louis Rosenblum worked as a scientist at the NASA Lewis Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio. He studied many things, like special fuels for jet planes and materials that could handle very high temperatures. He also worked on systems to check the environment and developed solar and battery energy systems.
In the 1960s, he led a team that worked with liquid metals. During this time, he also helped fight against unfair housing rules. These rules made it hard for African American employees at NASA to buy or rent homes near their work.
In 1969, Rosenblum became the head of a division that worked on new ways to create energy. This included photovoltaics (solar cells) and electrochemistry (like batteries). At NASA, he also helped invent a portable machine that could weld metal using a special beam.
Later, in 1977, he led the Solar and Electrochemistry Division. His team worked on solar power for space and also created projects to show how solar energy could be used on Earth. In 1978, under his leadership, the first nickel-zinc battery that could be used in electric cars was developed. He retired from NASA in 1981. After that, he worked as a consultant, helping different groups with solar and renewable energy projects.
Helping Soviet Jews Gain Freedom
Starting the First Soviet Jewry Group
In 1963, Louis Rosenblum and others from his synagogue in Cleveland started the Cleveland Council on Soviet Anti-Semitism (CCSA). This was the very first public group dedicated to helping Jewish people in the Soviet Union. They wanted to help them leave the country if they wished. The CCSA became a successful model for other groups across the country.
In 1970, Rosenblum helped the CCSA join with five other groups to form a national organization called the Union of Councils for Soviet Jews (UCSJ). Rosenblum was the first president of the UCSJ from 1970 to 1973. This group grew very large, becoming the biggest independent organization helping Soviet Jews in the world.
Rosenblum came up with many creative ideas and projects to help people fight for freedom of emigration.
Media Projects to Raise Awareness
Soon after starting the CCSA, Rosenblum realized that people needed information and tools to help Soviet Jews. In 1965, he published a handbook called Hear the Cry of the Oppressed. This handbook gave ideas for community actions, materials for talks, and information about the situation of Jews in the Soviet Union.
Rosenblum also created small "protest seals" that looked like postage stamps. These stamps became a symbol for the movement. People put them on their letters to make others aware of how Soviet Jews were being treated. Between 1967 and 1978, millions of these stamps were sold across North America.
In 1968, Rosenblum produced a short film called “Before Our Eyes.” This film showed the challenges faced by Jews in the Soviet Union. The film's title came from a quote by Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, who said that "Before our eyes a people and a culture are being made to vanish."
In 1974, secret documents were smuggled out of the Soviet Union. Rosenblum edited and published these documents as a book called The White Book of Exodus, No. 2. It told the story of how Jewish activists in Moscow were arrested to stop protests during a visit by President Nixon.
Connecting People to People
After the UCSJ was formed in 1970, Rosenblum looked for ways for American Jews to connect directly with Soviet Jews. He wanted to make the cause more personal. He became a main designer of the "people-to-people" approach, which connected individuals in the United States and the Soviet Union.
Rosenblum got names and addresses of Soviet Jews who wanted to leave. He then designed holiday greeting cards for American Jews to send to them. This program spread widely. He also started a campaign for people to call Jewish activists in the Soviet Union using international operators. These phone calls became a very important way to get information about the movement.
In 1971, Rosenblum published a guide on how to send packages to Jewish "prisoners of conscience" (people jailed for their beliefs) in Soviet labor camps. He also wrote a pamphlet describing the conditions in the Potma labor camp.
During phone calls in 1971, Rosenblum learned that Soviet Jews wanted to learn Hebrew but had to take classes secretly because teachers could be arrested. So, Rosenblum started Project Sefer. This project sent Hebrew textbooks and language tapes to groups across the Soviet Union. In 1973, when the Soviet government made it illegal to teach without a certificate, Rosenblum created a program to test and certify Hebrew teachers in the Soviet Union.
Rosenblum also helped tourists visiting the Soviet Union. He gave them detailed information so they could meet Soviet Jewish activists. These tourists helped deliver Hebrew learning materials and acted as messengers between activists in the Soviet Union and the West. This direct contact was very effective and helped the movement greatly.
Political Action
Louis Rosenblum had an idea in 1969: he thought that trade between the U.S. and the Soviet Union should be linked to whether the Soviet government allowed Jews to leave. This idea was studied further in 1971. That year, Rosenblum helped plan a strategy for a bill in Congress that would support freedom of emigration.
This work led to the Jackson–Vanik Amendment to the Trade Act of 1974. This amendment meant that the U.S. would only trade with countries that allowed their citizens to emigrate freely. During the development of this amendment, Rosenblum often met with important political figures like Charles Vanik and Senator Jackson's aide, Richard Perle. He also advised President Richard Nixon's special counsel, Leonard Garment.
When some American Jewish leaders were unsure about supporting the Jackson-Vanik amendment, Rosenblum stayed in close contact with Jewish activists in Moscow. He encouraged them to show their support for the amendment. Their appeal helped lead to the amendment's passage.
