Rhode Island Jewish Historical Association

03/23/2026

Join Us for a Free Presentation on Judah Touro and Colonial Newport’s Jewish Legacy. Register here: https://form.jotform.com/260744315277156

06/11/2025

We've updated our front office display! Come see an 1852 edition of the Mishnayot Nashim published in Vilna, a foundation brick from the Sons of Zion Orms Street Synagogue, and Tzedakah boxes from Miriam Hospital, the General Israel Orphans Home for Girls, and the American Jewish Charity.

05/30/2025

Thanks to funding from the The Edwin Soforenko Foundation, the Rhode Island Jewish Historical Association has taken its first steps towards digitizing its photograph collection from the Beryl and Chaya Segal Archive. Here are some of the first photographs that have been digitized and will eventually be added to our digital archive.

05/19/2025

Thank you to everyone who attended our annual meeting last week featuring a presentation of the Rhode Island Road Tour led by our very own Ruth Breindel. Special thanks to our Second Vice President Lowell Lisker who introduced board members to be inducted for 2025-2026.

05/05/2025

Thank you to everyone who joined us for last week's book talk and signing with Georgia Hunter, author of "We Were the Lucky Ones."

We were honored to welcome Georgia and her mother Isabelle to the Dwares JCC, where she shared the powerful story behind her bestselling novel, from uncovering her family’s Jewish history to seeing it come to life as a Hulu miniseries. We are grateful for the opportunity to host such a meaningful event and help share such a powerful story.

04/29/2025

Today marks the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Dachau Concentration Camp. As we reflect on the horrors of Dachau and honor those who were lost, we also share the story of Fred Regensteiner and his family, after whom our offices are named.

On November 10, 1938, Regensteiner and his family were living at Hermanstrasse 23 in Augsburg, Germany, when N***s arrested him and 150 other men in Augsburg. He was sent to Dachau concentration camp, where approximately 11,000 Jewish men were imprisoned during what became known as Kristallnacht, the Night of Broken Glass. During his imprisonment, Regensteiner's wholesale business was seized and sold for far below its value by the N**i Party to the Rappold & Volk Company.

Regensteiner and many other Jewish men were released from Dachau after promising to emigrate from Germany. The following year, Regensteiner and his wife, Gertrude, fled to England, where their son, Henry, had already been sent earlier in 1939 as part of the Kindertransport. After being reunited in England, the Regensteiner family immigrated to Providence, Rhode Island, in 1940, where Fred and Gertrude lived for the remainder of their lives.

In 2017, the RIJHA offices were renamed in memory of Fred, Gertrude, and Henry Regensteiner, as well as Gertrude's parents, Jenny and Leopold Heilberg, who were murdered in Auschwitz.

04/17/2025

Have you walked by our office in the JCC today? You may have noticed we changed the display in our office to highlight items from three of our collections. Stop by and see an original account of the Civil War from Medal of Honor Recipient, Leopold Karpeles, an original photograph of Abraham Horvitz, the owner of the Providence Trunk Manufacturing Company as well as Providence Cloak and Suit Company and his wife Betsey, and an original letter recommending Joseph Fishbein for the Bronze Star during WWII.

02/13/2025

We are currently in the process of digitizing our growing collection of oral history interviews, including our most recent conversation with Rose "Bib" Salk Grossman. She and her family's incredible journey is now part of our community’s history. You can find out current list of interviews on our website under the "Collections" tab.

If you or someone you know has a story to share, we’d love to interview you and preserve your voice for future generations. DM us or contact us to schedule an interview. Let’s keep our community’s history alive.

02/03/2025

Join us on Sunday, April 27th at 11am at the Dwares Jewish Community Center for a book talk and signing with Georgia Hunter, author of "We Were the Lucky Ones." This event is free and open to the public but registration is required. To register, go to rijha.org/events or scan the QR code.

01/22/2025

Check out our latest issue of the RIJHA Newsletter! If you would like a physical copy, or to see future issues early, visit our website and become a member at https://rijha.org/support/rijha-general-membership/

Read RIJHA Newsletter Q4 2024 (5) by Jaime Walden on Issuu and browse thousands of other publications on our platform. Start here!

01/08/2025

The Rhode Island Jewish Historical Association mourns the loss of the historic Pasadena (California) Jewish Temple and Center, completed in 1923. It was gutted by the Eaton Fire on January 7 as it spread through the Southern California city.

01/08/2025

Harry Klitzner was born in New York City on Sept. 15, 1889, to Salomon Shlioma Klitchner and Rokhe Mere Rachel Mary Liebschnitz Klitchner. Harry was one of Salomon and Rachel’s eight children: Jacob (1884-1960), Abram (1885-1889), Robert (1887-1908), Michael (1894-1959), Abraham (1895-1970), an unnamed child (1897-1897), Rosa (1900-1900) and Lillian (1900-1992).

The Klitzner family moved to Providence in 1893, and in 1907, Harry opened a jewelry company, later named Klitzner Industries, in the back of his mother’s candy store, at 57 Bernon St. There, he and his little sister Lillian made emblematic jewelry for fraternal organizations such as the Masons and the Elks.

Klitzner married Fannie Pockar on Oct. 8, 1916, in Providence, and the couple went on to have four children: William (1917-1980), Claire (1919-2005), Robert (1924-1985) and Thelma (1927-1990).

Harry’s business was helped along by his family members, starting with Lillian, who quit school, learned to type, and assisted in mailing out orders to customers. She was followed by Harry’s niece Ruth, when she was only 15, along with Harry’s sons Robert and William, and his grandchildren Alan and Carl.

The business relocated to 57 Warren St. in 1964 to accommodate what would eventually become 150 employees. Klitzner Industries then expanded further by adding new product lines, including pens, toiletries, acrylic gifts, awards, travel items and gold accessories. Another property, at 530 Wellington Ave. in Cranston, was also purchased.

Before his passing, on Jan. 11, 1969, Harry Klitzner was an active member of Temple Beth Israel.

After his death, the company was taken over by his son William, who -operated the business until he passed away in 1980, when his son Robert became president.

At one time, Klitzner Industries was America’s oldest and largest factory-direct manufacturer of fraternal jewelry, mementos and other distinctive items, according to some of its publications, articles in other publications and the auction site where some of its property was sold. The business was in operation for 111 years and registered more than a dozen trademarks.