David Rosenberg papers

Series 1-4 of the David Rosenberg papers include documents, correspondence, clippings, videotapes, and photographs related to the work of David Rosenberg and the Committee for Appropriate Acknowledgment (CAA). Dr. Rosenberg and the CAA, working within Pittsburgh, PA, sought to research and document Bayer AG's corporate culpability during the Holocaust and pushed for corporate acknowledgment and atonement. Papers include research files, correspondence, event information, information regarding the CBG (Coordination against Bayer Dangers), a German group, and newspaper clippings regarding the subject. Their goals included the Pittsburgh Jewish Community's appropriate acknowledgment of Bayer's past when accepting philanthropy, corporate compensation (restitution) for slave laborers and medical experimentation victims, open access to corporate archives, and a more accurate rendering of Bayer's wartime activities in corporate publications. Also includes research and correspondence regarding Dr. Rosenberg's trip to Germany to investigate corporate archives. Series 5-8 document a separate but related project Dr. Rosenberg pursued at the University of Pittsburgh where he was an archivist. The slave labor settlement reached with German industry and government led to the Committee for Appropriate Acknowledgment ceasing activity. Dr. Rosenberg noticed that a Future Fund had been set aside as part of the settlement. He argued that some of the money should be focused explicitly on corporate responsibility and the Holocaust. He proposed that the University of Pittsburgh’s administration help establish an international partnership of academic institutions to survey and help preserve German corporate archives of the World War II period and apply to the Future Fund to provide financial support. The Institute for Contemporary History in Munich (IfZ) showed interest in partnering with the University of Pittsburgh on the project, and Dr. Rosenberg and Dr. Wolfgang Schloer of Pitt visited the Institute to discuss their cooperation, but a grant from the Future Fund was not forthcoming.

The David Rosenberg papers are arranged as eight series: Series 1: CAA correspondence Series 2: CAA events Series 3: CAA newspaper clippings Series 4: CAA research files Series 5: Future Fund proposal and trip Series 6: Future Fund correspondence and research Series 7: Future Fund articles Series 8: Future Fund archives