Golda Krolik (Parts 1 and 2)

Interviewed by Mary Baroff

January 10, 1975 (part I) and January 21, 1975 (part II)

Home of Golda Krolik

Golda Krolik (Parts 1 and 2)
Video 01:27:39

Abstract


In this interview Golda Krolik discusses her childhood growing up in Detroit. She discusses volunteering and working with children at the Hannah Schloss Building. She also discusses her social work activates through the Red Cross during the First World War.  In the second part she talks about her work with the Jewish Welfare Federation. She discusses the start of the Women’s Division.

History of Narrator


Golda Krolik was born on August 24, 1892. A communal giant in Jewish Detroit, Golda’s prolific career in the community began as a child when she helped out in the nursery of the Hannah Schloss Memorial Building. While attending the University of Michigan, Golda was the first woman reporter for the Michigan Daily. During WWI, she worked for the American Red Cross and followed that up by working for the North End Clinic. During this time, Golda taught Sunday School at Temple Beth El, where she met her first husband Leopold Mayer. While starting her family, Golda served as vice president of the Jewish Women’s Club (now National Council of Jewish Women).

After Leopold’s death in 1931, she took on roles in the campaigns of the Detroit Community Fund and United Jewish Charities. In 1936, she married Julian Krolik and together they fought to rescue European Jewry, bringing a number of relatives to the United States. She also served as president of the Resettlement Service and headed the Jewish Welfare Board’s Hostess Unit at the USO.

Her work continued on Detroit’s Inter-Racial Committee, where she served from 1943-1968, as the second president of the Shapero School of Nursing at Sinai Hospital, and helping to organize the Women’s Division of the Jewish Federation. She also served on numerous boards, including Jewish Family Service and Hadassah. Among the many awards she received is the prestigious Fred M. Butzel Memorial Award.

Golda Krolik passed away on May 1, 1985 at the age of 92.

Transcript


Important Subjects


  • Central High School
  • Community Chest
  • Congregation Shaarey Zedek
  • Hannah Schloss Memorial Building
  • Jewish Social Service Bureau
  • Jewish Welfare Federation
  • Jewish Women's Club
  • North End Clinic
  • Shapero School of Nursing
  • Sinai Hospital
  • Temple Beth El
  • The Michigan Daily
  • Women's Division/Women's Philanthropy

Important Names


  • Ann Daniels
  • Bernice Hopp
  • Dr. Harry Saltzstein
  • Edith Heavennrich
  • Eleanor Hutzel
  • Esther Prussian
  • Fred Butzel
  • Gertrude Glogower
  • Harry Lurie
  • Kurt Peiser
  • Lois Hopp
  • Margaret Mile
  • Simon Shetzer
  • Ursula Friedberg
  • Vera Brown

Credit as: Leonard N. Simons Jewish Community Archives, Golda Krolik Oral History Interview, January 10 and January 21, 1975.