Linda Klein
Interviewed by Sharon Alterman
July 26, 2005
Max M. Fisher Federation Building, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
Linda Klein
Video 01:10:43
Linda Klein
Audio 01:10:43
Abstract
In this oral history interview, Linda Klein starts off by talking about her grandparents and her parents and mentions what she knows of their immigration to Detroit. She talks about how close her family was while she was growing up. Her grandmother had a big impact on her though she died while Klein was very young. From here, Klein speaks about her father, the type of ambitious and tough man he was and how influential he was on her.
Klein talks about her childhood and how she had many school changes, to her college days at University of Michigan, and then law school. She mentions she retired after a few years of being a lawyer.
Klein talks about her first trip to Israel in 1968. She mentions her involvement in Federation started in the Junior Division and later Women’s Division. She also goes into her involvement with the Jewish Vocational Service (JVS), how she became president, and then talks quite a bit about what the organization does. She speaks a little bit about her interests outside of the Jewish Community.
When asked about women volunteers, Klein speaks about her own experiences as a woman and how her father was very encouraging, leading up to her becoming a lawyer and then president of the Women’s Division in 1995.
Klein talks about what type of leader she thinks she is and talks about her decision making processes in her areas of leadership. She tells a story about a time when a decision was going to be made to sell the Jewish Vocational Service building. She then talks about the issues that she believes the Jewish community faces. The interview ends with her discussing her children, grandchildren and their involvement within the Jewish community.
History of Narrator
Linda Klein was born in 1940 in Detroit to Paul and Helen Zuckerman. She graduated from Wayne State University with a J.D. Active in the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit, she participated in the Junior Division and then the Women’s Division, where she served as president. Klein also served as president of Jewish Vocational Service. In 2016 she was honored with the Fred M. Butzel Memorial Award.
Transcript
Important Subjects
Important Names
Credit as: Leonard N. Simons Jewish Community Archives. Linda Klein Oral History Interview, July 26, 2005.