The ADL Archives Project:
Protecting the Past, Securing a Legacy

Since its founding in 1913, ADL has led the fight against antisemitism and all forms of bigotry and hate. At every major turning point in our nation’s modern history, ADL was there, advocating for the rights and lives of Jewish people and other marginalized groups. The archives document pivotal moments for the agency, such as tracking German Nazi war criminals, advocating for the Civil Rights Act of 1964, monitoring and counteracting the rise of domestic extremism in the 1980s, and advocating for the passage of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act in 2009. Together, these and countless other moments documented in the ADL archives provide a critical source of insight into the evolving fight against antisemitism and all forms of hate.

Over the next eight years, AJHS archivists will process 13,000 boxes of historical materials. The archives contain extraordinary stories about the evolving scope and nature of antisemitism and bigotry in the U.S. and around the world, providing peerless insight into a century of efforts to fight hate on the frontlines. Once completed, the ADL archives will be the world’s premier collection documenting manifestations of hatred, antisemitism, bigotry, extremism, and discrimination in the U.S. and elsewhere, and the ongoing efforts to expose and overcome those forces. In the current climate—in which smoldering hatreds have been unleashed and inflamed anew—it is more important than ever for ADL’s rich archives to be a resource and guide for those who would understand and grapple with these dark and sometimes lethal forces.