1940s Timeline

War Comes to Blacksburg, and Jewish Students Enlist

As antisemitism was exploding in Nazi Germany and fascism was spreading across Europe, Jews on campus became alarmed by the danger faced by their families and friends overseas. Students at Virginia Tech and elsewhere became active in raising their voices in opposition to these threats – and this Lord Reading Service was one such event.

World War II permanently changed Virginia Tech –as a campus with a meaningful military cadet population, approximately 50,000 Virginia Tech students enlisted – including a handful of Jews.

Ken Berger was one of those students. He enlisted at age 17, and at the end of basic training, was sent to Virginia Tech for 9 months to study electrical engineering as part of the Army Specialized Training Program. Through this program, members of the military could study either engineering or pre-dental. Mr. Berger graduated in 1947/1948 and by the end of the war, VT had more
civilian students than military students.

Betram Aaron

Mr. Bertram Aaron attended Virginia Tech during the early 1940s and graduated in 1943. His brothers Leonard (‘44) and Butch (‘61) also attended Virginia Tech. He recalls spending the high holidays and community festivals in Roanoke. Mr. Aaron is a WWII Veteran who was in the Philippines during the war.

Morris Rosenberg

Morris Rosenberg (Malcolm Rosenberg’s grandfather) was typical of the two and a half million Jews who left Russia between 1880 and 1920 to escape the Czars’ pogroms. When he arrived in Roanoke, after a short stay in Lynchburg, Morris joined a small Jewish community. In 1889, 18 families organized the first congregation. They adopted the name Beth Jacob and held services
in an old building near the corner of Kirk Avenue and Henry Street. By 1940, more than 40 Jewish families lived in the area.

The Roanoke Jewish community played a big part in the growth of Hillel at Virginia Tech. Throughout the 1940s and 1950s, no country clubs in Roanoke allowed Jews as members, so the community started its own club. In 1944, the Jewish community began to raise money to establish Green Hill Country Club, 34 acres of land south of the Roanoke River, for Jewish members only. When the board officially opened the club in 1948 the bylaws stated that members must belong to either Temple Emanuel or Beth Israel Synagogue. Green Hill with its tennis court, clubhouse and swimming pool quickly became the center of Jewish social life in Roanoke. The club remained open until 1967, when Roanoke’s Hunting Hills Country Club began accepting Jews.

Malcolm Rosenberg and 4 others at Green Hill Country Club.

Dr. Orlian’s Lost Weekend

During the latter half of the 1940s, there were about 50 Jewish students at Virginia Tech with approximately 10-15 students attending services. Paul Derring, YMCA Director of Religious Activities assigned the Jewish students, then named Lord Reading Club, a room in the old Student Activities Building (SAB) to self-conduct Friday evening services. On High Holy days students
were hosted by the Roanoke Jewish community.

According to Dr. Alvin I. Orlian (’49), Jewish students would have a “Lost Weekend” where female Jewish students from local colleges were invited to participate in a dance. The venue was usually in Roanoke.

Lord Reading Club

Prior to the name Hillel at Virginia Tech, the Jewish student club was called The Lord Reading Club. Photo from 1947 of club members.

Religious Emphasis

Religious emphasis became a focus for the university. One of the events was hosted in January 1949 and another one documented in 1953. These events brought together three major religions: Protestantism, Catholicism and Judaism.

Lord Reading Program

Herman Lieberman (‘46) fondly remembers his trip on public transportation from New York to Blacksburg. He stopped in Roanoke, Virginia, to inquire about Jewish services and the Jewish community. He recalls walking into a pawn shop and their staff drove him to the Rosenberg home to introduce him to an active Jewish family. He was immediately welcomed by the Rosenbergs who invited him to celebrate Jewish holidays at the synagogue or in the home of the tight knitcommunity members.

Lord Reading Service program photo donated by Dr. Alvin I. Orlian (‘49).