World War, 1939-1945 -- Refugees

This collection consists of records Albert Hutler received and generated in mid-1945 during his service as chief of the Displaced Persons Office of Detachment F1E2, 2nd ECA Regiment, 7th U.S. Army Military Government, in Mannheim, Germany. Materials, mostly photocopies, include reports and memoranda on the status of Displaced Persons in Southwestern Germany and a few brief survivor accounts.

Contains 12 family documents relating to the following members of the Ehrlich family: David Ehrlich of Germany, d. 1861, 1 item; Leopold Ehrlich of Rogasen, Germany, 1852-1921, 6 items, including certificates of election to city council; Jonas Alexander Israel Ehrlich, 1886-1953, who emigrated in 1939 to Brazil, 5 items, including a recommendation for a travel visa to Brazil.

This collection contains the minute books, in Yiddish, of the meetings of the congregation for the years 1944 to 1969, describing its activities, finances, and information about the membership. Includes information on the synagogue's assistance given to refugees in Europe during World War II and aid to Israel. Of special interest are the activities carried out with Radomer landsleit in Montreal, Toronto, Baltimore, Washington, and Chile.

The collection consists of Jack Cohen and Mosco Tzechoval’s papers relating to their involvement at the Fort Ontario Emergency Refugee Shelter in Oswego, New York, 1944-1946. Materials include correspondence, sermons, minutes, reports, notes, clippings, and photographs.

The German-Jewish Children's Aid, later known as the European-Jewish Children's Aid, was involved in bringing Jewish children to the United States from Europe before, during, and after World War II. The records in this collection are comprised of correspondence, reports and case files, which may contain biographical information as well as questionnaries and correspondence concerning the case.

This collection contains a number of vital and personal documents belonging to the Glaser, Bass, and Poseles (Port) families, which illustrate their personal and professional lives in early twentieth-century Europe and their experience of diaspora during the fascist era.

The papers consist of correspondence and reports of Cecelia Razovsky (married name: Davidson), noted social worker specializing in immigration and resettlement of refugees. The collection includes information about her work with the National Council of Jewish Women in the 1920s, and with the National Refugee Service (and predecessor organizations) in the 1930s. Information is included about her work as a Resettlement Supervisor in the post-World War II Displaced Persons camps in Europe, and as a field worker in the southwestern U.S. for the United Service for New Americans in 1950. The collection contains reports and correspondence from her trips to South America, primarily Brazil, to explore possibilities of refugee settlement in 1937 and 1946; as a representative for United HIAS Service to aid in settling Egyptian and Hungarian refugees in 1957-1958; and as a pleasure trip and evaluation of the changes in the Jewish community of the country in 1963. Also included in the collection are many of Razovsky's articles, plays, and pamphlets.

This collection documents the life of Hannah Busoni (née Apfel) and her husband, the artist Rafaello Busoni, son of the renowned composer, Ferruccio Busoni. The collection consists primarily of personal correspondence and photographs, but also includes Portuguese newspaper clippings. There are also four court cases pertaining to the defense attorney, Dr. Alfred Apfel, Hannah's father.

On the run from the German advance into France, the family of Joachim Feldman sought assistance from family living in the United States. This collection documents their correspondence and includes the original letters, transcripts of the originals, and their translations.

On June 30, 1944 the Joint Distribution Committee opened its office in Bari, Italy to assist in the repatriation and relief of Jewish refugees following the Allied victory in Europe. Max Perlman, originally the JDC representative in North Africa, was transferred to head this office. The collection contains reports and lists concerning refugees transported from Naples, Italy to Oswego, NY following the World War II, and JDC efforts for the relief of Jewish refugees in the North Africa.

Case files (containing correspondence, handwritten notes, application forms, documents, and affidavits) in addition to general correspondence, speeches, brochures, and newspaper clippings from the Immigration and Naturalization Office of the National Council of Jewish Women, Worcester Section, regarding assistance provided to Jewish immigrants and permanent residents seeking citizenship from the 1930s to the 1970s. Case files include office correspondence with individuals, Jewish social service agencies, lawyers in the United States and Germany, and the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service. Some case files also contain correspondence and personal statements in support of reparations claims filed with the West German government.

This collection documents the time Rabbi Abraham Haselkorn spent stationed overseas during World War II. Photographs include those of comrades and soldiers, as well as refugees. Scenes include daily life as well as religious services.

Collection consists of records of the HICEM Office in Prague, documenting efforts to assist Jewish refugees from Czechoslovakia. Records include minutes of National Committee Meetings, correspondence from the HICEM office, including with various aid societies, and extensive individual refugee case files.

The National Jewish Welfare Board Military Chaplaincy Records document the evolution and activities of NJWB’s military chaplaincy agency, which was known as the Commission on Army and Navy Religious Activities (CANRA) from 1942 to 1947, as the Division of Religious Activities (DRA) from 1947 to 1953, and then as the Commission on Jewish Chaplaincy (CJC) after 1953, during the Executive Directorship of Aryeh Lev (1946-1975) and Philip Bernstein (1942-1946). The collection also consists of Aryeh Lev’s records during his service as assistant to the Office of the Chief of Chaplains of the Army (1940-1945), as well as Lev’s personal papers. Most broadly, the collection chronicles the role of Jewish chaplaincy and Jewish participation in the U.S. military effort from WWII to the Vietnam War. Subjects addressed include the establishment of Judaism as one of the major faiths in the U.S. military, patterns of observance among service members, and post-WWII relief work by Jewish chaplains on behalf of displaced persons. Materials include minutes, reports, correspondence, speeches, sermons, autobiographical writings, photographs, questionnaires and printed materials.

The Phi Epsilon Pi fraternity, active between 1904 and 1970 with a predominantly Jewish membership, was established in New York City and eventually opened at least 48 chapters on college campuses across the U.S. and one in Canada. The bulk of the records in this collection were generated, received and collected by the national fraternity officers between 1912 and the late 1950s. Topics represented include black-Jewish relations, military service in WWI and WWII, educational, housing and occupational discrimination, and WWII refugee aid. Materials consist of correspondence, reports, minutes, clippings, serial publications, photographs, pins, financial records, floor plans, manuals, and directories.

Name files with biographical data of approximately 25,000 individual refugees from Nazi Germany, including alphabetical index and index by categories

The collection relates to the life of Jewish refugees, mostly of German and Austrian origin, in Shanghai primarily between the years 1939-1948. It covers many aspects of their experience, including political and cultural events, relief and charity activities, and self-help. The collection originated from the YIVO exhibition that was organized and displayed in 1947 in Shanghai and later in New York. The collection consists of manuscripts, minutes of meetings, correspondence, newspaper clippings, and printed materials.