American Jewish Congress and World Jewish Congress index cards
Extent and Medium
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Creator(s)
- American Jewish Congress
- World Jewish Congress
Biographical History
The American Jewish Congress (AJC) was first convened in 1918 as an organization of American Jewish leaders pursuing equal rights for Americans. In 1936, the AJC helped establish the World Jewish Congress (WJC) and acted as a liaison between the WJC and the American government on issues related to emergency relief for Jewish refugees. After World War II, the WJC assisted the rebuilding of European Jewish communities, and the AJC aided these efforts by providing support for Holocaust survivors, displaced persons, and other victims of the war.
The World Jewish Congress (WJC) is an international organization founded by resolution of the First World jewish Congress, which took place in August 1936 in Geneva. The organization goal is to defend the political, social, and economic rights of Jews throughout the world. Its governing bodies were elected at the First World Jewish Congress: the executive committee headed by Stephen Wise (also the organization’s chairman), an administrative committee, headed by Nahum Goldman, and a central council headed by Louis Lipsky. At the first session of the executive committee, Sept. 6, 1936, it was decided to establish regional offices of the WJC in Geneva, New York, and London, and a central bureau in Paris. The central bureau coordinated the WJC’s work, collected information on the situation of Jews in various countries, published materials, and also lobbied at the League of Nations. In 1940, with the Second World War under way, the central bureau was transferred to New York, and a European office was established in London.
Archival History
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Acquisition
Funding Note: The cataloging of this collection has been supported by a grant from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.
Julius Schatz donated the American Jewish Congress and World Jewish Congress index cards to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 1990 and 1998. The accession previously cataloged as 1998.A.0140 has been incorporated into this collection.
Scope and Content
The American Jewish Congress (AJC) and World Jewish Congress (WJC) index cards primarily consist of an index to Holocaust survivors and war victims in Europe requesting aid through the AJC and WJC and American sponsors who volunteered to provide assistance. Additional index cards comprise sponsor reply cards, an index to members of the American‐Polish Medical Alliance, miscellaneous activities of the AJC and WJC, and an alphabetical index of Aufbau articles. The index to requests for aid and sponsors tracks requestors, sponsors, and assignments made between them. Most cards provide minimal information, but they often include addresses and sometimes include a brief statement about the requestor’s situation or specific needs, birthdates, or concentration camps where they were liberated. Some of the cards document what kind of help was provided and when. Sponsor reply cards indicate whether sponsors initiated or maintained contact with their assigned person(s) in need and what kind of aid was provided. The American‐Polish Medical Alliance card file is a membership index. Miscellaneous indexes document the activities, personnel, and contacts of the AJC and WJC. The alphabetical index of Aufbau articles comprises an index card file providing subject access to volumes 6, 7, and 9 of Aufbau (1940‐1941 and 1943). The index was created by the AJC.
System of Arrangement
The American Jewish Congress and World Jewish Congress index cards are arranged as five series: I. Index to requests for aid and sponsors, 1940s, II. Sponsor reply cards, 1948, III. Members of the American-Polish Medical Alliance, approximately 1940s, IV. Miscellaneous indexes of the American Jewish Congress and the World Jewish Congress, approximately 1940s, V. Alphabetical index of Aufbau articles, 1940-1943
Conditions Governing Reproduction
Copyright Holder: Julius Schatz
Corporate Bodies
- World Jewish Congress
- American Jewish Congress
Subjects
- Holocaust survivors--Europe--Registers.
- Holocaust survivors--United States--Public opinion.
- New York (N.Y.)
- Jews--United States--Charities.
- International relief--Europe.
Genre
- Document