Far Eastern Jewish Central Information Bureau

The Central Information Bureau for Jewish War Sufferers in the Far East was created by Sam Mason in 1917. Its main office was located in Harbin, with branches in Japan and the Soviet Union. The civil war in the Soviet Union complicated contacts between people in the West and in the Soviet Union; the only way to contact them was via China. The Central Bureau was in charge of money and mail transfers from the United States and Europe to the Soviet Union. It helped relatives living in different countries to stay in touch, and aided Eastern European Jewish refugees to emigrate. The bureau did not only help Jews but also non-Jews requesting support. Its official name changed in 1923, becoming the Far Eastern Jewish Central Information Bureau (DALJEWCIB). In the 1930s, the bureau helped German Jewish refugees to find a job in the Far East. It cooperated with HICEM. The number of requests from refugees rose as from 1938. The situation deteriorated in Harbin due to the Japanese occupation, and the office was relocated in Shanghai. The Bureau of Shanghai protected Jewish refugees in Shanghai and maintained, as much as possible, contacts with Jewish emigration organisations in Europe. After the war, the organisation attempted tracing Jewish refugees and help them settle and find work.