Rescue Children, Inc.

Rescue Children, Inc. was established by Herbert Tenzer and other members of the Executive Committee of Vaad Hatzala in June 1946. This Orthodox organisation had succeeded in rescuing over 2000 Jewish orphans in Europe and placing them in homes, but could not afford their support any longer. Rescue Children Inc. would take up this task. The organisation established centers in France (9 in total), Belgium, Sweden and Germany. The Belgian centers, located in Mariaburg, Antwerp and Brussels, were directed by dr. Leo Rothschild; assistance was provided by the Comité central Israélite (which Rothschild presided) and Vaad Hatzala. Children were interviewed before placement to collect a maximum of biographical and other information, after which the organisation would attempt to locate family members. Rescue Children Inc. also set up a program in which sponsors were encouraged to ‘adopt’ a child and raise money for its sustenance, write letters, send birthday gifts etc. New York mayor William O’Dwyer was the first to adopt a child, an 8 year old Belgian boy. Between 1945-1946, the organisation supported around 2200 orphans from the Holocaust. Rescue Children Inc.’s separate fund-raising activities lead to conflicts with the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, who accused the organisation of ‘duplicating’ and complicating its own efforts. A formal agreement between both organisations was signed on May 4, 1948. Rescue Children, Inc. would cease to raise funds in the United States, and turn over its homes to the JDC (on the condition that they would continue to be run following Orthodox rules).