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Item ID | 165356 | |||
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Title | 1955-1964: Records of the Geneva Office of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee | |||
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Reference Code | G 55-64 | |||
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Full Reference | Collection: 1955-1964: Records of the Geneva Office of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee - G 55-64 | |||
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Dates | 1955-1964 | |||
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Scope and Content | The Geneva 1955-1964 Collection documents JDC’s global relief initiatives in the post-World War II period for Jewish communities grappling with the aftermath of the trauma of the Holocaust, emigration crises and migration, and systemic poverty. This period witnessed enormous demographic changes for many Jewish communities in response to wide-ranging geopolitical upheavals like the Hungarian Revolution of 1956; the Suez crisis, also in 1956; and Algeria’s declaration of independence from France in 1962. In addition to resulting large-scale emigration from Hungary and Egypt, JDC responded to significant Jewish emigration from Morocco, Romania, and Tunisia and addressed the diverse needs of new immigrant populations in Australia, France, Israel, and South America. JDC’s comprehensive support for hundreds of thousands of new immigrants included assisting existing communities in absorbing new arrivals and operating loan institutions in partnership with the Jewish Colonization Association (JCA) to enable Jewish refugees to establish themselves in their new countries of residence. | |||
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Scope and Content | In its Israel operations, JDC continued the work of MALBEN, a vast social service organization established by JDC in 1949 in partnership with the Israeli government to provide institutional care and social services for handicapped, elderly, and chronically ill clients; train medical and rehabilitation professionals; and support the development of private and public organizations and resources to support vulnerable populations. JDC also maintained its support of yeshivot throughout the entire country, including providing vocational training for students. | |||
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Scope and Content | During these years, JDC concentrated on sustaining and reinforcing existing Jewish communities, especially in postwar Europe. JDC embarked on a vital partnership with the Conference on Jewish Material Claims against Germany (traditionally known as the Claims Conference) to administer restitution funds from the German government for the relief and rehabilitation of Nazi victims, primarily in Europe, and for the reconstruction of European Jewish institutions. | |||
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Scope and Content | Throughout Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa—including in Egypt, India [where JDC formally established operations in 1964], Iran, Libya, Morocco, and Tunisia, among other countries—JDC continued its wide-ranging funding and oversight of Jewish educational resources, summer camps, public health programs, and clinics. The Polish government invited JDC back into Poland in 1958 to care for Jews repatriated from the Soviet Union; however, after the Six-Day War in June 1967, it again expelled JDC. | |||
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Scope and Content | Charles H. Jordan, a prominent Jewish humanitarian aid professional who began his career with JDC in 1941, served as JDC’s director-general from 1955-1964. In addition to his vast JDC responsibilities, Jordan played a leadership role in many non-sectarian umbrella organizations to support refugees and other international humanitarian concerns. His participation amplified JDC’s commitment to facilitating the professionalization of Jewish communal organizations and personnel through granting scholarships, conducting research and surveys, publishing magazines and educational material, organizing conferences on germane topics such as education, health, and social work, and founding entities like the Standing Conference for European Jewish Community Services and the International Council on Jewish Social and Welfare Services (Interco), which attained consultative status with the United Nations. | |||
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Scope and Content | Media in this collection include: correspondence, memoranda, cables, handwritten notes, notebooks, conference proceedings, meeting minutes, speech transcripts, annual country reports, field reports, budgets, financial tables and reports, statistical tables, lists of aid recipients, questionnaires, news clippings, press releases, community publications, applications, training course curricula, workbooks, collections of songs and stories, lists of supplies, and academic papers. | |||
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Internet - demos | Y |
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