Guide to the Papers of Joseph Perkins Chamberlain, (1873-1951), 1933-1951, RG 278

Processed by Fruma Mohrer with the assistance of a grant From the National Endowment for the Humanities, 1980. Finding aid edited and enhanced under a grant from the Hebrew Immigration Aid Society in 2001. Digitization of the Joseph Perkins Chamberlain Papers (RG 278) was made possible by the Conference on Jewish Material Claims against Germany.

YIVO Institute for Jewish Research
15 West 16th Street
New York, NY 10011
Email: archives@yivo.cjh.org
URL: http://www.yivo.org

Machine-readable finding aid was created by Fruma Mohrer as MS Word file in December 2000. Electronic finding aid was converted to EAD 2002 by Dianne Ritchey Oummia in April 2004. Entities removed from EAD finding aid in January 2006. EAD finding aid in ARCHON was customized in 2013. Description is in English.

Collection Overview

Title: Guide to the Papers of Joseph Perkins Chamberlain, (1873-1951), 1933-1951, RG 278

ID: RG 278 FA

Extent: 2.5 Linear Feet

Arrangement: This series is divided into the following four series:

Languages: English

Abstract

This collection contains the papers of Joseph Perkins Chamberlain, a professor of law who worked with many refugee aid organizations during the 1930s and 1940s. The papers reflect the work of Chamberlain and the organizations in rescuing and assisting refugees from Europe during this time. Although the bulk of the documents consists of correspondence, the collection also includes minutes of meetings, reports, statistical information, clippings, booklets and transcripts of speeches.

Scope and Contents of the Materials

The papers, registered as Record Group 278, consist of correspondence, circulars, cablegrams, memoranda, notes, minutes, reports, statistical tables, clippings, news bulletins, booklets, government publications, printed forms, legal documents, interviews, press releases, brochures, leaflets and speeches. The correspondence includes a) original letters to Chamberlain b) his carbon copy replies c) copies of letters submitted to Chamberlain for reference.

As the Record Group originates almost exclusively in Chamberlain's organizational activities in refugee work, it was arranged in alphabetical order by name of organization. Some of the organizations have further subheadings, reflecting different functions or important topics or issues.

In addition to the organizational records, there are three topical series: Speeches and Publicity, Cases and Miscellaneous. The first two series were not generated by any one institution but were Chamberlain's own files, originating in his speech-making and public relations activities as well as his case work.

The records are arranged chronologically within each organizational and topical series. When a letter or group of letters appear to be out of sequence, they are usually related correspondence, attached or received by Chamberlain as reference. The entire Record Group covers the period 1933 - 1951.

The description of each folder includes (where applicable): Folder title; date; type of material; topics; list of correspondents.

Listing of correspondents and topics is partial. Names of correspondents include both recipients and writers of letters.

The papers occupy 2 feet 6 inches and contain 4690 unnumbered folios. The original numbers printed on the folios are no longer relevant since the original arrangement of the collection was abandoned in 1980 and a new arrangement was imposed with the purpose of restoring the collection, as much as possible, to its original order.

The main topic of this collection is Joseph Perkins Chamberlain's work in assisting and rescuing refugees from Europe during the ascension of the Nazis to power in Germany and World War II. Series I, the largest series by far in the collection, documents the efforts of humanitarian organizations in their attempt to save individuals from Europe from Nazi persecution. A great deal of information in this series is also on assistance given to refugees once they arrived in the United States. Series II: Speeches continues this theme with much of its material on publicity given to the refugee crisis. Series IV is mostly comprised of correspondence of Chamberlain and shows his work with specific individual refugee cases.

A secondary theme of this collection is the immigration policy of the United States during the 1930s and 1940s. Information on immigration and the regulations of the Immigration and Naturalization Service can be gleaned from much of the correspondence in Series I, as well as from documents in Series III and IV. This information includes conditions for various types of immigrant and non-immigrant visas and requirements of the affidavit of support. Often aid organizations secured bonds for refugees to fulfill the affidavit’s stipulation that immigrants not become public charges.

A third topic often encountered in the Joseph Perkins Chamberlain papers is the work of organizations in bringing knowledge of the refugee crisis and Nazi persecutions in Europe to the public. Although the largest amount of documents of this nature will be found in Series II, the topic is encountered also in documents and reports in Series I. In addition there is a petition by YIVO to the President of the United States concerning this topic located in Series IV.

Historical Note

Joseph Perkins Chamberlain (1873 - 1951) was born in Cleveland, Ohio and brought up in Santa Barbara, California. Graduating from Hastings Law School in 1893, he obtained a Ph.D. from Columbia University in 1923 and an L.L.D. in 1929. In 1902 he was admitted to the California bar and practiced in San Francisco until 1905. He subsequently became a lecturer in law and was Professor of Public Law at Columbia University from 1923 to 1950.

Chamberlain was the director of the Legislative Drafting Research Fund at Columbia University and in that capacity contributed to the improvement of statute law. A consultant to various Federal and State agencies, he was also counsel and draftsman for the New York City Charter Revision Commission of 1935-1936.

His publications on law include Regime of International Rivers: Danube and Rhine (1936),Index-digest of State Constitutions (1915) and numerous articles on legislation and international relations.

Besides his career in law, Chamberlain took an active part in the work of refugee agencies, private and government, national and international, Jewish and non-Jewish, which were originally established to deal with the German-Jewish refugee problem provoked by the rise to power of the Nazi party in 1933. His involvement with this problem spanned all its aspects, including both the immigration and resettlement stages.

On many occasions Chamberlain assumed the role of spokesman for the refugee organizations, interceding on their behalf with the State Department or representing the refugee cause at public functions.

His activities in refugee work lasted from 1933 until 1950, starting with his appointment in 1933 as American member of the Intergovernmental High Commission for Refugees (Jewish and others) Coming from Germany. In 1934 because of his position on the High Commission he was asked to serve as Chairman of the National Coordinating Committee, established by the Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) at the suggestion of the State Department. The National Coordinating Committee was to coordinate the work of affiliated private agencies, minimizing duplication of effort, so that the High Commission could work with them more efficiently.

Chamberlain participated in the organization and development of these agencies. He was involved in the establishment of the German Jewish Children's Aid in 1934 and was in direct contact with the Emergency Committee in Aid of Displaced Foreign Physicians from 1934 to 1939. He also took part in the founding of local groups, such as the Greater New York Committee for Refugees in 1934.

In 1939 the National Coordinating Committee was reorganized and its named changed to the National Refugee Service. Chamberlain was again appointed chairman.

In the spring of 1938, Chamberlain was asked by President Roosevelt, along with eight other leaders of organizations of religious congregations, to serve on a President’s Advisory Committee on Political Refugees. Its function was to serve as a liaison between American private agencies and the Intergovernmental Committee on Refugees created at the Evian Conference, July 1938. The President’s Advisory Committee on Political Refugees was active throughout the Roosevelt years.

In June 1944 President Roosevelt established a temporary haven at Oswego, N.Y., for about 1000 refugees, called the Fort Ontario Emergency Refugee Shelter. As a representative of the National Refugee Services and member of the President's Advisory Committee on Political Refugees, Chamberlain interceded with the War Refugee Board to improve conditions at the shelter, and was involved in both the handling of specific cases as well as major operations such as the final resettlement plan.

In August 1946 the National Refugee Service and the Service to Foreign Born Section of the National Council of Jewish Women consolidated their services and the successor organization was called the United Service for New Americans. Chamberlain was asked to be Honorary Chairman of the Board.

Throughout his period of activity as chairman of the National Coordinating Committee and National Refugee Services and member of the President's Advisory Committee on Political Refugees, Chamberlain was asked to deal with all kinds of cases which were too difficult to be solved through the regular channels. Among these were individuals with difficult visa cases, distinguished scholars displaced by events in Germany and Austria, or German-Jewish children with legal problems in the public schools. Chamberlain's case work entailed maintaining correspondence with institutions, companies, government and immigration authorities.

Subject/Index Terms

Administrative Information

Access Restrictions: Open to researchers.

Use Restrictions: There may be some restrictions on the use of the collection. For more information, contact: Chief Archivist, YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, Center for Jewish History, 15 West 16th Street, New York, NY 10011 email:archives@yivo.cjh.org

Acquisition Method: Upon his death in 1951, Chamberlain's private secretary donated a portion of his papers to the YIVO Institute.

Original/Copies Note: The collection is microfilmed, and available on MKM 4.

Related Materials: Several Record Groups in the YIVO Archives are considered to be related records to the Chamberlain papers. They are:

Preferred Citation: Published citations should take the following form: Identification of item, date (if known); YIVO Archives, Papers of Joseph Chamberlain, RG 278, folder number, YIVO Institute for Jewish Research.

Finding Aid Revision History:

Finding aid edited and enhanced under a grant From the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society [HIAS], New York, 2001.

Upon his death in 1951, Chamberlain's private secretary donated a portion of his papers to the YIVO Institute. They were arranged in 1980 under a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities and a folder level inventory was compiled. In December 2000, under a grant from the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society in New York, the collection was prepared for remicrofilming to reflect the new arrangement imposed in 1980 and the finding aid was edited.

Chana Mlotek and Fruma Mohrer proofread, verified, and corrected the final version of this finding aid.

Box and Folder Listing

Browse by Series:

Series 1: Series I: Organizational Correspondence, 1934-1951,
Series 2: Series II: Speeches, 1937-1946,
Series 3: Series III: Cases, 1934-1950,
Series 4: Series IV: Miscellaneous, 1934-1938, 1943

Series I: Organizational Correspondence 1934-1951

Series I is comprised of documents from refugee aid organizations Joseph P. Chamberlain was involved with, or had contact with. Papers to be found in this series include not only correspondence, but also minutes of meetings, clippings, reports, memorandums, statistical charts, and some financial and accounting documents.

This series describes Chamberlain's work with many humanitarian aid organizations, both Jewish and non-Jewish. Chamberlain was either on the Board of Directors or worked in an advisory capacity for all of the organizations represented in this series. The papers found here describe the work of the organizations in several spheres of humanitarian aid, most notably assistance with immigration, finances, resettlement, job placement, and housing. The minutes of meetings of these organizations give an overview of the functioning, activities, and planning of the agencies, and document the difficulties encountered by the organizations in their efforts to assist refugees fleeing Europe. Although the earliest documents focus on assisting refugees mainly from Germany or Austria, later items relate to other areas of Europe. Often, correspondence found in this series is with government representatives, including Cabinet members, Commissioners of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, and a few copies of letters by Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman, and by the Mayor of New York City, William O'Dwyer.

Prevalent in this series, in addition to the work of the relief agencies, is information on immigration to the United States, and researchers will find a great deal of material on immigration policy and visa classifications and requirements during this time period. In addition, there is a good deal of material on the refugees who were placed in upstate New York at Fort Ontario, Oswego. Documents pertaining to these refugees may be found not only in Subseries 3: Fort Ontario Shelter, Oswego, but also in Subseries 1: American Christian Committee for Refugees and Subseries 11: War Refugee Board. Another popular topic in this series is resettlement, including documents discussing resettlement options for refugees both within the United States and in foreign countries. Documents on resettlement will be found in Subseries 2, 3,5, 7,8, and 9.

Arrangement: Alphabetical by name of organization. Each organization is further divided by type of record. Chronological within each type of organizational record.

There are eleven subseries located here:

Subseries 1: American Christian Committee for Refugees Subseries 2: Emergency Committee in Aid of Displaced Foreign Physicians Subseries 3: Fort Ontario Refugee Shelter, Oswego Subseries 4: German Jewish Children's Aid Subseries 5: Intergovernmental Committee on Refugees Subseries 6: League of Nations Subseries 7: National Coordinating Committee Subseries 8: National Refugee Service Subseries 9: President's Advisory Committee on Political Refugees Subseries 10: United Service for New Americans Subseries 11: War Refugee Board

Sub-Series 1: American Christian Committee for Refugees (ACCR) undated, 1942-1947

Subseries 1 is comprised of documents pertaining to the American Christian Committee for Refugees. This subseries provides a detailed look into the work of various agencies that supported refugees, especially from Germany. Included here are various memoranda, documents from conferences concerning the refugee problems and documents focusing on the work of refugee agencies. Letters to government officials concerning refugees may also be found here, including a letter to Governor Lehman focusing on the support of refugee agencies and a letter of protest to Congressman John Lesinski, the Chairman of the House Committee on Immigration and Naturalization from 1945-1947, protesting a proposed bill to cut the immigration quotas in half.

Board of Directors minutes include organizational information such as election of officers, treasurers' reports, Presidents' reports, budget information, remarks by the secretary, the election of the Executive Committee and personnel information. They also include information on the situation of the Fort Ontario refugees residing in Oswego, New York, information on immigration to the United States from Germany, proposed by-laws for the Federation of Refugee Agencies, and a small amount of material on a few individual refugee families.

Additionally, this subseries also contains information on the American Christian Committee for Refugee's status as one of four agencies responsible for a corporate affidavit for immigration from Germany. Reports on some of the individuals supported in the affidavit program may be found here, as well as some statistical information on the program.

Arrangement: Chronological by type of material.

Folder 1: Correspondence, memos, program, 1942-1943: relating to: Joseph Perkins Chamberlain's position in American Christian Committee for Refugees (ACCR); the Refugee Conference planned by Refugee Relief Trustees
Folder 2: Correspondence, notes, memoranda and minutes of meetings. 1945
Folder 3: Minutes, correspondence, memoranda, statistical tables, 1946: relating to: Board of Directors meetings; Executive Committee meetings; general activities of the American Christian Committee for Refugees (ACCR); relationship between the Church World Service and American Christian Committee for Refugees; Correspondents: John Lesinski, House Committee on Immigration and Naturalization; Leland Robinson, American Christian Committee for Refugees
Folder 4: Minutes, correspondence, memoranda, 1947: relating to: Meetings of Board of Directors; relationship between the Church World Service and the American Christian Committee for Refugees. Correspondents include: Dr. Leland Robinson; Abbe Livingston Warnshuis, Church World Service
Folder 5: Miscellaneous records. Includes proposed by-laws for Federation of Refugee Agencies. undated

Sub-Series 2: Emergency Committee in Aid of Displaced Foreign Physicians (ECADFP) 1934-1939

This subseries holds papers pertaining to the Emergency Committee in Aid of Displaced Foreign Physicians. It details the work done by several committees to aid German refugee physicians, and to bring them to the United States to work. Documents found here include a summary of a meeting held by this committee as well as information on the committee's work. Information on physicians working in the U.S. is provided in the form of a list of requirements for practicing doctors in the U.S. and a report on state requirements for securing medical licenses for doctors. Material is also available on the sending of foreign physicians to countries in Central America. Motions developed by the Boston committee on emigrés can be found here, as well as Joseph Perkins Chamberlain's criticism of the motions. Some information on the situation at Fort Ontario will also be found here.

Arrangement: Chronological.

Folder 6: Correspondence, memoranda, reports, 1934-1936: relating to: Cases of individual physicians; procedures to obtain medical licenses in the United States; resettlement plans; placement of refugee physicians; public attitudes to the committee's work.
Folder 7: Correspondence, memoranda, reports, 1938: relating to: Cases of individual physicians; procedures to obtain medical licenses in the United States; resettlement plans; placement of refugee physicians; public attitudes to the committee's work.
Folder 8: Correspondence, memoranda, reports, 1939: relating to: Cases of individual physicians; procedures to obtain medical licenses in the United States; resettlement plans; placement of refugee physicians; public attitudes to the committee's work.

Sub-Series 3: Fort Ontario Refugee Shelter, Oswego, NY 1944-1945

Subseries 3 holds documents which describe the situation of the Fort Ontario Refugees. It contains some correspondence and several reports which discuss the circumstances of the refugees. The subseries provides information about problems some refugees had in reuniting with family members in other parts of the United States, including some whose spouses were U.S. citizens and others whose sons were serving in the military during the war. Several newspaper articles in this subseries portray the lives of the refugees and their relationship with the American residents of Oswego, N.Y. Information on the resignation of Joseph H. Smart, the director of the Fort Ontario refugee shelter may also be found here, as well as a letter to President Harry Truman. Additionally, this subseries also contains some information on the resettlement of the refugees, including statistical information and a report.

Arrangement: Chronological.

Folder 9: Correspondence, memoranda, 1944: relating to: The question of granting refugees status under immigration laws.
Folder 10: Correspondence, memoranda, clippings, minutes, government releases, 1945 Jan.-Feb.: relating to: Joseph Perkins Chamberlain's role in a special council on Oswego; contacts with Henry Morgenthau as member of War Refugee Board; the question of Yugoslav internees returning to Europe. Correspondents include: Francis Biddle, Attorney General; Ugo Carusi; Bernard Dubin, National Refugee Service (NRS); Abe Fortas, Undersecretary of the Interior; Ruth Larned, Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS); Dillon Seymour Myer, Director, War Relocation Authority; M.P. Schauffler, American Friends Service Committee (AFSC); E. J. Schaughnessy, Immigration and Naturalization Service.
Folder 11: Correspondence, minutes, reports, clippings, 1945 May-Dec.: relating to: Resignation of Joseph H. Smart, Director of the Shelter; question of returning refugees to Europe; hearings on Oswego by sub-committee of the House Congressional Committee on Immigration; activities of the Friends of Fort Ontario. Correspondents include: Dean Acheson, Acting Secretary of State; James F. Byrnes, Secretary of State; Walter Brown, Special Assistant to the Secretary of State; Bernard Dubin; Felix Frankfurter, Justice; Henry Morgenthau, Secretary of the Treasury; William O'Dwyer, Executive Director, War Refugee Board; Clarence Evan Pickett, American Friends Service Committee (AFSC); Joseph H. Smart, Director of the Oswego Refugee Shelter.
Folder 12: Correspondence, reports, memoranda, 1946: relating to: Final settlement of the Oswego refugees; role of the National Refugee Service in resettlement; Harry S. Truman's proclamation regarding resettlement; statistical breakdown by geographical location of refugees resettled; Correspondents include: Dean Acheson; Joseph Beck, National Refugee Service (NRS); Harry S. Truman.

Sub-Series 4: German Jewish Children's Aid (GJCA) 1934-1940

Subseries 4 is comprised of minutes, correspondence, and financial records pertaining to the German Jewish Children's Aid agency, which supported bringing German Jewish children to the United States.

Among the records pertaining to the management and organization of the agency are copies of the articles of incorporation and the by-laws, which will be found among the minutes of the Board of Directors meetings. The minutes also contain budgetary information and financial reports, reports of the treasurers, reports of the executive committees, reports of the executive director, and information on fundraising. Material on publicity of the organization and on the formation of committees and sub-committees will also be found here.

The correspondence of this subseries covers a range of topics. Prominent among the first folder of correspondence is the discussion of immigration policies and placing of children with families. Another topic is the legal question of whether or not the refugees would have to pay tuition to attend the free public schools. Other agencies that assisted children are also reflected in the correspondence. In addition, there is information on refugee children in Cuba and on the Julian W. Mack school in Palestine. Information on the source of funding for the agency is also located here.

Financial records to be found here include statements of the agency's financial condition, balances, disbursements for steamship tickets and information about guarantee fund reserves and assets. The financial records consist primarily of receipts from contributors.

Arrangement: Subseries 4 has 3 parts, each of which is arranged chronologically: Minutes;Correspondence; and Financial Reports.

: A) Minutes

Folder 13: Minutes. 1934-1936: Relating to: Meetings of Board of Directors; preliminary meeting to discuss formation of German Jewish Children's Aid (GJCA); official approval of certificate for German Jewish Children's Aid. Included are a report and a clipping.
Folder 14: Minutes. 1937-1938: Board of Directors meetings.
Folder 15: Minutes. 1939-1940: Meetings of Board of Directors; meetings of various committees and sub-committees.

: B) Correspondence

Folder 16: Correspondence. 1934: Relating to: Contacts with Frances Perkins, Secretary of Labor, for approval of plans to form German Jewish Children's Aid; contacts with Daniel William MacCormack in elaborating these plans. Correspondents include: Joseph C. Hyman, American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (AJDC); Solomon Lowenstein, Federation for the Support of Jewish Philanthropic Societies (FSJPS) of New York, N.Y., Chairman, German Jewish Children's Aid (GJCA); Daniel William MacCormack, Commissioner, Immigration and Naturalization Services (INS); Frances Perkins, Secretary of Labor; Cecilia Razovsky, National Coordinating Committee (NCC), German Jewish Children's Aid, National Refugee Service (NRS); Felix Warburg, American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (AJDC).
Folder 17: Minutes. 1935: Includes: Children's Fund of Michigan.
Folder 18: Minutes. 1937-1938: Relating to: Cases of German-Jewish children encountering legal difficulties in public school systems. Correspondents include: Samuel A. Goldsmith, Executive Director, Jewish Charities of Chicago; Joseph Hyman; Morris Klass, Director, Jewish Social Service Agency, Washington, D.C.; Cecilia Razovsky; E. J. Schanfarber, United Jewish Fund of Columbus.
Folder 19: Minutes. 1939-1940: Relating to: Attitude of the American Federation of Labor to refugees; legal situation of children; procedures for admission into the country; Brith-Sholom Lodge's (Philadelphia) plan to bring German-Jewish children into the USA; aid for children at the Julian W. Mack School and Workshop, Jerusalem, Palestine. Correspondents include: William Green, American Federation of Labor; James L. Houghteling, Commissioner, Immigration and Naturalization Services (INS); Alvin Johnson, New School for Social Research; Deborah Kallen, Principal, Julian Mack School; Jacob Kepecs, Jewish Children's Bureau, Chicago; Frances Perkins; Cecilia Razovsky; A.M. Warren, Visa Division, Chief.

: C) Financial Reports

Folder 20: Financial Reports, 1935-37. 1935-1937: Financial audit of the books of the German Jewish Children's Aid (GJCA).

Sub-Series 5: Intergovernmental Committee on Refugees (ICR) 1945-1950

Subseries 5 is comprised of documents which describe the situation of German refugees who had fled to Latin America. The bulk of the documents consist of correspondence with Martha Biehle. These refugees were placed in internment camps as enemy nationals, in spite of the fact that sons of some of the internees served in the U.S. Army. The material on the Intergovernmental Committee on Refugees also includes a copy of a proclamation by President Truman concerning the establishment of internment camps in the United States for nationals with whose country the United States was at war, including Japan, Germany, Italy, Bulgaria, Hungary, and Rumania.

Arrangement: Subseries 5 is divided into two parts, each of which is arranged chronologically: Published Reports andCorrespondence.

: A) Published Reports

Folder 21: Report by M.M. Hansson, Chairman, Technical Subcommittee of the Intergovernmental Committee, Evian, July, 1938. Proceedings of the Intergovernmental Committee on Refugees (ICR). Record of the plenary meetings of the Committee, Evian, July 1938. 1938
Folder 22: Report of the Fourth Plenary Session of the Intergovernmental Committee on Refugees (ICR), London, 1944. Report of the Fifth Plenary Session, Paris, 1945. 1944-1945

: B) Correspondence

Folder 23: Correspondence. 1945-1947: Relates to: Einsenhower's Law No. 1 which rescinded denationalization laws passed by Hitler; statelessness; migration of displaced persons to Brazil; the question of repatriation or resettlement; agreement for migration of displaced persons to Venezuela; absorption of Intergovernmental Committee on Refugee's (ICR) functions by the United Nations. Correspondents: Martha H. Biehle, American Resident Representative, Intergovernmental Committee on Refugees, Washington D.C.
Folder 24: Correspondence. 1947-1950: Relates to individual cases. Correspondents include: Ruth Larned, International Social Service (ISS); Morton W. Royce, Intergovernmental Committee on Refugees (ICR), Italy.

Sub-Series 6: League of Nations 1935

Subseries 6 is comprised of only one folder and holds documents pertaining to the League of Nations. Among the documents to be found in this subseries is a statement by James G. McDonald, the High Commissioner for Refugees Coming from Europe. There is also a copy of a report on the Sub-Committee on International Assistance to Refugees. Some documents here discuss the development of the High Commission, and there is correspondence between Joseph Perkins Chamberlain and James G. McDonald concerning the establishment of the sub-committee.

Folder 25: Correspondence, printed matter, reports. 1935: Correspondents include: James Clement Dunn, Department of State James G. McDonald, High Commissioner for Refugees.

Sub-Series 7: National Coordinating Committee (NCC) 1934-1940

The work of the National Coordinating Committee for Aid to Refugees and Emigrants Coming from Germany is represented in Subseries 7. The minutes found in this subseries describe the work of this committee, which served as a coordinating body for the work of numerous other aid organizations. The detailed minutes of this Committee, which was made up of representatives from other refugee agencies, discuss the organization, purpose, and setup of the committee. James G. McDonald, the High Commissioner for Refugees Coming from Europe, who served with Joseph Perkins Chamberlain on the National Coordinating Committee, saw the committee as a bureau to locate homes for the thousands of refugees as well as a job placement bureau. However, the minutes describe the committee as being important in various other types of work, including the organization of local New York relief organizations. The minutes also include information on such topics as the Special Relief Fund, the acquiring of licenses for dentists, and on the solving of basic organizational issues.

Organizational records of the Committee include not only basic documents, such as the certificate of incorporation, but also correspondence, reports, and lists. Much of the correspondence concerns the importance of coordinating the work of various agencies. Reports discuss the situation of German refugees in the United States, including statistical information on the refugees and their adjustment. A report on the Committee discusses the reason for the creation of the Greater New York Coordinating Committee, and contains information on other committees as well as on the resettlement committee, which focused on relieving the over-concentration of refugees in the New York City area. Some information is available on meetings and memorials upon the death of Felix M. Warburg. Among these records is also information on budgetary issues, and a directory of chairmen of the coordinating and resettlement committees.

This subseries also holds two folders of immigration records, including statistical information on immigrants, with details such as the immigrants' class, occupation, nationality, and final destination. Information is available here on the immigration process, and the subseries contains a chart of visa types and information on various individual immigration cases. Samples of bond forms and information on bonds will also be found here. Other immigration material located in this subseries includes statistical information on immigrants containing the following information: visa classification, last residences, gender, and nationality. A newsclipping on refugees will also be found here.

One folder on the Royal Institute for International Affairs is also located in this subseries. It is mainly comprised of correspondence about the situation of White Russians in Japan-occupied China and a survey of refugees.

Arrangement: This subseries is divided into four smaller parts: Minutes, Organizational Records, Immigration Records, and the Royal Institute for International Affairs.

: A) Minutes

Folder 26: Minutes. 1934: Preliminary meeting called to form National Coordinating Committee; meeting of Executive Committee of the Board of Directors. Includes Report of the National Coordinating Committee Executive Director.
Folder 27: Minutes. 1935-1936: Relates to: Board of Directors; Committee of German-Jewish Immigration Policy Allocations Committee.
Folder 28: Minutes. 1937-1939: Relates to: Meeting, Board of Directors; Subcommittee on Physicians and Scholars of the Allocations Committee; meeting, Executive Committee; meeting, conference with the National Council of Jewish Women.

: B) Organizational Records

Folder 29: Certificate of incorporation. Lists 1934: relating to: establishment and incorporation of National Coordinating Committee; establishment of the Greater New York Committee for the Aid of German-Jewish Refugees. Correspondents include: J.C. Hyman, American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (AJDC); Solomon Lowenstein; James G. McDonald; Clarence E. Pickett, American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (AJDC); David Sulzberger, Greater New York Committee; George L. Warren, International Migration Service.
Folder 30: Correspondence, reports, memos, minutes, 1937-1938: relating to: Structure of the National Coordinating Committee; National Coordinating Committee activities; Felix Warburg's death; activities of the Greater New York Committee; organizations affiliated with the National Coordinating Committee. Correspondents include: Mrs. Felix Warburg.

: C) Immigration Records

Folder 31: Statistical tables, correspondence, application forms, regulations, summaries, 1934-1935: relating to: Breakdown of occupations of aliens; individual visa cases; regulations concerning bonds and transit aliens. Correspondents include: Paul Baerwald; Daniel William MacCormack, Commissioner, Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS).
Folder 32: Memoranda, correspondence, reports, application forms, bond forms, statistical tables, 1936-1938: relating to: Rules for bonds; affidavit forms; statistics on number of aliens admitted; contract marriages abroad. Correspondents include: Cecilia Razovsky; E. J. Schaughnessy, Acting Commissioner, Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS).

: D) Royal Institute for International Affairs

Folder 33: Correspondence, memoranda, reports, 1937-1939: relating to: The Refugee Survey. Correspondents include: Sir John Hope Simpson, Director of the Survey; Otto M. Schiff.

Sub-Series 8: National Refugee Service (NRS) undated, 1939-1945

Documents pertaining to the National Refugee Service are comprised of minutes, administrative and functional records, miscellaneous administrative records, and immigration records.

Among the minutes to be found here are those of the Board of Directors meetings, as well as those of the Executive Committee. Minutes discuss activities and events of the National Refugee Service. The minutes mention relief work done for refugees, including job placement, resettlement, and financial assistance. The minutes also include reports from the treasurer, the president, the executive director, and the budget committee. Descriptions of the work of various refugee relief services are also contained here, including services for physicians, Jewish ministers, musicians, displaced foreign scholars, displaced foreign medical scientists.

Administrative and Functional Records is comprised of documents pertaining to the incorporation of the organization as well as reports and correspondence. Correspondence focuses on such topics as staff issues, letters to and from prospective members of the Board of Directors, and the division of responsibility between the National Refugee Service and other relief agencies.

Among the Miscellaneous Administrative Records are reports, a National Refugee Service Handbook, and some correspondence. Documents discuss such topics as staff services, the situation of refugees, and information on the Department Advisory Committee, with material on various committees, including the: Migration and Alien Status Committee, Family Service Committee, Employment Committee, Retraining Committee, Rabbis' Committee, Social Adjustment Committee, and the Office Management Committee. There is also some correspondence on the history of the Emergency Committee in Aid of Displaced Foreign Scholars.

Immigration Records consist mainly of correspondence, forms, and memoranda. One prominent topic found in these records is the situation facing Jewish refugees who were classified as "enemy aliens," some of whom were transferred from countries in South America. This material includes information on Jewish men interned in Camp Blanding, Florida, where they shared the camp with Nazi enemy aliens until they were transferred. Information on financial assistance provided to specific individuals and blanket bonds posted by the National Refugee Service will be found here, as well as correspondence between Joseph Perkins Chamberlain and the Department of State concerning suggested changes to be made to the Immigration and Naturalization Service's affidavit of support, along with several copies of the affidavit. Other information found here includes documents concerning a proposed questionnaire for refugees, a list of conditions which would warrant deportation, and statistical information on the number of Jews left in Europe after the end of World War II.

Four folders of documents located here pertain to the Migration and Alien Status Committee. These folders include minutes of meetings, correspondence and statistical information. The papers describe the formation and work of the committee. A list of potential members of the committee can also be found here, along with correspondence that discusses the inclusion of aliens to the committee.

Arrangement: Subseries 8 has five smaller parts: Minutes; Administrative and Functional Records; Miscellaneous Administrative Records; Immigration Records; and the Migration and Alien Status Committee.

: A) Minutes

Folder 35: Meetings of Board of Directors. Officers' Reports and Agenda for meeting, Cleveland, Ohio. Reports and agenda, annual meeting, members and Board of Directors. 1941
Folder 36: Meetings of Executive Committee. Meetings of Consultative Council. 1941 Jan.-June
Folder 37: Meetings of Executive Committee. 1941 July-Dec.
Folder 38: Meetings of Executive Committee. 1942
Folder 39: Meetings of Executive Committee. 1943
Folder 40: Meetings of Executive Committee. Meetings of National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW) and National Refugee Service (NRS). 1945

: B) Administrative and Functional Records

Folder 41: By-laws, certificate of incorporation, correspondence, lists, 1939: relating to: Incorporation of National Refugee Service; choice of Board members; relation between Council of Service to Foreign Born (CSFB) and National Refugee Service (NRS). Correspondents include: Dr. Jacob Billikopf, National Refugee Service; William Haber, National Refugee Service; Monsignor Michael J. Ready, National Catholic Welfare Conference; Emma S. Schreiber, Council of Service to the Foreign Born; George Lewis Warren, International Migration Service.
Folder 42: Correspondence, reports, mimeographed instructions, memoranda, statistical tables, 1940: relating to: Joseph Perkins Chamberlain's position on Board; sub-committee on Organization of the Consultative Council; volunteers at the National Refugee Service; division of responsibility between Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society and National Refugee Service. Correspondents include: Isaac L. Asofsky, Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society; William Haber, National Refugee Service; William Rosenwald, National Refugee Service.

: C) Miscellaneous Administrative Records

Folder 43: Reports, application form, 1941: relating to: Public relations program of National Refugee Service; application by National Refugee Service for blanket license; outline of National Refugee Service activities.
Folder 44: Progress report to Executive Director of National Refugee Service from Director of Family Services Department. 1941-1942
Folder 45: Correspondence, handbook, notes, reports, 1943, 1945: relating to: National Refugee Service staff conference; sub-committee on Consolidation of Program on behalf of refugees; meetings of Department Advisory Committees; history and formation of the National Coordinating Committee and its relationship to the High Commission. Includes: Report of Progress and Recommendations for Change in Program and Structure by Dorothy Kahn. Correspondents include: Joseph Beck, National Refugee Service; Stephen Duggan, Emergency Committee in Aid of Displaced Foreign Scholars.

: D) Immigration Records

Folder 46: Correspondence, memoranda, summaries, 1939-1940: relating to: Posting of bonds for certain individuals; meeting on restriction of visa issuance in consulates abroad; affidavits; blanket bond by National Refugee Service; Secretary of Labor's Committee on Administrative Procedures (includes summary of conditions for deportation; Presidential decrees blocking Danish, Norwegian, Dutch, Belgian, Luxembourg and French accounts). Correspondents include: William Haber, Phillip Jessup, National Refugee Service, Migration Department; Cecilia Razovsky; Ralph T. Seward, Immigration and Naturalization Service.
Folder 47: Bond forms, affidavit forms, memoranda, correspondence, 1941: relating to: Blanket bonds by the National Refugee Service; affidavit of support forms; suggested changes in American citizenship regulations. Correspondents include: Edward F. Pritchard, Immigration and Naturalization Service; Cecilia Razovsky; A.M. Warren, Chief, Visa Division, Department of State; J. Wilhelm, Department of Justice.
Folder 48: Alien questionnaire, correspondence, and printed application forms, 1941: relating to: Question of having aliens already in United States, fill out questionnaire. Correspondents include: Francis K. Biddle, Attorney General; Cecilia Razovsky; Eric M. Warburg.
Folder 49: Camp Blanding. 1942: Correspondence, lists, handwritten notes, relating to: Case of Jewish aliens of enemy nationality interned at Camp Blanding, Florida and Ft. Ogelthorpe, Georgia. Correspondents include: Francis K. Biddle; Alfred Jaretski, Jr., War Department; Henry L. Stimson, Secretary of War.
Folder 50: Statistical tables, correspondence, 1943: relating to: Statistical information on Jewish immigration. Correspondence includes: Ephraim R. Gomberg, National Refugee Service.
Folder 51: Correspondence, report, handwritten notes, copy of Presidential Proclamation, and a bulletin, 1945: relating to: South American internees; temporary visitors; Anglo-American Committee on Inquiry. Correspondents include: Dr. Frank Aydelotte, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton University; Ann S. Petluck, Director, Migration Dept., National Refugee Service, Leslie L. Rood, Anglo-American Committee on Inquiry.
Folder 52: Committee for the Study of Recent Immigration from Europe. undated: Correspondence with Archbishop Rummel relating to his statement on Committee for the Study of Recent Immigration from Europe (CSRIE) to the Committee on Immigration and Naturalization.
Folder 53: Correspondence, reports, memoranda, affidavit forms, and application forms, 1946: relating to: Latin American internees; corporate affidavits; role of Mayor of New York in official welcome of refugees; Displaced Persons sanatorium in Bern, Switzerland. Correspondents include: Joseph Beck; J.C. Hyman; William O'Dwyer, Mayor, New York City; Ann S. Petluck.

: E) Migration and Alien Status Committee

Folder 54: Agenda for meeting. Minutes of meeting. 1942
Folder 55: Agendas, minutes, memoranda, correspondence. 1943 Jan.-Mar.: Includes: Minutes of meeting of Sub-committee on Temporary Visas; agenda for the meeting of the Sub-committee on Alien Enemy Status.
Folder 56: Correspondence, memoranda, statistical tables, minutes, studies, 1943 Apr.-June: relating to: Temporary visas; delays in processing applications for visas; functions of the Migration Department, National Refugee Service?
Folder 57: Minutes, reports, correspondence, memoranda, statistics, bulletin, 1943 July-Dec.: relating to: Approval and denial of visas; study of National Refugee Service relief cases to determine public charge risks.

Sub-Series 9: President's Advisory Committee on Political Refugees (PAC) 1938-1945

The President's Advisory Committee on Political Refugees dealt with the deteriorating situation of refugees in Europe, specifically in Germany and Austria. Documents here include several folders of minutes of meetings, which describe the function and work of the Committee. In addition, there is a great deal of correspondence. Correspondence focuses on several topics, including the establishment of conferences, most notably at Evian, France and Lima, Peru, concerning the refugee situation. Another popular topic among these papers is the postwar refugee situation and the question of who would be responsible for refugees after the war. Participants in the President's Advisory Committee on Political Refugees included such dignitaries as Hamilton Fish Armstrong, Paul Baerwald, Samuel McCrea Cavert, James G. McDonald, Rabbi Stephen S. Wise, and George L. Warren.

Documents concerning projects undertaken by the Committee include information about resettlement projects in the following areas: British Guyana and Surinam; Shanghai, China; the Dominican Republic, Mindanao, Philippines; various countries in South America; and Alaska and California. These papers mainly consist of reports about the geographical areas and the likelihood of successful resettlement to those areas as well as some correspondence concerning resettlement and potential difficulties the refugees would face there. Some reports and correspondence also mention the availability or lack thereof of visas for refugees.

Topical files of this subseries deal with various sides of the refugee problem of Europe during and following the Second World War. Among numerous other topics, these files include information on proposals and plans by international organizations, governments, and private individuals to deal with the situation. Information on resettlement options for Jewish refugees will also be found in these files, including settlement in Shanghai, the Dominican Republic, and eastern Africa. Information on U.S. visas for refugees is also located in the topical files, as well as material on changes in the visa system, visa applications, statistical information on visas, and documents from the Board of Appeals on visa cases.

Arrangement: Subseries 9 has four parts: Minutes; Correspondence; Projects; and Topical Files.

: A) Minutes

Folder 58: First and second meetings, relating to: Establishment of President's Advisory Committee on Political Refugees, its functions, activities, purpose. 1938
Folder 59: Third to fourteenth meeting. 1938
Folder 60: Fifteenth to twenty-ninth meeting. 1939
Folder 61: Thirtieth to forty-second meeting. 1940
Folder 62: Forty-third to fifty-first meeting. 1941
Folder 63: Fifty-third to fifty-sixth meeting. 1942
Folder 64: Fifty-seventh to sixty-first meeting. 1943

: B) Correspondence

Folder 65: Correspondence. 1938 Mar.-May: Relates to: Registration of German nationals at German consulates abroad; emigration of Austrian Jews; list of people affiliated with interested organizations; League of Nations' attitude to Franklin Delano Roosevelt's proposal for an intergovernmental conference on refugees; question of bonds to replace personal guarantees. Correspondents include: Paul Baerwald, President's Advisory Committee on Political Refugees (PAC); Suzanne Ferriere, International Migration Service; J.C. Hyman; George S. Messersmith, Department of State; Clarence E. Pickett; Cecilia Razovsky; Franklin D. Roosevelt; George S. Warren, President's Advisory Committee on Political Refugees; John S. Winant, International Labor Organization.(ILO)
Folder 66: Correspondence. 1938 Mar.-May: Relates to: Registration of German nationals at German consulates abroad; emigration of Austrian Jews; list of people affiliated with interested organizations; League of Nations' attitude to Franklin Delano Roosevelt's proposal for an intergovernmental conference on refugees; question of bonds to replace personal guarantees. Correspondents include: Paul Baerwald, President's Advisory Committee on Political Refugees (PAC); Suzanne Ferriere, International Migration Service; J.C. Hyman; George S. Messersmith, Department of State; Clarence E. Pickett; Cecilia Razovsky; Franklin D. Roosevelt; George S. Warren, President's Advisory Committee on Political Refugees; John S. Winant, International Labor Organization.(ILO)
Folder 67: Correspondence, reports, drafts of statements, statistics, lists, 1938 June-Dec.: relating to: Evian Conference; membership of the President's Advisory Committee on Political Refugees (PAC); Lima Conference on refugees. Correspondents include: Lawrence Duggan, American Legation, Lima, Peru; Cordell Hull, Secretary of State; J.C. Hyman; George Rublee, Director of Intergovernmental Committee on Refugees (ICR); George L. Warren; Rabbi Jonah B. Wise.
Folder 68: Correspondence, memos, reports, 1939: relating to: Interview with Dr. Hjalmar Schacht by American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) members; Red Cross in Hungary; legal problems affecting German-Jewish students in the United States. Correspondents include: Theodore C. Achilles, Department of State; Norman Bentwich; James G. McDonald; James L. Houghteling, Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS); Walter M. Kotschnig, professor; Edward J. Shaughnessy, Deputy Commissioner, Immigration and Naturalization Service; Robert Yarnall, American Friends Service Committee.
Folder 69: Correspondence. 1940: Relates to: Joseph Perkins Chamberlain's contacts with George L. Warren during the former's stay at Oxford University as Eastman Professor; Dominican Project. Correspondents include: Cordell Hull; G. L. Warren.
Folder 70: Correspondence, minutes, clipping, 1941: relating to: Visa recommendations; visa rules; meeting in Washington, D.C. preceding President's Advisory Committee on Political Refugees (PAC) Conference with President Roosevelt. Correspondents include: George L. Warren, President's Advisory Committee on Political Refugees.
Folder 71: Correspondence, memos, reports, 1942: relating to: S.S. San Thome Crisis; rescue of children in Southwestern Europe; planning for post-war problems. Correspondents include: Joseph F. Rummel, Archbishop of New Orleans; Pierre Waelbroeck, International Labor Organization (ILO); George L. Warren.
Folder 72: Correspondence, memos, reports, clippings, 1943: relating to: Postwar refugee problems; question of assumption of post-war refugee responsibility by International Labor Organization (ILO); hearings before the Committee of Foreign Affairs, House of Representatives, about rescue of Jewish and other peoples in Nazi territory; Bermuda Conference. Correspondents include: Charles J. Liebman, Refugee Economic Corporation; Breckinridge Long, Assistant Secretary of State; James G. McDonald, President's Advisory Committee on Political Refugees (PAC), chairman; George L. Warren; Sumner Welles, Under Secretary of State.
Folder 73: Correspondence, 1944-1945: relating to: Future of President's Advisory Committee on Political Refugees (PAC); functions, membership of President's Advisory Committee on Political Refugees. Correspondents include: Joseph C. Grew, Under Secretary of State; James G. McDonald.

: C) Projects

Folder 74: British Guyana (and Surinam): 1938: Memos, clippings, reports, correspondence. Correspondents: Sir Arthur Salter, Member of British Parliament.
Folder 75: British Guiana (and Surinam): 1939: Correspondence, reports, telegrams, memoranda.
Folder 76: China, Shanghai: 1939: Paraphrase of a telegram on influx of refugees to Shanghai.
Folder 77: Dominican Republic. Minutes, reports, interview, agreement, 1939-1940: relating to: Report on trip to Dominican Republic; interview with General Rafael L. Trujillo
Folder 78: Mindanao: Memorandum on settlement possibilities by Isaiah Bowman.
Folder 79: South America [Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, general]. Correspondence, cables, brochures 1938-1939: relating to: Licensing of Argentinian dentists; press campaign against Jewish immigration in Bolivia; Brazilian agricultural possibilities; Venezuelan trip; work permit and citizenship situation in South America and Central American countries.
Folder 80: United States of America, Alaska. Memoranda, correspondence, minutes, 1938-1939: relating to: Plans submitted by individuals; effect of United States immigration laws on settlement possibilities in Alaska.
Folder 81: United States of America, California. 1938: Correspondence, prospectus.
Folder 82: Miscellaneous. Minutes, clippings, correspondence, 1938-1939: relating to: Meeting, including progress reports on most of the projects; role of American and Belgian Red Cross.

: D) Topical Files

Folder 83: Notes, memoranda, list, statements to the press, excerpts from news releases, clippings, cables, 1938: relating to: Plans for formation of international organization to deal with refugee question; proposals by private individuals on dealing with refugee problems; material prepared by President's Advisory Committee on Political Refugees (PAC) for Myron C. Taylor at Evian; statistics on emigrants from Vienna; Taylor's address at Evian; Capital Transfer Plan for German-Austrian Refugees.
Folder 84: Reports, memoranda, news releases, clippings, 1939: relating to: refugee situation in Poland; Jews in Shanghai; Dominican Refugee Settlement Project; President's talk with members of Intergovernmental Committee on Refugees (ICR) dividing refugee problem into short range and long range aspects of refugee problem; summaries of President's Advisory Committee on Political Refugees (PAC) activities; Schacht Plan.
Folder 85: Report, clipping, 1940: relating to: agricultural possibilities at Sosúa, Santo Domingo; changes in the visa system.
Folder 86: News releases, correspondence, memoranda, statistics, 1941: relating to: the S.S. Quanza; photos of President's Advisory Committee on Political Refugees (PAC) members; Interamerican Jewish Conference, Baltimore; statistics on visas.
Folder 87: Memos, statistics, report, press release, clipping, 1938, 1942-1943: relating to: Passengers on the steamers "G" and "S.P." affected by Cuban decree prohibiting further immigration of enemy aliens; especially endangered refugees in religious, political and artistic groups; Board of Appeals on visa cases; Greek and Polish refugees in the Near East placed in East Africa and the Belgian Congo; Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938.
Folder 88: Miscellaneous materials 1940s: relating to: Policy on visa applications.

Sub-Series 10: United Service for New Americans (USNA) 1944-1951

Documents in this subseries pertain to the United Service for New Americans and include minutes of meetings, correspondence, clippings, memoranda, among other documents. Topics to be found here include the function and purpose of the organization, the consolidation of the organization with other immigrant aid agencies, and the Board of Directors and officers. Additionally, there is a letter from Joseph Perkins Chamberlain thanking Dwight D. Eisenhower for a speech he planned to give at a United Jewish Appeal meeting. This subseries also holds several documents and clippings concerning remarks made by the British Foreign Secretary, Ernest Bevin, and the response to these remarks by the National Refugee Service (NRS) and President Truman.

Folder 89: Minutes, 1947: relating to: Meeting of Executive Committee, includes report by Budget Committee and report by Joseph Beck to Executive Committee on the function of the executive office of United Service for New Americans (USNA).
Folder 90: Correspondence, leaflets, printed brochures, printed booklet, mimeographed news bulletin, memos, 1946 Aug.-1947 Jan.: relating to: Consolidation of services of National Refugee Service (NRS) and Service to the Foreign Born of the National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW); purpose and function of United Service for New Americans (USNA); Correspondents include: Joseph Beck; Edwin Rosenberg, United Service for New Americans.
Folder 91: News bulletins, clippings, correspondence, memoranda, 1947 Feb.-July: relating to: National Refugee Services' (NRS) reaction to Mr. Ernest Bevin's remarks on immigration to the United States of America; correspondence with General Dwight Eisenhower concerning United Jewish Appeal (UJA) dinner speech. Correspondents include: General Eisenhower; George C. Marshall, Secretary of State; Reuben B. Resnick, United Service for New Americans (USNA).
Folder 92: Correspondence, statement, memoranda 1948-1949: relating to: Formation of Migration Advisory Committee, United Service New Americans (USNA); merger negotiations with Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS); New York Association for New Americans (NYANA). Correspondents include: Joseph Beck; Henry C. Bernstein, United Jewish Appeal (UJA); Edwin Rosenberg; William Rosenwald.
Folder 93: Correspondence and lists 1950-1951: relating to: Individual United Service for New Americans (USNA) case; Joseph Perkins Chamberlain's position on Board of Directors; United Service for New Americans officers. Correspondents include: Walter H. Bieringer, United Service for New Americans; Arthur Greenleigh, United Service for New Americans.

Sub-Series 11: War Refugee Board (WRB) 1944

Subseries 11 consists of documents pertaining to the War Refugee Board created by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The Board consisted of the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, and the Secretary of War, and was designed to assist the persecuted people of Europe after World War II. Most of the papers found here describe the creation and activities of the War Refugee Board. Subseries 11 also include a detailed description of the concentration camps at Auschwitz (Oświęcim) and Birkenau and a copy of a letter by President Roosevelt to Congress discussing the persecutions in Europe.

Folder 94: Brochures, clippings, notes, bulletin, release, cablegrams, reports, 1944: relating to: Establishment of War Refugee Board; Refugee Shelter, Fort Ontario, Oswego; Report on Auschwitz and Birkenau. Correspondents include: John Pehle, executive director of War Refugee Board.

Series II: Speeches 1937-1946

Series II is comprised of documents used in speeches and publicity of the refugee problem.

The central topic in this series is publicity of the plight of the refugees who were escaping from Europe, as well as on conditions in Europe and the flight of the refugees. A great deal of statistical data and reports will also be found in this series. Several folders contain articles and clippings which claim that during the 1930s the number of immigrants to the United States was actually declining, and that U.S. residents should not be concerned that refugees from Europe would take employment away from them. Several articles also focus on the ability of refugees to assimilate into American society, specifically in folders 100, 102, and 104; the latter has a short story entitled "Katie Stieglitz" written by Sholom Asch. Several folders also contain information about the events which took place in Europe under the Nazis. Folder 95 contains a detailed report of conditions in a concentration camp by a survivor of Buchenwald, andfolder 105 has a description of the battle of the Warsaw ghetto.

Information on attempts to resettle in South and Central America is also located in Series II. Folder 98 holds a report concerning "Disorganized Panic Emigration" to South American countries whilefolder 97 discusses the possibility of Lower California becoming a refuge for Jewish refugees.

A report on the "S.S. St. Louis incident" can be found in folder 100. TheS.S. St. Louis was an ocean liner which carried more than 500 Jewish passengers from Germany to Cuba in 1939. Once in Cuba most passengers were denied landing rights by the Cuban government in spite of negotiations by the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee. The ship's captain then attempted to bring the S.S. St. Louis to Florida, but was refused entry into American waters. TheS.S. St. Louis returned to Europe, where the refugees were granted temporary shelter in Great Britain, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France.

Arrangement: Chronological.

Folder 95: Speeches. Reports, correspondence, clippings, 1937: relating to: Statistics on number of aliens in prison; anti-Jewish campaign in Mexico; granting of visas in Switzerland. Correspondents include: Austin Harbutt MacCormick, Dept. of Correction, New York.
Folder 96: Speeches. Report, notes, correspondence, clippings, bulletin, press statements 1938 Jan.-June: relating to: Conversation between Lord Rothschild and former inmate of Buchenwald; invitations to Joseph Perkins Chamberlain to speak on refugee problem; Schacht Plan (Dr. Hjalmar Schacht). Correspondents include: Friedrich Borchardt, National Coordinating Committee (NCC); Maurice L. Goldman, National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW); William Rosenwald, National Coordinating Committee; George L. Warren.
Folder 97: Speeches. Bulletin, press statements, memoranda, printed booklets, clippings, 1938 Oct.-Dec.: relating to: German and Austrian refugees; Lower California as possible resettlement location; radio address by Myron C. Taylor; issue of refugees taking jobs away from native Americans; General information and statistics on refugees.
Folder 98: Speeches. Correspondence, booklets, printed matter, statistics, 1939 Jan.-Feb.: relating to: Agencies cooperating with National Coordinating Committee (NCC); progress of immigration to South America; opposition of American Coalition to admission of German-Jewish children to United States.
Folder 99: Speeches. Clippings, correspondence, releases, bulletin, 1939 Mar.-May: relating to: Erroneous publicity about aliens, statistics on Jewish physicians, question of refugees replacing American job holders. Correspondents include: John A. Martin, House of Representatives.
Folder 100: Speeches, booklets, bulletins, report, releases, conference papers, memos, clippings, 1939 June-Dec.: relating to: Anti-Semitism; race theory; " St. Louis" crisis; adjustment of German refugees; New York City Conference on the Emigré and the Community.
Folder 101: Speeches. Printed booklets, bulletins, clippings, brochure, 1930s: relating to: Removal of immigration restrictions; Benjamin Franklin's alleged speech against Jews; Fund raising appeals by the National Coordinating Committee (NCC). Includes: Facts and Speech Material, Speakers Bureau, New York, United Jewish Appeal (UJA).
Folder 102: Clippings, speeches, minutes, correspondence, reprints of articles, 1940: relating to: "Immigrants and the English Language," address by Herbert Hoover. Includes: The Émigré Physician in American Medicine, by David L. Edsall, M.D.
Folder 103: Speeches. 1941: Includes: The Émigré Physician by David L. Edsall and Tracy L. Putnam, M.D.
Folder 104: Speeches. 1943: Clipping: Story by Sholem Asch about a refugee immigrant.
Folder 105: Speeches, booklet, clippings, correspondence. 1944-1946: Includes: Address by Earl G. Harrison, Commissioner of Immigration and Naturalization; The Battle of the Warsaw Ghetto, by S. Mendelsohn, YIVO; pamphlet by Women's International League for Peace and Freedom; correspondence on articles attacking "refugee landlords."

Series III: Cases 1934-1950

Series III holds papers dealing with Joseph Perkins Chamberlain's efforts to assist individual refugee scholars. Most of the cases involve assisting refugees in acquiring visas, positions, or financial assistance while they continued their studies or research on a particular topic. Much of the correspondence includes letters of reference or recommendations written by Chamberlain.

This series is particularly strong in providing an insight into the trials and difficulties faced by scholars attempting to come to the United States at this time. All of the scholars represented here were either European lawyers, or had as their main topic of study a theme having to do with the law. Much of the correspondence is between Joseph Perkins Chamberlain and members of the Emergency Committee for Displaced Foreign Scholars (ECADFS), who often assisted scholars in receiving their visas. Chamberlain's efforts were also responsible for finding employment for most of the scholars.

The names of individuals with private case files in this collection are restricted. Please contact the YIVO Archives for further information on individual scholars Joseph Perkins Chamberlain assisted.

Arrangement: Alphabetical.

Folder 106: Bloch, Siegmund 1936-1937
Folder 107: Engel, Salo 1948-1950
Folder 108: Fried, Hans Ernest 1938-1943
Folder 109: Glatzel, Ferdinand 1948-1949
Folder 110: Gallen, Joseph; Dr. Griffel 1948-1949
Folder 111: Gallen, Joseph; Dr. Griffel 1941-1945
Folder 112: Hirschfeld, Erwin 1934-1936
Folder 113: Knoepfmacher, Hugo 1940-1945
Folder 114: Koessler, Maximillian 1942-1945
Folder 115: Kutsheroff, Samuel 1946
Folder 116: Laserson, Max (and Alfred Reis) 1942-1946
Folder 117: Lips, Julius 1936-1947
Folder 118: Pollaczek, Gustav 1942-1944
Folder 119: Rashba, Evsey S. 1946-1947
Folder 120: Rabel, Ernst 1942-1945
Folder 121: Rava, Paul B. 1940-1945
Folder 122: Rheinstein, Max 1934
Folder 123: Sanger, Dr. and Mrs. 1946-1947
Folder 124: Sereni, Angelo Piero 1940-1945
Folder 125: Weiss, Marie 1942-1945
Folder 126: Wilk, Kurt 1939
Folder 127: Wohl, Kurt 1942
Folder 128: Wohl, Paul 1938-1945

Series IV: Miscellaneous 1934-1938, 1943

Series IV holds two folders of material. Folder 129 is comprised of blank letterhead from the American Council of Learned Societies. Folder 130 contains information on a petition organized by YIVO in New York and signed by 2007 scholars affiliated with academic institutions across the United States and presented to President Franklin D. Roosevelt on behalf of Jews in Nazi-controlled areas of Europe. The petition asks the president to let the German people know that their government is persecuting Jews and requests that he find new ways for America to help rescue the Jewish people of Europe.

Arrangement: Chronological.

Folder 129: Miscellaneous correspondence. Blank letterhead of the American Council of Learned Societies 1941-1943
Folder 130: Petition by YIVO to the President of the United States. 1943