Guide to the Papers of Joseph A. Rosen ( 1877-1949 ), 1911-1943 (bulk 1922-1938) RG 358

Processed by Marek Web

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 Faige Lederman as Word document in August 2003. Electronic finding aid was converted to EAD 2002 by Stanislav Pejša in December 2003. Description is in English.

Collection Overview

Title: Guide to the Papers of Joseph A. Rosen ( 1877-1949 ), 1911-1943 (bulk 1922-1938) RG 358

Predominant Dates:bulk 1922-1938

ID: RG 358 FA

Creator: Rosen, Joseph, A., 1877-1949

Extent: 18.75 Linear Feet

Arrangement:

At the time of the accession of the Joseph A. Rosen papers a general description of contents was made, but no particular arrangement procedures were applied to the collection. The papers were eventually inventoried and microfilmed in 1976 under a special grant from the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee. The transliteration of Russian and Ukrainian personal and geographical names was adjusted according to ALA - LC Romanization tables in 2003. The Russian form of the geographic names was, however, preserved, since that is the form in which they appear in the collection, but where applicable the contemporary form in Ukrainian is added in parentheses.

The collection is divided into five topical series.

Languages: Russian, English, German, Ukrainian, Yiddish, French, Spanish

Abstract

Joseph A. Rosen was an agronomist and official of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee. In the 1920s and 1930s he organized and coordinated relief activities for impoverished Jews in the Soviet Union. Joseph A. Rosen was a director of the American Jewish Joint Agricultural Corporation (Agro-Joint) that tried to develop Jewish settlements and assisted with organization of Jewish factories, cooperatives, schools, and health care facilities. All these subjects are covered in this collection. These are the papers of Joseph A. Rosen in his official capacity as a Director of the Agro-Joint. The collection contains agreements between Agro-Joint and the Soviet government, reports, and field observations of the agronomists and officials of the relief organizations, particularly of the Agro-Joint, technical reports and documentation necessary for development and financial sustainability of the Jewish settlements. Maps and landscape plans are also part of this collection.

Scope and Contents of the Materials

The Joseph A. Rosen Papers are in fact an organic part of the records of Agro-Joint. With the exception of a few personal documents and miscellaneous items, these are the files of the Agro-Joint Director, consisting of correspondence, memoranda, minutes, reports and a variety of other documents. A small portion of the records pertains to the period before 1924. The Joseph A. Rosen Papers remain a key record group for studying the history of Jewish colonization in the Soviet Union.

Joseph A. Rosen was often addressed as Iosif Borisovich in Russian-language correspondence and documents.

Historical Note

Biographical Note Joseph A. Rosen was born in Moscow in 1877. He studied agronomic sciences in Russia and Germany. Joseph A. Rosen was exiled to Siberia for his political involvement with the Russian Social-Democratic Party ( Mensheviks ). In 1903 he emigrated to the United States. He completed his agronomic training here. Joseph A. Rosen gained international renown in the field of agriculture after he developed a new variety of winter rye which was named "Rosen Rye" after him and which was widely used by U.S. farmers.

Joseph A. Rosen joined the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (AJDC) Russian Unit in 1921, and in August of that year was invited by Colonel W.N. Haskel of the American Relief Administration (ARA) to join this organization as the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee representative. When the American Relief Administration ceased to operate in the Soviet Union, Joseph A. Rosen remained with the AJDC Russian Unit which continued its work by special agreement with the Soviet government. As one of the authors of the AJDC Reconstruction program, Joseph A. Rosen began to import from the United States corn seed and modern machinery, especially tractors, to help the Jewish colonies in the Ukraine. At the same time he explored the possibilities of Jewish colonization on a large scale in the Soviet Union as a measure against rapid pauperization of the Jewish masses. In his reports to the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee he recommended full support for a massive colonization program.

When the American Jewish Joint Agricultural Corporation (Agro-Joint) was founded in 1924, Joseph A. Rosen became its director. In this capacity he served until the last years of his life. Joseph A. Rosen died in New York in 1949.

Historical Note The American Jewish Joint Agricultural Corporation, known also as the Agro-Joint, was established by the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee as its operating agency in the Soviet Union on July 17, 1924 with the aim of carrying on and developing on a large scale the land settlement of Jews in the Soviet Union. The Agro-Joint was also to conduct non-agricultural activities such as general relief, professional training and, especially in the 1930s, industrialization.

The Agro-Joint entered into its first agreement with the Soviet Government on November 29, 1924. Other agreements that provided for the extension of Agro-Joint's work were concluded on: January 31, 1927; January 15, 1929; March 22-April 14, 1933. The terms of the cessation of Agro-Joint's activities in the Soviet Union were established in the agreement of October 1, 1938. The Agro-Joint discontinued its work in the Soviet Union in 1939.

On the Soviet side, all agreements were countersigned by the Government sponsored Committee for the Settlement of Toiling Jews on Land under the Presidium of the Council of Nationalities of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR ( Komitet po zemel´nomu ustroistvu trudiashchikhsia evreev pri Prezidiume Soveta natsional´nostei TSIK SSSR , KOMZET). This agency, established by the government on August 29, 1924, was to have an over-all control over the colonization process.

Under the auspices of KOMZET, a semi-voluntary All-Union Society for Land Settlement of Jewish Workers in the USSR ( Vsesoiuznoe obshchestvo po zemel´nomu ustroistvu trudiashchikhsia evreev v SSSR , OZET) was also organized in January 1925 with the aim of promoting the idea of colonization among Jewish masses and recruiting new settlers. The Agro-Joint conducted its work in the Soviet Union mainly through its own organization consisting of the following elements: Directorate – a collective body entitled to executive decisions (Joseph A. Rosen, (director); Samuel E. Liubarskii, agricultural department; E.A. Grower, non-agricultural activities; I.M. Ratner, finances and administration) Main Office (AMO) located in Moscow Regional (district) offices in Kherson for the Kherson province; in Krivoi Rog (Kryvyi Rih) for the Ekaterinoslav province; in Simferopol' for Crimea. Outside of those districts, there were also several "special" projects, namely the hop-growing colonies in Volyn' (Vohlynia), grape and fruit plantations in the sandy district of the Lower Dniepr, Chalutzim settlements in Kuban district and Turkestan, ORT colonies in Odessa province and in Belorussia. Agro-sectors (agro-uchastok) consisting of several settlements that were under the supervision of an Agro-Joint agronomist Beside colonization, the Agro-Joint assisted a network of Jewish mutual aid societies, medical establishments, kindergartens, professional schools and loan associations.

In 1929 Joseph A. Rosen suggested the establishment of the Industrial Fund to help Soviet Jews to find their way to industry. Due to the discouraging political atmosphere in the Soviet Union, this plan was eventually abandoned by the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (AJDC) leadership. Nonetheless, the Industrialization Department of the Agro-Joint was instrumental in the vocational training of Jewish youths and in creating a number of Jewish workshops. In 1928, when some 100,000 Jews were already settled, Rosen came forward with a proposal to enlarge the colonization by finding new sources of financing the project (up to 1928 all funds came from direct American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee appropriations). The new sums were to be raised among a small group of private subscribers who would receive in return from the Soviet government interest bearing bonds. Thus, the American Society for Jewish Farm Settlements (ASJFS or AMSOJEFS) was incorporated in 1928 with James N. Rosenberg as its president.

The American Society for Jewish Farm Settlements (ASJFS) concluded an agreement with the Soviet Government on January 15, 1929 providing $1,000,000 per annum over the period of 10 years that the American Society for Jewish Farm Settlements would raise funds for the colonization. The Agro-Joint was named as the operating agency of the American Society for Jewish Farm Settlements. The worsening economic conditions in the United States and the death of Julius Rosenwald in 1932, who was the single largest contributor to ASJFS (he pledged $5,000,000), caused modification of the terms of the agreement and the signing of a supplementary agreement in 1933. The American Society for Jewish Farm Settlements ceased to operate in 1935 after raising nearly $8,000,000. Altogether, between 1924 and 1938 the Agro-Joint administered some $16,000,000 for all its activities in the Soviet Union. After 1939 the Agro-Joint operated for a number of years in Latin America seeking to settle German-Jewish refugees. The new project never went beyond its initial stage. The Agro-Joint was dissolved in 1954.

Subject/Index Terms

20th Century, Alaska, American Jewish Joint Agricultural Corporation, American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, American Relief Administration, American Society for Jewish Farm Settlements in Russia, British Guyana, Charities, Documents - land surveys, Photographs - Photographic prints, Rhodesia, Santo Domingo, Vsesoiuznoe obshchestvo po zemel´nomu ustroistvu trudiashchikhsia evreev v SSSR (OZET)

Administrative Information

Access Restrictions: Open to researchers by appointment with a YIVO archivist.

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

Acquisition Method: The Joseph A. Rosen Papers were donated to the YIVO Archives in 1956 by Joseph A. Rosen's widow, Catharina Rosen.

Separated Materials: Photographs in the Joseph A. Rosen Collection were removed to the YIVO Photo and Film Collection and labelled RG 358. For more information contact the Chief Archivist or the Photo Archivist.

Original/Copies Note: This collection has been microfilmed and is available on 32 Microfilm reels MK 469.1 to MK 469.32.

Related Materials: Records of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (AJDC) RG 335.

Preferred Citation: Published citations should take the following form:Identification of item, date (if known); YIVO Archives, Joseph A. Rosen Papers, RG 358, folder number.

Box and Folder Listing

Browse by Series:

Series 1: Series I: Records of the Director of the American Jewish Joint Agricultural Corporation (Agro-Joint), 1922-1944,
Series 2: Series II: Records of the Agro-Joint Agricultural Department, n.d., 1923-1937,
Series 3: Series III: Records of the Agro-Joint Relief and Industrialization Department, 1924-1928,
Series 4: Series IV: Photographic Files, 1920-1930,
Series 5: Series V: Post-1938 and Miscellaneous, 1911-1940,
All

Series I: Records of the Director of the American Jewish Joint Agricultural Corporation (Agro-Joint) 1922-1944

This series documents efforts of the Agro-Joint, the American Relief Administration (ARA), American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee in Russia (AJDC), Committee for the Settlement of Toiling Jews on the Land (KOMZET), and some other relief organizations, to ameliorate the difficult situation of the impoverished Jewish population in the Ukraine and Belorussia. The series contains correspondence, minutes of meetings, reports, legal documents, publicity materials, analyses and surveys relating to the general policy and central administration of the Agro-Joint. The pre-1924 correspondence, prior to the establishment of the Agro-Joint is also included here, as well as the documents pertaining to the liquidation of the Agro-Joint activities in the Soviet Union.

Budget proposals, financial analyses, annual reports, reports and dispatches of representatives of the Agro-Joint and other aforementioned organizations provide insight into the administration and management of the Jewish settlements under the auspices of the Agro-Joint. Narratives documenting the history of Agro-Joint in Russia are also to be found here.

Surveys, statistics, and analyses dealing with questions of land fertility, physical conditions of the regions envisioned as suitable for Jewish emigration, as well as reports of the supervising agronomists, throw some light on the technological aspects of the Agro-Joint undertaking.

Maps of territories where the Agro-Joint carried out some activities together with landscape plans, and architectural designs of settlement buildings are part of the series as well.

Language of Material: This series is in English , Russian , German , and Yiddish .

Subseries 1: Agreements with the Soviet Government 1922-1938

This subseries contains agreements between the American Relief Administration (ARA), American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (AJDC) on one side and the Soviet Government on the other, on Jewish agricultural settlements in the territories of Ukraine, Belorussia, and Russia. The subseries contains the original agreements together with later additions and supplements, including the agreement between Agro-Joint and the Soviet Union in August 1938 about cessation of the Agro-Joint programs in the Soviet Union.

Language of Material: This subseries is in English , Russian , German , and Yiddish .

Folder 1: Agreements between the American Relief Administration (ARA), American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (AJDC) and the Soviet Government regarding general relief work. 34 pp. 1922-1923
Folder 2: Agreement between the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee and the governments of the Russian and Ukrainian Soviet Republics. Original copy and related Soviet confidential circular on implementation of the agreement. 7 pp. 1922 Dec. 11
Folder 3: Agreement between the American Jewish Joint Agricultural Corporation (Agro-Joint) and the Soviet Government. Original, copies, translation; related document. 10 pp. 1924 Nov. 29
Folder 4: Agreement between the American Jewish Joint Agricultural Corporation (Agro-Joint) and the Soviet Government. Original and copy. 9 pp. 1927 Jan. 31
Folder 5: Agreement between the American Jewish Joint Agricultural Corporation (Agro-Joint) and the Soviet Government. English translation only. Included are drafts of the agreement. 61 pp. 1928 May 25
Folder 6: Agreement between the American Jewish Joint Agricultural Corporation (Agro-Joint), American Society for Jewish Farm Settlements and the Soviet Government, January 15, 1929, and the supplementary agreement, February 15, 1929. Original and copies. 42 pp. 1929
Folder 7: Draft of a supplementary agreement between the American Jewish Joint Agricultural Corporation (Agro-Joint) and the Soviet Government. 19 pp. 1930
Folder 8: Supplementary agreement between the American Jewish Joint Agricultural Corporation (Agro-Joint), American Society for Jewish Farm Settlements and the Soviet Government. Russian and English copy. 16 pp. 1933 Mar. 22- 1933 Apr. 14
Folder 9: Agreement between the American Jewish Joint Agricultural Corporation (Agro-Joint) , American Society for Jewish Farm Settlements and the Soviet Government discontinuing the work of the Agro-Joint in the Soviet Union. Copies. 11 pp. 1938 Aug.

Subseries 2: American Relief Administration, American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, American Society for Jewish Farm Settlements in the USSR (ASJFS) 1922-1939

The series contains correspondence related to the relief efforts of the American Relief Administration (ARA), American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (AJDC), and American Society for Jewish Farm Settlements. It contains correspondence, memoranda, essays, several legal documents, among them also certificates of appointment of various representatives of the above mentioned organizations. In their activities the Jewish relief organizations corresponded with the official representatives of the Soviet state and Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA).

Several of the reports were written by Boris Davidovich Bogen, the director of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee in Moscow to Lewis Strauss, acting chairman of the Russian Committee of American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (AJDC). The subseries contains observations and dispatches of other American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee and American Relief Administration envoys.

Language of Material: This subseries is in English , Russian , and German .

Folder 10: American Relief Administration (ARA) and American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (AJDC) relief work in Russia. Correspondence and memoranda on general relief; agreement with the Soviet government of 1922; on reconstruction program. Included is a letter from H. Lehman, chairman of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (AJDC) Reconstruction Committee informing Rosen about the $1,240,000 appropriation for the reconstruction work and assigning him as an American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee representative for the Reconstruction program. September 21, 1922. 73 pp. 1922
Folder 11: First reports by Joseph A. Rosen and Samuel E. Liubarskii on reconstruction. 22 pp. 1923
Folder 12: American Relief Administration (ARA) and American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (AJDC) relief work. Correspondence and memoranda. 180 pp. 1923-1924
Folder 13: Certificate of appointment of Joseph Rosen as the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (AJDC) representative at the American Relief Administration (ARA), October 11, 1922; and certificates of appointment of the members of the AJDC Russian Unit. Included is the ARA-AJDC agreement regarding relief operations in Ukraine and Belorussia, August 14, 1922. 33 pp. 1922, 1923
Folder 14: Agreement of the American Relief Administration and American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (AJDC) with YMCA, YWCA and YMHA on the student feeding program in Russia, September 1922; related correspondence. Also American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (AJDC) inter-office correspondence on the agreement between OSE and the Soviet authorities in Ukraine. 44 pp. 1922-1923
Folder 15: Correspondence between American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (AJDC) in New York and its Russian Unit concerning publicity. Including are transcripts of articles from the Soviet press. 33 pp. 1922-1923
Folder 16: Letter of commendation to Joseph A. Rosen signed by Mikhail Kalinin on behalf of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR dated September 22, 1923 in Moscow, Kremlin. Including are minutes of the meeting at the Commissariat of Agriculture on the results of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (AJDC) colonization work, October 26, 1923. 8 pp. 1923
Folder 17: Minutes of the meeting of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee's Committee on Russia at the home of James N. Rosenberg in New York with regard to Boris Bogen's recommendation for an additional appropriation of $150,000 to the Russian relief program, and minutes of the meeting of the Committee of Seven of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee Executive Committee regarding Joseph A. Rosen's proposal on developing Jewish agricultural colonization in Russia. 20 pp. 1924 Apr. 13
Folder 18: American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (AJDC) general correspondence Including Joseph A. Rosen's handwritten notes on Jewish Colonization Association budgetary matters. 27 pp. 1925
Folder 19: Essay by Louis Fisher "The Forward to the Soil Movement of Jews in Russia". The essay was published in the Jewish daily Forward and in the Menorah Journal . 38 pp. 1925
Folder 20: Report by Joseph A. Rosen to the National Conference of the United Jewish Campaign, Philadelphia September 12-13, 1925, on Jewish colonization in Russia. Includes introductory remarks by Louis Marshall and letters of support. Also a copy of the UJC News, Chicago Conference, October 11, 1926. 42 pp. 1925-1926
Folder 21: Report by B. Kahn "My Trip to Russia," June-July 1925 and reports by Henry Moskowitz to David A. Brown, Chairman UJC, on his inspection of Jewish colonies in Russia, and on the meeting with Mereshin of the Committee for the Settlement of Toiling Jews on the Land (KOMZET). 64 pp. 1925
Folder 22: Memorandum from E.A. Grower to Joseph A. Rosen on the "Form of Land Settlement [in the USSR] with utmost Protection of Interests of Jewish Land Settlers," February 20, 1925. Related correspondence. 34 pp. 1924-1925
Folder 23: American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (AJDC) general correspondence. Including correspondence on Jewish Colonization Association negotiation with the Soviet Government and cables to the UJC Chicago conference. 59 pp. 1926-1927
Folder 24: Report by Felix M. Warburg on conditions in Palestine, Russia and Poland in the Jewish Daily Bulletin, June 24, 1927. Also an unsigned letter from Moscow to Felix M. Warburg describing the worsening situation of Soviet Jews. 6 pp. 1927
Folder 25: Summary of American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (AJDC) activities in Russia, 1914-1928. 9 pp. 1928?
Folder 26: American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (AJDC) and American Society for Jewish Farm Settlements (ASJFS) correspondence, minutes and reports, relating to: the formation of the ASJFS; agreement with the Soviet Government; additional funds for Agro-Joint. Included are: verbatim minutes of the meeting at Louis Marshall's home April 22, 1928; Correspondence with the State Department on ASJFS; Joseph A. Rosen's first reports to ASJFS. 150 pp. 1927-1929
Folder 27: American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (AJDC) and American Society for Jewish Farm Settlements (ASJFS) correspondence and minutes, 1929. Included is a certified copy of minutes of the meeting at F. Warburg's office referring to signing of the 1928 agreement, January 8, 1929 and minutes of the meeting of the ASJFS Executive Committee Advisory Council regarding the ownership of the ASJFS bonds, September 28, 1928. 100 pp. 1929
Folder 28: American Society for Jewish Farm Settlements in Russia (ASJFS). Legal documents: certificate of incorporation, September 18, 1928 and by-laws, January 1929. 13 pp. 1928, 1929
Folder 28a: Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) dispatches from Moscow depicting the dramatic situation of the settlers and Soviet propaganda against the Agro-Joint, October 1929 - February 1930 Included are articles by Boris Smolar on Jewish artisans and on collectivization. 48 pp. 1929-1930
Folder 29: American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (AJDC) and American Society for Jewish Farm Settlements (ASJFS) correspondence, cables and reports. Included are fund-raisers for industrialization projects; American Jewish Congress inquiries on individuals persecuted in the Soviet Union; Agro-Joint concise general report for the use of ASJFS subscribers. 74 pp. 1930
Folder 30: James N. Rosenberg's statements, articles and notes on Agro-Joint. 43 pp. 1930-1934
Folder 31: American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (AJDC) and American Society for Jewish Farm Settlements (ASJFS) correspondence, memoranda and reports. Included are Joseph A. Rosen's reports to American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee Executive Committee; J.C. Hyman's letter on ASJFS resources and liabilities as of 1935. 97 pp. 1931-1935
Folder 32: American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (AJDC) campaigns 1931 and 1932. Statistics of the 1931 campaign results; memoranda from Isidor Coons and field representatives on the 1932 campaign. 70 pp. 1931-1932
Folder 33: Articles on American Society for Jewish Farm Settlements and Agro-Joint in the Jewish Encyclopedia, 1932 and the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (AJDC) Report, 1935. 8 pp. 1932, 1935
Folder 34: Report by Joseph A. Rosen "Ten Years' Work of the Agro-Joint in the USSR" given at the National Conference on Jewish Welfare. 11 pp. 1935 Jan. 3
Folder 35: American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (AJDC) and American Society for Jewish Farm Settlements in Russia. Correspondence, memoranda, minutes and reports. Included: minutes and correspondence on the Biro-Bidjan (Birobidzhan) question; correspondence on settling the German-Jewish refugees, mainly physicians, in Soviet Russia; memoranda re 1938 agreement; proposal to transfer the Agro-Joint to Latin America, November 27, 1939. 1935-1939
Folder 36: "Guide to World Refugee Organization" published by the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee European Offices, Paris 1937. 122 pp. 1937
Folder 37: Report by the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee European offices "Situation of the Jews in Eastern Europe (Poland, Hungary, Rumania)" Mimeographed, Paris 1938. 14 pp. 1938
Folder 38: Retrospective summary of the Agro-Joint activities, 1924-1938. 4 pp. 1939 May 10

Subseries 3: Agro-Joint Main Office (AMO, Glavnaia Direktsiia Agrodzhointa ) 1924-1939

The subseries contains various budgetary plans, schedules, receipts and spreadsheets with expenses. Several narratives documenting the history of Agro-Joint in Russia are also to be found here. The correspondence of the main office of Agro-Joint is the focal point of this subseries. In addition to the financial analyses, it includes minutes of the Agro-Joint Main Office meetings, annual reports, and several documents pertaining to the work of other relief organization, such as ORT ( Obshchestvo Rasprostraneniia Truda sredi Evreev or Society for Spreading Work Among Jews).

Correspondence concerning liquidation of Agro-Joint activities in Ukraine including letters to KOMZET ( Komitet po zemel’nomu ustroistvu trudiashchikhsia evreev pri Prezidiume Soveta Natsional’nostei TsIK SSSR , Committee for the Settlement of Toiling Jews on the Land at the Presidium of the Council for Nationalities of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR) can be found here.

Correspondence of agronomist Aron E. Zaichik provides some insights into technological efforts of Agro-Joint. Aron E. Zaichik together with M. Itkin visited farms in the United States and reported on their observations. There is also some material concerning the magazine Evreiskii Mir (Jewish World) in this subseries.

Several surveys, statistics, and analyses of soil fertility, physical conditions of the regions envisioned as suitable for Jewish emigration are also part of this collection. The regions discussed are Crimea (Krym), Kherson, mentioned are also other locations, i.e. Siberia, Azov lowland, Polesie, Odessa, Samara, Povolzhie (the Saratov province), the Far East (the Amur region). There are also maps and land plans of Jewish settlements in the European part of the USSR, Crimea, and Krivoi Rog (Kryvyi Rih), i.e. mostly in the territory of contemporary Ukraine.

Language of Material: This subseries is in Russian , English , and Yiddish .

Folder 1: A. Annual and Periodic Reports

Folder 38a: Estimates and projects. Included: Agro-Joint work plan for 1924-1925; financial estimates for settlement work. 141 p. 1924-1925
Folder 39: Preliminary summary and general financial report on Agro-Joint activities in 1924-1925. 43 pp. 1925
Folder 40: Brief summary of the work of Agro-Joint as of October 8, 1925. Mainly statistics on land allocation. 8 pp. 1925
Folder 41: "American Jewish Joint Agricultural Corporation (Agro-Joint), Russia. Audited Financial Report for the Period August 1, 1924-December 31, 1925." Mimeographed, bound. Published by the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (AJDC) Berlin office. 90 pp. 1927
Folder 42: Documents relating to various aspects of Agro-Joint work. Probably compiled for a periodic report. 80 pp. 1924-1925
Folder 43: Proposed estimate of Agro-Joint expenditures. 19 pp. 1926
Folder 44: Analyses of Agro-Joint expenditures. 39 pp. 1924-1926
Folder 45: "Financial Report of the J.D.C. Liquidation Committee for Medical and Relief Work in Russia." Published by the European Executive Office, Berlin. 20 pp. 1924 Apr. 1-1926 Sept. 30
Folder 46: "Preliminary Financial Statement on Russian Activities of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, European Executive Offices, Berlin. Period August 1, 1924-September 30,1926." Mimeographed, bound. 9 pp. 1924-1926
Folder 47: Agro-Joint general report for the period August 1, 1924-October 11, 1926 and statement of expenses, 1926-1927. 169 pp. 1924-1927
Folder 48.1: "American Jewish Joint Agricultural Corporation (Agro-Joint), Russia. Third Audited Financial Report for the period October 1, 1926-September 30, 1927." Published in Berlin. Mimeographed, bound. 65 pp. 1926 Oct. 1-1927 Sept. 30
Folder 48.2: "American Jewish Joint Agricultural Corporation (Agro-Joint), Russia. Third Audited Financial Report for the period October 1, 1926-September 30, 1927." Published in Berlin. Mimeographed, bound. 65 pp. 1926 Oct. 1-1927 Sept. 30
Folder 49: Statistics on the Agro-Joint's work. Summary and tables. 49 pp. 1924 Aug.-1927 Oct.
Folder 50: Estimate of Agro-Joint operative expenditures in 1927-1928. Included is summary of Agro-Joint activities in 1924-1927. 106 pp. 1927
Folder 51: Total expenditures of Agro-Joint from its inception in August 1924 through October 1927. Statistical summaries. 24 pp. 1924-1927
Folder 52: A file of assorted and numbered documents relating to various aspects of Agro-Joint work. Probably compiled for a general report. 33 pp. 1927
Folder 53: Statement of cash receipts and disbursements. 3 pp. 1926 Jan. 10-1927 Jan. 6
Folder 54: Statement of Agro-Joint settlements' condition as of November 20, 1928. Also included is information on Agro-Joint expenditures in the colonization regions and estimate of expenditures for October-December 1928. 48 pp. 1924-1928
Folder 55: "Fifth Audited Financial Report of Agro-Joint in Russia for the period May 1-December 31, 1928," released by the Russian Department, American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, Berlin office. Mimeographed, bound. 31 pp. 1928
Folder 56: Agro-Joint financial plan for 1929. 34 pp. 1928
Folder 57: Agro-Joint work plan and estimate of expenditures for assistance to the settlers. 145 pp. 1929
Folder 58: Annual report. Included is the analysis on the territory and population in the regions of Agro-Joint. 136 pp. 1929
Folder 59: "6th Audited Financial Report of Agro-Joint in Russia for the period 1.1.1929-12.31.1929." Released by the Russian Department, American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, European offices, Berlin. Bound. 24 pp. 1929
Folder 60: American Society for Jewish Farm Settlements in Russia. "New Society Operations in Russia". Financial statement for the period October 1-December 31, 1929." Released by the Russian Department, American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, Berlin. Mimeographed, 13 pp. 1929
Folder 60a: Statement of Joseph A. Rosen's expenditures in Russia. 11 pp. 1929 July 12
Folder 61.1: Agro-Joint reports and accounts on Kherson district. 62 pp. 1927-1929
Folder 61.2: Agro-Joint reports and accounts on Krivoi Rog (Kryvyi Rih) district. 46 pp. 1927-1929
Folder 61.3: Agro-Joint reports and accounts on Crimea. 145 pp. 1927-1929
Folder 61.4: Agro-Joint - General financial and operative report. 87 pp. 1927-1929
Folder 62: Agro-Joint work plan and estimates for 1930. 93 pp. 1930
Folder 63: General and financial reports for 1930. Also a concise statistical summary of Agro-Joint activities. 37 pp. 1930
Folder 64: Estimate of Agro-Joint expenditures. Included are minutes of the meeting at the Main Office of Agro-Joint ( Glavnaia Direktsiia Agrodzhointa ), February 7, 1931 and relating to the estimate. 52 pp. 1931
Folder 65: Estimate and plan of work in Crimea: Skadovs'k region and Chongar (Chonhar) Peninsula. 95 pp. 1931
Folder 66: Annual financial report of the Agro-Joint and American Society for Jewish Farm Settlements (ASJFS) for 1931. 84 pp. 1931
Folder 67: Annual financial report of the Agro-Joint. 50 pp. 1931
Folder 68: Estimate of expenditures. 53 pp. 1932
Folder 69: Annual financial report of the Agro-Joint and American Society for Jewish Farm Settlements (ASJFS) for 1932. 106 pp. 1932, 1933
Folder 69a: Annual financial report of the Agro-Joint for 1932. 73 pp. 1932
Folder 70.1: Agro-Joint annual report for 1932 (2 copies). 190 pp. 1932
Folder 70.2: Agro-Joint annual report for 1932. 190 pp. 1932
Folder 71: Tables to the Agro-Joint financial and general report for 1932. 142 pp. 1932
Folder 72: Report by E.A. Grower on the non-agricultural activities of the Agro-Joint. 14 pp. 1932 March 16
Folder 73: Balance of American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee appropriations for the Agro-Joint. 10 pp. 1933
Folder 74: Agro-Joint annual report for 1933. Bound, 508 pp. 1933
Folder 75: Balance of Agro-Joint expenditures as of October 1, 1934. Also summary of Agro-Joint liquid capital as of January 1, 1934. 7 pp. 1934
Folder 76: Agro-Joint work plan and estimate of expenditures for colonization in 1934. Related letter from Samuel E. Liubarskii to Joseph A. Rosen, January 25, 1934. 209 pp. 1934
Folder 77: Agro-Joint annual report for 1934. 581 pp. 1934
Folder 78: A narrative " Desiat' let raboty Agrodzhointa (1924-1934) " [Ten Years of the History of the Agro-Joint, 1924-1934]. 176 pp. n.d.
Folder 79: Agro-Joint annual report for 1935. 497 pp. 1935
Folder 80: Agro-Joint work plan and estimate for 1936. Relating correspondence: Joseph A. Rosen, Samuel E. Liubarskii, Committee for the Settlement of Toiling Jews on the Land (KOMZET). Included is work plan of the Industrialization Department. 49 pp. 1936
Folder 81: Agro-Joint retrospective summary, 1924-1936. 6 pp. 1937
Folder 82: Financial and general summary of Agro-Joint activities in 1937. Including are statistical tables covering the period 1924-1937. 64 pp. 1937

Folder 2: B. General Correspondence

Folder 83: Hechalutz (He-Halutz) in Soviet Russia, 1924-1925. Correspondence, reports, clippings from the periodical Gekholuts . Included is the resolution of the Evsektsiia (Jewish Section of the Central Committee of the All-Soviet Communist Party) regarding the fight against the "Zionist influence". 50 pp. 1925
Folder 84: Essay by "Ben Yehuda" on the perspectives of Russian Jewry analyzing political conditions of Jews in Russia in connection with work of the Agro-Joint and suggesting emigration to Palestine as the logical alternative. 83 pp. 1925 Jun.
Folder 85: Correspondence. 80 pp. 1924-1925
Folder 86: ORT ( Obshchestvo Rasprostraneniia Truda sredi Evreev or Society for Spreading Work Among Jews) in the Soviet Union Included are the by-laws of ORT; Article " O evreiskom pereselencheskom dvizhenii i kolonizatsii " [On the Jewish Colonization and Settlement Movement] stressing the role of ORT; " Otchet o deiatel’nosti TsP ORT v oblasti zemledeliia v odesskom i belorusskom raionakh za 1926/27 god ". [Annual Report of Central Board of ORT work among the Jewish Settlers in Odessa and Belarussian Provinces in 1926-1927]; ORT operative estimate for 1927-28; ORT bulletin " Materialy po evreiskoi demografii i ekonomike " [Materials on Jewish Demography and Economics], no. 1, April 1928. 65 pp. 1924-1928
Folder 87: Correspondence and documents. Including is the report by agronomist IU.M. Levitan on the conditions in a small town and attitude of its Jewish inhabitants toward agricultural resettlement, Zhitomir (Zhytomyr) 8.2.1926. 23 pp. 1926
Folder 88: Minutes of the meeting of AMO staff, September 22, 1927, on financial and general reporting for 1927, and instruction to Agro-Joint district offices with regard to regional reporting in 1927-28; Agro-Joint import plan for 1927; Article by A. Schlikhter " Pravda o evreiskom pereselenii " [The Truth about Jewish Colonization] published in the periodical " Bolshevik Ukrainy ," no. 9, September 1927 and several other articles. 54 pp. 1927
Folder 89: Financial plan for colonization of the Biro-Bidjan (Birobidzhan) region [possiblt a KOMZET document] and other documents related to activities in the Simferopol’ region. 10 pp. 1928
Folder 90: Correspondence and memoranda, including a letter by agronomist A. E. Zaichik. 83 pp. 1929-1930
Folder 91: Letters from agronomist Aron E. Zaichik to Agro-Joint Headquarters in Moscow on his visit to agricultural establishments in the United States. 102 pp. 1930
Folder 92: Newspaper clippings from the American Jewish press on the Agro-Joint. 31 pp. 1925–1944
Folder 93: Newspaper clippings from the Soviet and Soviet-Jewish press on the Agro-Joint. 25 pp. 1925-1932
Folder 94: Minutes of the meetings of Agro-Joint headquarters staff on liquidation of Agro-Joint activities in Ukraine; memorandum regarding Agro-Joint work in 1932; administrative charter of the Agro-Joint as of August 1, 1933, written by Joseph A. Rosen; letter from Samuel E. Liubarskii to Joseph A. Rosen on possibilities of accommodating German Jews in the Soviet Union, January 17 1934. 158 pp. 1931-1934
Folder 95: Correspondence on Agro-Joint financial plans for 1933 and 1934; Samuel E. Liubarskii to Joseph A. Rosen; minutes of meetings at AMO on reorganization of AMO bookkeeping ; correspondence with Committee for the Settlement of Toiling Jews on the Land (KOMZET); drafts of financial plans. 72 pp. 1932-1934
Folder 96: Letters from Elias Tcherikover to Joseph A. Rosen relating to the Protocols of the Elders of Zion trial in Bern, 12 pp. 1934
Folder 97: Correspondence and miscellaneous documents. Included liquidation of Agro-Joint in the Soviet Union; Joseph A. Rosen's letter to Viacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov complaining about the attitude of Z.M. Belen’ki, representative the Committee for the Settlement of Toiling Jews on the Land (KOMZET), in the liquidation negotiations. 63 pp. 1934-1938
Folder 98: Undated documents including: speech or lecture " Stremlenie evreev k pereseleniiu na svobodnye zemli Ukrainy i Kryma, mery k ego udovletvoreniiu i perspektivy razvitiia " [The Movement of the Jews to Settle in the Ukraine and Crimea. Means for its Realization and Perspectives of Development], no author; Joseph A. Rosen's handwritten notes on various settlements; draft of the program of a conference of Jewish religious communities in the Soviet Union and a letter from 2000 citizens of Kherson on Jewish religious institutions in this city early 1920s; a poem "Ten Colonists" by F. Horowitz of New York. 51 pp. n.d.
Folder 99: Essay " Evreiskii vopros v Rossii v period imperialisticheskoi voiny " [Jewish Question in Russia During the Imperialist War [World War One]] with copies of documents. No author. 97 pp. n.d.

Folder 3: C. Land Surveys and Allocations

Folder 100: Analyses by P.N. Razhdaev " Voprosy zemleustroistva i rasseleniia v Krymu " [Problems of Land Legislation and Settlement in Crimea] and by the Rabotchaia-Krestianskaia Inspektsiia (RKI, Worker’s and Peasants’ Inspection) on land owning and leasing in Crimea. 25 pp. 1921, 1922
Folder 101: Statistics on cultivated and non-cultivated land in Crimea. 35 pp. 1921
Folder 102: Land in Crimea suitable for Jewish colonization. Statistics, listings of tracts, information on Crimea land laws supplied by the Soviet administration. 196 pp. 1926
Folder 103: Surveys on Crimea. Included: " Kratkii ocherk estestvenno-istoricheskikh i ekonomicheskikh uslovii stepnogo Kryma " [Concise Review of the Historical and Economical Factors of the Steppe Crimea], no author, no date; information on water supply in the populated region of Dzhankoi and Perekop prepared in connection with Committee for the Settlement of Toiling Jews on the Land (KOMZET) colonization plans. 36 pp. n.d.
Folder 104: Allocation of land for Jewish colonization in Ukraine and Crimea. Included are: Agro-Joint memorandum to Soviet Government of 1925, regarding allocation for Jewish settlers of 40,000 ‘acres’ of land in the steppe part of Crimea; minutes of the meeting of the Planning Committee of the Committee for the Settlement of Toiling Jews on the Land (KOMZET), May 30, 1925, regarding surveys of possible lands for Jewish colonization in Northern Caucasus, Ukraine and Crimea; minutes of the meeting of the OKRZU (district land administration) Kherson, July 10, 1925, regarding allocation of land in the Kherson district; correspondence and related materials on the land in Crimea and Krivoi Rog (Kryvyi Rih) district assigned for Jewish colonization during the period 1926-1930. 112 pp. 1925-1930
Folder 105: Minutes of meeting of the Soviet land administration, Agro-Joint and Committee for the Settlement of Toiling Jews on the Land (KOMZET) regarding allocations of land in Crimea, February-May 1926. Surveys of tracts in Crimean settlements conducted by the geodesist IA.L. Krupp and agronomist Redkin of Agro-Joint from January through March 1926. 89 pp. 1926
Folder 106: Reports, land surveys and other materials relating to distribution of tracts for Jewish settlements in Crimea. 110 pp. 1927-1928
Folder 107: Correspondence, memoranda, reports and surveys regarding allocation of land in the Salsk district. Included are: survey by G. Gurevich on Salsk region; report by A.O. Fabrikant to Agro-Joint headquarters on colonization possibilities in the Salsk district and related correspondence between Committee for the Settlement of Toiling Jews on the Land (KOMZET) and the district land administration. 57 pp. 1925
Folder 108: Correspondence, reports and surveys relating to colonization possibilities in the Black Sea region. Informational material supplied by the Black Sea district (Chernomorskii okrug) land administration to the Committee for the Settlement of Toiling Jews on the Land (KOMZET). 33 pp. 1925
Folder 109: Project by Georgii A. Idelson of Jewish colonization on the Chongar (Chonhar) peninsula. 62 pp. 1928-1934
Folder 110: Materials on colonization possibilities in following regions of the USSR: Siberia, Azov lowland, Polessie (turf-pits), Kuban, Odessa, Samara, Povolzhe (Saratov province), Far East (Amur region). Surveys and related correspondence, mainly between Committee for the Settlement of Toiling Jews on the Land (KOMZET) and central and regional land administration organs. 140 pp. 1924-1927?
Folder 111: Maps of the regions of Jewish colonization in the USSR n.d.
Folder 112: Maps, landscape plans and diagrams of the colonization in the Crimea. General maps of the region; detailed presentations of the Agro-sectors and individual settlements n.d.
Folder 113: Maps, landscape plans and diagrams of the colonization in Kherson region n.d.
Folder 114: Maps, landscape plans and diagrams of the colonization in Krivoi Rog (Kryvyi Rih) region n.d.

Subseries 4: Committee for the Settlement of Toiling Jews on the Land (KOMZET) n.d., 1924-1936

Committee for the Settlement of Toiling Jews on the Land, known as KOMZET ( Komitet po zemel’nomu ustroistvu trudiashchikhsia evreev pri Prezidiume Soveta Natsional’nostei TsIK SSSR ) was founded in 1924. The subseries is comprised of correspondence between Agro-Joint and KOMZET and related documents such as annual reports on activity and plans for the future development of the Agro-Joint and KOMZET programs. The registers of settlers’ promissory notes and Agro-Joint assets in various localities transferred to KOMZET are the biggest part of the subseries.

Language of Material: This subseries is in Russian , Ukrainian , Yiddish , and English .

Folder 115: Committee for the Settlement of Toiling Jews on the Land (KOMZET): Correspondence, minutes and miscellaneous materials. Included are: instructions on recruitment and registration of prospective settlers; memoranda from E.A. Grower to KOMZET, mainly on the situation in Crimean settlements; report "KOMZET and its Activities in the First Year," August 29, 1924-August 29, 1925; KOMZET instructions on carrying on the colonization work, 6.2.1925; materials relating to hunger in Dagestan and aid to the Jewish settlers there; estimate by IU. Larin of the expenditures for one family in its first year of settlement in Ukraine. 139 pp. 1924-1925
Folder 116: Committee for the Settlement of Toiling Jews on the Land (KOMZET): Copies of correspondence with various Soviet authorities regarding colonization, submitted to Joseph Rosen for his information. 32 pp. 1925
Folder 117: Committee for the Settlement of Toiling Jews on the Land (KOMZET): Correspondence, minutes and miscellaneous materials. Included are: colonization plan for 1926; minutes of meetings of the Central Executive Committee (VtsIK) sub-committee on land allocation for Jewish colonization; regulations and resolutions by Soviet government regarding Jewish colonization; statistical information on Jewish farming in Crimea prepared by the regional government for A. Shotman. 123 pp. 1926
Folder 118: Committee for the Settlement of Toiling Jews on the Land (KOMZET): Answers to a questionnaire regarding the agro-technical development of Jewish settlements. 85 pp. n.d.
Folder 119: Committee for the Settlement of Toiling Jews on the Land (KOMZET): Correspondence, minutes and miscellaneous materials. Included are: resolution by on KOMZET goals, March 28, 1928; materials on the reorganization [collectivization] of Jewish settlements prepared, for the KOMZET meeting on August 13,1929. 123 pp. 1927-1929
Folder 120: Reports for the conference of the All-Union Society for Land Settlement of Jewish Workers in the USSR (OZET) in Ukraine. 24 pp. 1927 May 21-1927 May 22
Folder 121: Analysis of the registration of new settlers. 15 pp. 1925-1927
Folder 122: Register of Agro-Joint assets given to Committee for the Settlement of Toiling Jews on the Land (KOMZET). 124 pp. 1928
Folder 123: Register of Agro-Joint assets in settlers’ obligations given to the Committee for the Settlement of Toiling Jews on the Land (KOMZET). 68 pp. 1929-1934
Folder 124: Committee for the Settlement of Toiling Jews on the Land (KOMZET): Correspondence, minutes and miscellaneous materials. 92 pp. 1930-1937
Folder 125: Report by IA.M. Surdutovich on the results of the 1930 land reform in Crimea [collectivization] with regard to the Jewish settlements assisted by the Committee for the Settlement of Toiling Jews on the Land (KOMZET) and on allocation of additional 100,000 hectars in August 1930. Related correspondence, minutes and reports of the KOMZET commission for the reorganization of the settlements. 78 pp. 1930-1933
Folder 126: Report by Samuel E. Liubarskii on Agro-Joint work in 1932, given at the meeting of the Presidium of Committee for the Settlement of Toiling Jews on the Land (KOMZET) in Moscow. 49 pp. 1932 June 28
Folder 127: Correspondence, memoranda, official documents and registers relating to the transfer of Agro-Joint assets in accordance with the supplementary agreement of March 22 and April 14, 1933 between Agro-Joint and the Soviet Government. 69 pp. 1933
Folder 128: Register of Agro-Joint assets in Crimea transferred to KOMZET. 80 pp. 1933
Folder 129: Register of Kherson settlers’ promissory notes transferred to the Committee for the Settlement of Toiling Jews on the Land (KOMZET). 65 pp. 1933
Folder 130: Registers of loan obligations transferred to the Committee for the Settlement of Toiling Jews on the Land (KOMZET). 101 pp. 1933
Folder 131: Registers of loan obligations transferred to the Committee for the Settlement of Toiling Jews on the Land (KOMZET). 80 pp. 1934
Folder 132: Registers of loan obligations transferred to the Committee for the Settlement of Toiling Jews on the Land (KOMZET) in Krivoi Rog (Kryvyi Rih) . 69 pp. 1934
Folder 133: Agro-Joint correspondence with the Committee for the Settlement of Toiling Jews on the Land (KOMZET) and minutes of the KOMZET meetings of February 2 and February 9, 1935 regarding estimates for Agro-Joint agricultural work in 1935. 85 pp. 1935
Folder 134: Registers of Agro-Joint assets in settlers’ obligations given to the Committee for the Settlement of Toiling Jews on the Land (KOMZET). 40 pp. 1935
Folder 135: Registers of loan obligations transferred to the Committee for the Settlement of Toiling Jews on the Land (KOMZET). 60 pp. 1936
Folder 136: By-laws of the All-Union Society for Land Settlement of Jewish Workers in the USSR (OZET) and the Jewish Agricultural Workers' and Artisans' Bank (Evreiskii Agrarno-Kustarnyi Bank, AGROKUSTBANK). 28 pp. n.d.