American OSE Committee

Title: American OSE Committee

Inclusive Dates: 1941-1955

ID: RG 494

Extent Information

48'2"; 1 2.5"lgl; 26 5"lgl; 60 5"ltr; 11 Bankers boxes; 8 file folders of photos

Arrangement

correspondence: folders arranged numerically; photos: folders arranged alphabetically, by country

Creators

American OSE Committee

Administrative/Biographical History

OSE was a worldwide organization for child care, health and hygiene among Jews, with headquarters in Paris. Founded in 1912 in St. Petersburg, Russia. The name OSE was originally an acronym for Obshchestvo Zdravokhraneniya Yevreyev (Society for the Protection of the Health of the Jews). The OSE maintained branches in Russia, Poland, Rumania and Central and Western Europe. The Polish name was TOZ (Towarzystwo Ochrony Zdrowia - Society for the Protection of Health) and the French name Oeuvre de Secours aux Enfants (Society for the Aid of Children). By 1939 OSE maintained hundreds of institutions which included hospitals, nurseries, feeding centers for school children, summer camps and sanatoriums. The institutions of OSE in Europe were destroyed during World War II. After the war, OSE shifted its activities to North America, Latin America, Africa and Israel. Its work includes control of epidemic diseases, dissemination of public health information, medical research and improvement of general health conditions.

Subjects (links to similar collections)

Charitable Activities
Children
Communal Welfare Organizations
France
Health and Health Care
Holocaust and Aftermath
Poland
Social Welfare
United States

Finding Aid Information

Inventory: English, 115 pp., typed

Administrative Information

Access Notes: YIVO Archives collections are open to researchers only by appointment with an archivist. To inquire about papers and records, write to Chief Archivist, archives@yivo.cjh.org. To inquire about photographs and films, write to Photo and Film Archivist at Photofilm@yivo.cjh.org. To inquire about sound recordings, write to Sound Archivist, lsklamberg@yivo.cjh.org. For art works and artifacts, write to Chief Archivist at archives@yivo.cjh.org.

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Description: The collection consists of records of the American OSE Committee in New York. General correspondence, 1941-1955, with many Jewish organizations. Correspondence with OSE in France during World War II. Reports from Cracow, Poland sent to Geneva and from there to New York, Switzerland and England, 1940s. Files on North America, Europe, South America, Middle East. Files relating to immigration of children to the U.S. Reports, minutes of meetings of the OSE Executive Committee, and Board of Directors. Financial reports. Lists of survivors of World War II. Photographs of OSE activities.