Guide to the Records of the HICEM Office in Prague, 1927-1939, RG 245.10

Title: Guide to the Records of the HICEM Office in Prague, 1927-1939, RG 245.10

ID: RG 245.10 FA

Extent: 5.3 Linear Feet. More info below.

Arrangement:

Series I and part of Series II is arranged by subject and in chronological order within. Series III is arranged alphabetically by last name.

The records are divided into three series as follows:

Series I: Minutes of National Committee Meetings, 1934-1937

Series II: Correspondence of the HICEM-Prague office, 1927-1939

Series III: Refugee Case Files, 1936-1939

Collection consists of records of the HICEM Office in Prague, documenting efforts to assist Jewish refugees from Czechoslovakia. Records include minutes of National Committee Meetings, correspondence from the HICEM office, including with various aid societies, and extensive individual refugee case files.

The bulk of the collection consists of files of Marie Schmolka, a HICEM representative, who was also involved with the National Committee and with a number of German-Jewish immigrant groups. Marie Schmolka was killed by Gestapo agents in the fall of 1939 several weeks after she returned from a HICEM sponsored immigration conference in Paris.

The records contain minutes from the National Committee for Refugees Coming From Germany, correspondence of the HICEM Prague office concerning organizational activities and regarding assistance of refugees, and refugee case files.

Many topics are covered in this collection, especially assistance provided to refugees and conferences concerning them, victims of applications of the Nuremberg Laws in Czechoslovakia and Austria, dealings with authorities concerning identity papers, and coordination of activities among aid organizations.

The materials are written in various languages, principally Czech, German, English and French.

The HICEM Office in Prague was established in 1936 to facilitate relief for the growing mass of German-Jewish refugees in Czechoslovakia. The HICEM office was the successor to the National Committee for Refugees Coming From Germany which coordinated relief work from 1934 to 1936. The National Committee sought to coordinate the activities of the various member groups and present a single voice when dealing with Czech government officials and with the European High Commissioner for Refugees.

Alternate Extent Statement: 5 ft, 3 inches; 7 microfilm reels (MKM 15.135 - MKM 15.141), 12 five inch legal boxes and 1 three inch box

Access Restrictions: The records are open to  researchers with permission of and by appointment with the Chief Archivist. For more information contact the Chief Archivist at archives@yivo.cjh.org.

Use Restrictions: There may be some restrictions on the use of the collection. For more information, contact email: archives@yivo.cjh.org

Acquisition Source: Collection was received in 1955 from the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, then known as the United HIAS Service.

Original/Copies Note:

Microfilm Information: 

This collection is on 9 reels of microfilm,  MKM 15.135-15.143

MKM 15.135  Folders:  1 -  8

MKM 15.136  Folders:  8  - 21

MKM 15.137  Folders:  21 - 30

MKM 15.138  Folders:  31 - 42

MKM 15.139  Folders:  43 - 54

MKM 15.140  Folders:  54 - 69

MKM 15.141  Folders:  70 - 86

MKM 15.142  Folders:  86 - 101

MKM 15.143  Folder:    102

Related Materials: This collection is a Subgroup of RG 245.

Preferred Citation: Published citations should take the following form:Identification of item, date (if known); Records of the HICEM Office in Prague; RG 245.10; box number; folder number; YIVO Institute for Jewish Research.

Finding Aid Revision History: Originally arranged in 1979 as Record Group 245.4, Series XXIX, with the assistance of a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Inventory prepared in 1997 with the assistance of a grant from the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, New York