Genia Silkes Papers (RG 1187)
Genia Silkes was born in Brisk (now known as Brest-Litovsk), a town in eastern Poland, not far from the Russian border, on March 3, 1913. In the years leading up to the outbreak of WWII, she worked as a teacher in Warsaw, in the Jewish People’s Schools [folksshuln] where the language of instruction was Yiddish. From 1945 to 1949, in liberated Poland, she worked at the Central Jewish Committee, in the educational institutes and the historical commission. This was when she collected the Holocaust testimonies from child survivors in Poland, which are such an important part of this collection.
Series II of the collection consists of testimonies, stories and drawings by children, collected after the war in Poland and France, from children who had survived the Holocaust. This series is divided into three parts. The first includes the testimonies collected by Silkes or others at the Historical Commission in Poland. This includes 64 children’s memoirs. The second part includes drawings, specifically about the war, which have a particular significance psychologically or pedagogically. The third part contains stories by children on the topic of free time during the war.
German Jewish Children's Aid (RG 249)
The German Jewish Children's Aid was established in the U.S. in 1934 to receive and place Jewish refugee children from Nazi Germany. The GJCA negotiated with the U.S. government for the admission of a limited number of children within the quota law. It guaranteed financial support, worked with local community agencies to find foster homes, met the children at the port of entry and transferred them to their new places of residence.
The records of the GJCA relate to the entire range of activities involved in receiving and placing refugee children from 1933 through the 1950s. The later materials are records of the European Jewish Children's Aid.
Jewish Family Service collection (I-375)
Jewish Family Service was established in 1946 by a merger of the Jewish Social Service Association and the Jewish Family Welfare Society of Brooklyn. The Jewish Social Service Association was established in 1845 as the United Hebrew Charities encompassing the following organizations: the Hebrew Benevolent Fuel Association, the Ladies Benevolent Society of the Congregation of the Gates of Prayer, the Hebrew Relief Society and the Hebrew Benevolent and Orphan Society. In 1926 the organization was re-named the Jewish Social Services Association and in 1946 it merged with Jewish Family Services (JFS) and began operating under that name. In 1978, JFS merged once again, this time with the Jewish Board of Guardians, creating the Jewish Board of Family and Children’s Services (JBFCS)
Kindertransport Memorial Collection (AR 6992) (Digitized)
The term Kindertransport is used to refer to organized efforts to rescue Jewish children from Nazi persecution. Following Kristallnacht in November of 1938, the British government relaxed immigration restrictions to allow unaccompanied Jewish children under the age of 17 from Germany and German-occupied areas to enter the country on temporary visas. Children were sent to live with foster families or in schools or hostels under the assumption that they would eventually be reunited with their parents. The Kindertransport operations to England from Germany began in December of 1938 and ended in September 1939 as World War II began. Kindertransport operations continued from the Netherlands until May 1940. While the majority of Kindertransport operations brought children to England, similar efforts were carried out in Palestine and, to a lesser extent, the United States.
This collection contains limited materials on remembrances of the Kindertransport. Materials include correspondence, handwritten notes, memorial programs, the text of a speech by Gerhard Schroeder, membership directories, annual reports, synopses and advertisements for publications and films on the Kindertransport, and materials from a 1999 reunion in London of individuals who were part of the Kindertransport.
Leo Blau Collection (AR 1638) (Digitized)
The collection contains documents relating to Leo Blau's childhood and school days in Cologne including report cards and drivers licenses, photographs, school, health and immigration certificates. There is also his journal from 1933 and a book of poems, also dated 1933. This collection has been digitized in its entirety
Leo Gompertz Collection, 1896-1998 (AR 1990) (Digitized)
The Leo Gompertz Collection primarily documents Leo Gompertz's search for information on Haus Berta, a recreation and training institution for Jewish youth during the late 1930s. The collection also includes a number of photographs of Haus Berta, its staff and residents, as well as some other related documents. Also included are a few personal papers of Leo Gompertz.
Ring, Bund deutsch-jüdischer Jugend Collection (AR 11869) (Digitized)
The BDJJ was a national organization for Jewish children and teenagers, who came together for socialization, hikes, retreats and to learn about Jewish culture. There were five youth groups in Stuttgart: One each for the younger boys and girls, one each for teen-agers, and a co-ed one for the 17- 21 year-olds. After 1937 meetings were no longer permitted. This collection contains two journals handwritten by members of the youth group "Ring, Bund deutsch-jüdischer Jugend" (BDJJ) between 1934 and 1936. The contents include descriptions of group activities, hikes, trips, singing songs, etc. One of the journals was written by girls aged 9 - 12, the "Ameisen" (ants), and the other one by girls 14 - 16, the "Hummeln" (bees). Both names were chosen because of the cooperative organizations of these insects.
Youth Aliyah Records in the Hadassah Archives (I-578/RG 1)
The Files of Youth Aliyah in the Hadassah Archives document Hadassah's work with multiple international organizations to rescue Jewish children from continental Europe to Palestine from 1933-1945. The collection also documents Hadassah's involvement with Youth Aliyah since 1946 in providing residential, educational, vocational, rehabilitative and therapeutic care for displaced and at-risk youth from around the world.
