Within RG 245, YIVO has created numerous sub-groups relating to the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS), the Jewish organization formed to help immigrants, and HICEM, the organization formed in Europe through a merger of HIAS and other immigrant aid groups from 1927 to 1945. For example:
- HIAS Ellis Island Bureau, RG 245.2: Records from 1905-1923 include individual case files of immigrants who were initially rejected by the U.S. Immigration Service.
- HIAS Records of Arrival, RG 245.4.41: Records include index cards on immigrants who were met by a HIAS representative upon arrival arranged by surname within the year and port of arrival, 1909-1978, and case files on individuals who requested immigration assistance from Europe, 1930’s-1960’s.
- Holocaust records: Several sub-groups contain substantial documentation of efforts to aid refugees during and after the Holocaust, including case files. For example: HICEM Main Office in Europe, RG 245.5 (1935-1953); HICEM and HIAS Office in Lisbon, RG 245.6 (1940-1951); HIAS European Office in Paris, RG 245.7 (1945-1958); and HICEM Office in Prague, RG 245.10 (1934-1940s).
Records of other refugee assistance organizations include:
- German Jewish Children’s Aid, RG 249: Records include thousands of individual case files on children who were brought to the U.S. and placed in foster homes, 1933-1953.
- American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (AJDC), RG 335: Records include 1,500 adoption records from the AJDC War Orphans Bureau, RG 335.3, 1919-1923, and individual case files stemming from requests to locate relatives from the AJDC Personal Services Department, RG 335.6, 1946-1954.
- United Service for New Americans, RG 246: Records include tens of thousands of individual case files on newly arrived immigrants who were assisted by the agency in settling into American life, 1946-1955.
For additional resources, please see our online research guide on Holocaust Research.
