“The Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society had its origins in one of the mushrooming landsmanshaftn established in New York by Jewish Immigrants. The Society originated in a store on the lower East Side, at a meeting summoning public-spirited Jews to help provide traditional burial for Jews who had died on Ellis Island. From this limited purpose the Society expanded with the needs of the immigrants and the readiness of the founders to meet widening claims for assistance… Until 1915 it confined its activities to the United States… Then, during World War I, HIAS extended a helping hand to the refugees in Europe and the Far East; and, since then, its range of operations has become world-wide… At the end of 1953, HIAS activities embraced Western Europe, North Africa, the Near East, Latin America, Australia, New Zealand, and the state of Israel, with offices in 50 countries.”
(Wischnitzer, M. (1956). Visas to freedom. pp. 16-17).
History Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS) collection ca.1900 - ca.1970. The records of HIAS reflect the activities of all its administrative offices in the United States and abroad. The collection is comprised of the records of HIAS, HICEM and the United HIAS Service, and is divided into several subgroups. YIVO RG 245
HIAS Ellis Island Bureau Records, 1905-1923. Includes troublesome cases involving deportation, illness, or detention requiring the services of the HIAS Ellis Island Bureau. YIVO RG 245.2
HIAS Foreign Relations Department, 1915-1973. Includes correspondence requesting HIAS’ assistance in locating individuals in behalf of relatives in the U.S. A. YIVO RG 245.3
HIAS AND HICEM Main Offices, New York, Individual Cases and Lists of Immigrants. Includes case folders, 1940-1942, for over 450 cases. YIVO RG 245.4.21
HICEM European Office, 1935-1953. France Series III (1940-1945) and Series IV (1945-1953) subsections include individual cases processed. YIVO RG 245.5
HICEM/HIAS Office in Lisbon. Subseries I includes Lisbon central refugee case files; Subseries II, Transportation Companies. YIVO RG 245.6
United HIAS Services, Main Office, New York, 1954-1967. This office processed a substantial number of cases from 1940-1959. YIVO RG 245.8
United HIAS Service Office in Chile, 1946-1970. Includes individual case files arranged by agency, year and then alphabetically. YIVO RG 245.9
HICEM Office in Prague, 1927-1939. Central Committee for German Speaking Refugees (Prague). Series III includes refugee case files, 1936-1939. YIVO RG 245.10
Records of Arrival, 1909-1978. The Arrival Cards include information on immigrants who were assisted by HIAS at ports of entry all over the U.S.A. YIVO RG 245.4.41 (*Source: Guzik, Estelle M. Genealogical Resources in New York (2003), pp. 44-45.)
Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (Boston). Consists of individual case files of refugees assisted by HIAS primarily in immigration and naturalization services. Included in many files are biographical data, correspondence between HIAS and American and foreign governmental agencies, and miscellaneous supporting documents. American Jewish Historical Society I-96 (see also under Indexes to HIAS Case Files Online)
The American Jewish Historical Society has an online index of case files including names of immigrants who arrived in Boston and were assisted by the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society. The information online may include the date of birth, date of arrival, and other informative information. The database can be searched via Family History Databases on the CJH Website.
Also, the American Jewish Historical Society, New England Archives Branch, has posted a list of names of immigrants who arrived in Boston and were helped by the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS). The name list is incomplete. For more information, please contact reference@ajhsboston.org.
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Genealogy Institute CS 49 .C63 1993
· Guide to Genealogical Research in the National Archives of the United States. (NARA, 2000)
Genealogy Institute Z 5313 .U5 U54 2000
· Tepper, Michael. American Passenger Arrival Records. (Genealogical Pub. Co., 1988)
Genealogy Institute CS 49 .T46
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