Records of the Warsaw Office of the American Joint Distribution Committee, 1939-1941

The files of JDC’s Warsaw Office from 1939-1941 constitute the record of JDC’s activity in Poland, principally in the area of the General Government, from the Nazi invasion in September 1939 until the United States entered World War II in 1941. After the U.S. entered the war, JDC’s Warsaw Office could no longer operate. The documents testify to the increasingly desperate situation of Polish Jewish communities and JDC’s efforts to provide humanitarian relief and coordinate the distribution of food aid. JDC’s operations in Poland in this period was organized into four regional branches: the main headquarters in Warsaw and offices in Krakow, Lublin, and Radom. JDC worked with the relief organizations TOZ and CENTOS as well as with representative organizations of the Jewish community in numerous Polish towns. The collection is arranged in two subcollections: General Administration and Finance and Localities. The General Administration and Finance subcollection includes documents outlining the structure and mission of the organization; financial materials, including budgets; inspectors’ reports from the regional offices; lists of towns including Jewish residents and refugees; lists of those seeking to emigrate; and correspondence with other organizations within and outside Poland, foreign diplomatic missions, other JDC offices in Europe, and with businesses outside Poland from which goods were purchased. The Localities subcollection, alphabetically arranged by town, includes correspondence between JDC and the representatives of Jewish organizations regarding financial aid. Most of these files include lists of Jews receiving aid, including the type and amount, as well as budgets and financial reports of the local assistance committees.