The World Jewish Congress London Office records (C2)

Identifier
irn516523
Language of Description
English
Alt. Identifiers
  • 2005.63
  • RG-68.059M
Dates
1 Jan 1939 - 31 Dec 1975
Level of Description
Item
Languages
  • English
  • Other languages
Source
EHRI Partner

Extent and Medium

571 microfilm reels, 35 mm

Creator(s)

Biographical History

The World Jewish Congress (WJC) is an international organization founded by resolution of the First World jewish Congress, which took place in August 1936 in Geneva. The organization goal is to defend the political, social, and economic rights of Jews throughout the world. Its governing bodies were elected at the First World Jewish Congress: the executive committee headed by Stephen Wise (also the organization’s chairman), an administrative committee, headed by Nahum Goldman, and a central council headed by Louis Lipsky. At the first session of the executive committee, Sept. 6, 1936, it was decided to establish regional offices of the WJC in Geneva, New York, and London, and a central bureau in Paris. The central bureau coordinated the WJC’s work, collected information on the situation of Jews in various countries, published materials, and also lobbied at the League of Nations. In 1940, with the Second World War under way, the central bureau was transferred to New York, and a European office was established in London.

Archival History

World Zionist Organization. Central Zionist Archives

Acquisition

Forms part of the Claims Conference International Holocaust Documentation Archive at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. This archive consists of documentation whose reproduction and/or acquisition was made possible with funding from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.

The archives of the London Office of the World Jewish Congress were transferred to the Central Zionist Archives (CZA) in Jerusalem in 1991. The record group notation at the CZA is C2. The collection was filmed by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum International Archives Project and transferred to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Archives in Jan. 2005.

Scope and Content

Contains correspondence of the London Office of the World Jewish Congress with organizations from over 130 countries, international bodies including the United Nations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and Jewish organizations, including the Relief Committee for the War-Stricken Jewish Population (RELICO) and the Claims Conference. Also contains legal materials, press clippings and reports of the Institute of Jewish Affairs; anti-Jewish legislation; materials of WJC Plenary Assemblies; minutes of Executive meetings; Neo-Nazi documentation; and the Aryeh Leon Kubowitzki papers, the Alex Easterman papers, and the Aaron Steinberg papers.

System of Arrangement

Organized in the following order: File C2/1 - C2/12861. There are some gaps between files. The following files do not exist: Files C2/4511-4599; Files C2/4677-9999, and Files C2/10835-10999 Arrangement is thematic

Conditions Governing Reproduction

Copyright Holder: American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee

People

Corporate Bodies

Subjects

Genre

This description is derived directly from structured data provided to EHRI by a partner institution. This collection holding institution considers this description as an accurate reflection of the archival holdings to which it refers at the moment of data transfer.