- Description
- The Arthur Greenleigh papers contains correspondence, reports, and various other records created by Arthur Greenleigh from the period of 1943 to 1956. From 1943-1946, Greenleigh served with the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), and from 1946-1956, Greenleigh served with the United Service for New Americans (USNA) and the United Hias Service (HIAS). The reports and correspondence from his years at the JDC focus on assisting Jewish displaced persons during and after World War II. The reports give status updates and activities of the JDC, while the correspondence is with both military forces and the JDC headquarters. In contrast, the reports created while working for USNA and HIAS focus on the discrimination of immigration policy for the United States. The correspondence from this time show the difficulties Greenleigh faced in trying to bring Jewish refugees to the United States.
The Arthur Greenleigh papers consists of five series covering two distinct periods of his life. Series one and two contains correspondence and reports created during his time with the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), from 1943-1946, where he served as deputy director of field operations. Series three and four contains correspondence and reports from his work with the United Service for New Americans and the United Hias Service. Series five contains and oral history covering his time with the JDC.
While working for the JDC, Greenleigh assisted in the growing problem of displaced Jewish refugees. The reports and presentations series documents the status of displaced persons camps and the relief situations occurring in Europe, both during World War II and immediately after. The correspondence created during this time further expounds on these topics, in addition to containing various accounting and travel expenses.
From 1946-1956, Greenleigh served as executive director for the United Service for New Americans, which would later merge with the United Hias Service. Many of Greenleigh’s reports discuss his opinions on U.S. immigration policy, and the discrimination that occurs in the system, but also discuss issues in immigration at the time. His correspondence from this period include the Immigration and Naturalization Service and Attorney General J. Howard McGrath, and discusses further the maters of discrimination with displaced persons and immigration into the United States.
Series five contains an oral history interview of Arthur Greenleigh, conducted by Herbert Katzki. The interview was conducted in 1987 and discusses his work with the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee from 1944-1946.
- Date
-
inclusive:
1943-1987
bulk:
1943-1956
- Collection Creator
- Arthur Greenleigh
- Biography
-
Arthur Greenleigh (1903-1993) graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles with bachelor's degrees in psychology and education. He went on to receive his master’s degree in the same field, while working at the Jewish Big Brothers Association. After graduation, Greenleigh worked in a variety of capacities, administering field operations and managing relief programs, before serving as the assistant executive director of the National Refugee Service. He would go on to join the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee in 1944, where he led efforts in assisting Jewish refugees in Italy and France, before becoming deputy director of field operations in Europe and North Africa. From 1945-1956, Greenleigh served as the executive director of the United Service for New Americans, which became the United HIAS Service. For years he assisted Jewish Holocaust survivors in resettling, and during this time gave many presentations criticizing U.S. immigration policy. In 1956, he founded Greenleigh Associates, a consulting firm specializing in health and welfare issues.