Overview
- Description
- Contains correspondence of the Geneva Office of the World Jewish Congress with organizations from Switzerland and from other countries and with the International Red Cross and the United Nations; papers and speeches of the head of the Geneva Office, Gerhart Riegner; wartime reports of the Relief Committee for the War-Stricken Jewish Population (RELICO); chronological files related to accounts, restitution and rehabilitation; minutes of the Geneva WJC meetings; and various periodicals and printed materials.
- Date
-
inclusive:
1936-2002
bulk: 1939-1955
- Credit Line
- 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.
- Collection Creator
- World Jewish Congress
- Biography
-
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.
Physical Details
- Language
- Hebrew Swedish English Other languages
- Extent
-
249 microfilm reels ; 35 mm.
10 diskette.
- System of Arrangement
- File C3/1 - C3/2191
Arrangement is thematic, and follows the arrangement in which the collection is maintained at the Central Zionist Archive.
Rights & Restrictions
- Conditions on Access
- This material can only be accessed in a Museum reading room or other on-campus viewing stations. No other access restrictions apply to this material.
- Conditions on Use
- Publication of documents and duplication of microfilm reels/copies of digital images for third parties require the written permission of the Central Zionist Archives, which may require payment of a license fee for commercial use.
- Copyright Holder
- World Zionist Organization. Central Zionist Archives
Keywords & Subjects
- Topical Term
- Refugees, Jewish--Poland. Refugees, Jewish--France. Refugees, Jewish--Romania. Refugees, Jewish--Germany. Refugees, Jewish--Argentina. Refugees, Jewish--Greece. Refugees, Jewish--Philippines. Refugees, Jewish--Hungary. Refugees, Jewish--Great Britain. Antisemitism. Holocaust survivors. Restitution and indemnification claims (1933- ) Holocaust Survivor -- Humanitarian assistance -- Associations, institutions, etc.
Administrative Notes
- Holder of Originals
-
World Zionist Organization. Central Zionist Archives
- Legal Status
- Permanent Collection
- Provenance
- The archives of the Geneva Office of the World Jewish Congress were transferred to the Central Zionist Archives (CZA) from the World Jewish Congress Office in Geneva in 1993. The record group notation at the CZA is C3. The material covering the period 1933-1956 was filmed by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum International Archives Project and transferred to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Archives in March 2004.
- Special Collection
-
Claims Conference International Holocaust Documentation Archive
- Record last modified:
- 2023-08-24 13:42:58
- This page:
- https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn515768
Additional Resources
Download & Licensing
- See Rights and Restrictions
- Terms of Use
- This record is digitized but cannot be downloaded online.
In-Person Research
- Requires Research Visit
- Plan a Research Visit
-
Request in Shapell Center Reading Room
Bowie, MD
