United Service for New Americans

Last updated

The United Service for New Americans (USNA) was an aid organization founded in 1946 to help Jewish refugees from Europe, survivors from the camps and the war who often were the sole survivors from their families. [1] The organization was the result of the merger of the National Refugee Service and the Service to Foreign Born Department of the National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW). [2] [3] Two leaders in the formation of the new organization were Edwin Rosenberg, who became its first president, and Katharine Engel (Mrs. Irving M. Engel), of the NCJW, who became the first chair of the board of directors. [4] In 1949 a separate branch was started to deal with immigration through New York, the New York Association for New Americans (NYANA). In 1954 the national organization merged with the Hebrew Sheltering and Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS) and the migration services of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee in forming the United HIAS Service, while the NYANA remained an independent organization. [5] [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee</span> Jewish relief organization based in New York City

American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, also known as Joint or JDC, is a Jewish relief organization based in New York City. Since 1914 the organisation has supported Jewish people living in Israel and throughout the world. The organization is active in more than 70 countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gedenkdienst</span>

Gedenkdienst is the concept of facing and taking responsibility for the darkest chapters of one's own country's history while ideally being financially supported by one's own country's government to do so. Founded in Austria in 1992 by Andreas Maislinger the Gedenkdienst is an alternative to Austria's compulsory national military service as well as a volunteering platform for Austrians to work in Holocaust- and Jewish culture-related institutions around the world with governmental financial support. In Austria it is also referred to as Austrian Holocaust Memorial Service provided by the Austrian Service Abroad. The Austrian Gedenkdienst serves the remembrance of the crimes of Nazism, commemorates its victims and supports Jewish cultural future. The program is rooted in the acknoledgment of responsibility by the Austrian government for the crimes committed by National Socialism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Austrian Service Abroad</span>

The Austrian Service Abroad is a non-profit organization founded by Andreas Hörtnagl, Andreas Maislinger and Michael Prochazka in 1998, which sends young Austrians to work in partner institutions worldwide serving Holocaust commemoration in form of the Gedenkdienst, supporting vulnerable social groups and sustainability initiatives in form of the Austrian Social Service and realizing projects of peace within the framework of the Austrian Peace Service. Its services aim at the permanence of life on earth. The Austrian Service Abroad carries and promotes the idea of the House of Responsibility for the birthplace of Adolf Hitler in Braunau am Inn. The Austrian Service Abroad is the issuer of the annually conferred Austrian Holocaust Memorial Award. The program is funded by the Austrian government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sh'erit ha-Pletah</span> Holocaust survivors living in Displaced Persons camps

Sh'erit ha-Pletah is a Hebrew term for Jewish Holocaust survivors living in Displaced Persons (DP) camps, and the organisations they created to act on their behalf with the Allied authorities. These were active between 27 May 1945 and 1950–51, when the last DP camps closed.

The National Council of Jewish Women(NCJW) is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization. Founded in 1893, NCJW is self-described as the oldest Jewish women’s grassroots organization in the United States, now comprised by over 180,000 members. As of 2021, there are 60 sections in 30 states. Specifically, NCJW's prioritized interests include expanding abortion access, securing federal judiciary appointments, promoting voting integrity, and mobilizing Israeli feminist movements. These objectives are achieved through extensive lobbying, research, education, and community engagement. NCJW is headquartered in Washington, D.C., and maintains offices in numerous other cities in the U.S. as well as in Israel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International response to the Holocaust</span> Aftermath and reaction to the Holocaust by national governments and international bodies

In the decades since the Holocaust, some national governments, international bodies and world leaders have been criticized for their failure to take appropriate action to save the millions of European Jews, Roma, and other victims of the Holocaust. Critics say that such intervention, particularly by the Allied governments, might have saved substantial numbers of people and could have been accomplished without the diversion of significant resources from the war effort.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">HIAS</span> Jewish American nonprofit organization providing humanitarian aid and assistance to refugees

HIAS is a Jewish American nonprofit organization that provides humanitarian aid and assistance to refugees. It was originally established in 1881 to aid Jewish refugees. In 1975, the State Department asked HIAS to aid in resettling 3,600 Vietnam refugees. Since that time, the organization continues to provide support for refugees of all nationalities, religions, and ethnic origins. The organization works with people whose lives and freedom are believed to be at risk due to war, persecution, or violence. HIAS has offices in the United States and across Latin America, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. Since its inception, HIAS has helped resettle more than 4.5 million people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holocaust survivors</span> People who survived the Holocaust

Holocaust survivors are people who survived the Holocaust, defined as the persecution and attempted annihilation of the Jews by Nazi Germany and its allies before and during World War II in Europe and North Africa. There is no universally accepted definition of the term, and it has been applied variously to Jews who survived the war in German-occupied Europe or other Axis territories, as well as to those who fled to Allied and neutral countries before or during the war. In some cases, non-Jews who also experienced collective persecution under the Nazi regime are also considered Holocaust survivors. The definition has evolved over time.

The One Thousand Children (OTC) is a designation, created in 2000, which is used to refer to the approximately 1,400 Jewish children who were rescued from Nazi Germany and other Nazi-occupied or threatened European countries, and who were taken directly to the United States during the period 1934–1945. The phrase "One Thousand Children" only refers to those children who came unaccompanied and left their parents behind back in Europe. In nearly all cases, their parents were not able to escape with their children, because they could not get the necessary visas among other reasons. Later, nearly all these parents were murdered by the Nazis.

Israel Singer was secretary general of the World Jewish Congress (WJC) from 1986 to 2007.

Paul R. Bartrop is an Australian historian of the Holocaust and genocide. From August 2012 until December 2020 he was Professor of History and Director of the Center for Judaic, Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Florida Gulf Coast University, Fort Myers, Florida. In 2020 he was appointed to the honorary position of Visiting Professorial Fellow at the University of New South Wales, Canberra. In April 2021 he became Professor Emeritus of History at Florida Gulf Coast University. During the academic year of 2011-2012 he was the Ida E. King Distinguished Visiting Professor of Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Richard Stockton College of New Jersey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antisemitism in the United States</span> Hatred towards the Jewish people within the US

Antisemitism in the United States has existed for centuries. In the United States, most Jewish community relations agencies draw distinctions between antisemitism, which is measured in terms of attitudes and behaviors, and the security and status of American Jews, which are both measured by the occurrence of specific incidents. FBI data shows that in every year since 1991, Jews were the most frequent victims of religiously motivated hate crimes, according to a report which was published by the Anti-Defamation League in 2019. Evidence suggests that the true number of hate crimes against Jews is underreported, as is the case for many other targeted groups.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Giv'at Oz</span> Place in Northern, Israel

Giv'at Oz is a kibbutz in northern Israel. Located in the Jezreel Valley between Umm al-Fahm and Afula, it falls under the jurisdiction of Megiddo Regional Council. In 2019 it had a population of 464. The kibbutz lies north to Zalafa and Salem and Highway 66 runs near it.

The New York Association for New Americans (NYANA) was a UJC agency for refugee assistance located on the Battery in New York City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rescue of Jews by Poles during the Holocaust</span> Rescue of Jews by Poles during the Holocaust

Polish Jews were the primary victims of the German-organized Holocaust in Poland. Throughout the German occupation of Poland, many Poles rescued Jews from the Holocaust, in the process risking their lives – and the lives of their families. Poles were, by nationality, the most numerous persons who rescued Jews during the Holocaust. To date, 7,177 ethnic Poles have been recognized by the State of Israel as Righteous among the Nations – more, by far, than the citizens of any other country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Blue Card</span>

The Blue Card is a national non-profit organization solely dedicated to providing financial assistance to destitute Holocaust survivors residing in the United States.

Islamic Relief USA (IRUSA), based in Alexandria, Virginia, is a non-profit 501(c)(3) humanitarian agency and member of the Islamic Relief Worldwide group of organizations. IRUSA was founded in California in 1993. In addition to international relief and development initiatives, Islamic Relief USA also sponsors and funds domestic projects ranging from emergency disaster responses to assisting the American homeless population and supporting those who cannot afford basic healthcare.

The National Refugee Service (NRS) was a refugee aid organization founded in New York City on 15 May 1939 to assist refugees from Europe fleeing Nazi persecution. It represented a reorganization of a predecessor organization, the National Coordinating Committee for Aid to Refugees and Emigrants Coming from Germany (NCC), which had been in operation since 1934 as an umbrella organization of refugee aid agencies.p. 364-365 The National Refugee Service remained in existence until August 1946, when it merged with the Service for Foreign Born of the National Council of Jewish Women to form the new organization United Service for New Americans.

The German Jewish Children's Aid (GJCA) was an organization, based in America, which acted as the receiving organization for unaccompanied Jewish children emigrating primarily from Germany to the United States. It was in charge of posting bonds for the refugee children,, obtaining visas, arranging their transfer to the USA and caring for them after arrival. Since 1934, the organization had helped hundreds of distressed refugee children resettle in USA. After November 1942, it was renamed "European Jewish Children's Aid."

Cecila Davidson Razovsky was a Jewish American social worker and activist for immigrants in the US.

References

  1. "Vintage San Francisco CA note, 630 Corbett Ave, probably WWII related, USNA". eBay. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
  2. Burstin, Barbara. "Holocaust Survivors: Rescue and Resettlement in the United States". Jewish Women's Archive . Retrieved 23 September 2013.
  3. Cohen, Beth B. (2013). "The Last Remnants of the Holocaust: The representation of reality of child survivors' lives". In Kate Darian-Smith, Carla Pascoe (ed.). Children, Childhood and Cultural Heritage. Routledge. pp. 175–89. ISBN   9780415529945.
  4. Romanofsky, Peter (revised and updated by Michael Dobkowski), "United Service for New Americans (USNA)," in Michael N. Dobkowski (ed.), Jewish American volunteer organizations (Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, c1986), p. 481.
  5. Romanofsky, Peter (revised and updated by Michael Dobkowski), "United HIAS Service (UHS)," in Michael N. Dobkowski (ed.), Jewish American volunteer organizations (Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, c1986), p. 462.
  6. "United Service for New Americans (USNA)". YIVO . Retrieved 23 September 2013.