American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee correspondence

The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee correspondence contains monthly reports and biographical briefs on the residents of the displaced persons camps near Ulm and Heidenheim, Germany. The administration of these camps were run by the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, which was set up in 1913 in order to assist Jewish communities overseas. The collection centers around the documentation created by the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee as it administered the camps near Ulm and Heidenheim, Germany. The camp names near Ulm were Sedan-Kaserne, Hindenburg-Kaserne, Bleidorn-Kaserne, and Boelcke-Kaserne. The camp near Heidenheim was named the Voith settlement. The records contain monthly reports detailing the conditions of the camps, as well as developing situations and crime reports. Also in the records are biographical briefs of residents of the camps. The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) is the world’s leading Jewish humanitarian assistance organization. The JDC was founded in 1914 to assist Jewish persons in Palestine during World War I. The Holocaust and World War II caused the JDC to ramp up its relief efforts. With the end of the war in 1945, Jewish survivors were placed into hastily created displaced persons camps throughout Europe. Along with the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA), the JDC helped administer these camps and provide supplies. The JDC has aided millions of Jews in more than 85 countries.