Joseph H. Smart papers

The Joseph H. Smart papers consist of a typed manuscript of his 1991 book Don’t Fence Me In!: Fort Ontario Refugees: How They Won Their Freedom"; a typed manuscript of his 1992 companion volume "The Documents: Friends of Fort Ontario Guest Refugees"; and the original documents that are reproduced in the companion volume. His 1991 book documents his service as the director of the Fort Ontario Emergency Shelter, and his 1992 companion volume comprising copies of the files of the Friends of Fort Ontario Guest Refugees, an organization formed by the Fort Ontario refugees to campaign for their freedom. The collection also includes the original documents reproduced in the companion volume. Documents include correspondence, reports, name lists, and printed materials. Joseph H. Smart (1900-1993) was born November 12, 1900 to William and Anna Smart in Ogden, Utah. He worked within the Justice Department, National Recovery Administration, and Resettlement Agency. He joined the War Relocation Authority in 1942, and his offices supervised Japanese internment camps incuding Heart Mountain, Minidoka, and Grenada (Amache). In 1944 he was appointed director of the Fort Ontario Emergency Shelter established in Oswego, New York, to house refugees of various nationalities, most of whom were Jewish, brought to the United States from Europe. In 1945, Smart resigned his position to head the Friends of Fort Ontario Guest Refugees, an organization that mounted a successful campaign by Shelter residents to gain permission to remain permanently in the United States. He died November 21, 1993 in Salt Lake City.