Betty Drury collection regarding the Emergency Committee in Aid of Displaced Foreign Scholars

The Betty Drury collection regarding the Emergency Committee consists of documentation on individuals who successfully or unsuccessfully sought the Committee’s aid. In all, some 6,000 displaced scholars and professional persons from Europe appealed to the Committee. Of that number 335 were granted assistance through the Committee. Series 3 is particularly notable and contains biographical information about Emergency Committee grantees and account ledgers detailing payments to the grantees’ employers. Series 1: Subject files contains a variety of administrative records generated by the Emergency Committee including memorandums, minutes from various meetings, reports on Committee activities, financial records, press releases, and other materials related to the routine operation of the Committee. Series 2: Personal Files contains the biographical and case file for Robert M.W. Kempner, the personal correspondence of Betty Drury, and information pertaining to finding employment for Betty Drury after the Emergency Committee was disbanded. Also contains personal data about the scholars aided by the Committee, obtained through interviews, correspondence, or questionnaires separate from those in series three and four. Series 3: Account ledgers and biographical forms for Emergency Committee Grantees contains biographical information sheets (alphabetical by last name) for those scholars who received monetary aid from the Emergency Committee. Also contains two account ledgers detailing when, where, and to whom the monies were paid from 1933 to 1945. Series 4: Biographical information forms for refugee scholars contains biographical information forms for a wide variety of refugee scholars. Not all of these scholars received financial support from the Emergency Committee. The information sheets are organized in alphabetical order by profession. Series 5: Drafts for The Rescue of Science and Learning contains original drafts with marginalia, notes, publisher’s typeset, and other information pertaining to the publication of The Rescue of Science and Learning by Stephen Duggan and Betty Drury. Series 6: Alphabetically Indexed quotes considered for inclusion in The Rescue of Science and Learning contains a collection of quotes taken from interviews, newspaper and magazine articles, books, and other publications, that were considered for inclusion in The Rescue of Science and Learning. The quotes are typed on 5” X 7” index cards and alphabetically organized by topic. Series 7: General correspondence, and other materials file contains correspondence of the Emergency Committee. The correspondence is in alphabetical order and reflects the original arrangement of the Emergency Committee. In some cases, correspondence is filed by the last name of the sender. In other cases, correspondence is filed by the name of the originating agency. In some cases, correspondence is filed by the last name of the scholar in question. Other materials in the series follow the same pattern. Series 8: Newspaper and magazine clippings contains newspaper and magazine clippings related to the work of the Emergency Committee or to refugee scholars. Many clippings are obituary notices for refugee scholars. Series 9: Miscellaneous documents and notes contains documents originally filed in a folder labeled “miscellaneous.” Series 10: Pamphlets and other published materials contains bound printed materials about the Emergency Committee or about refugee scholars. Betty Drury (1907-1986) was born in New York City to Margaret Elizabeth Drury. She married Marvin H. Clapp in 1934. She served as Executive Secretary of the Emergency Committee in Aid of Displaced Foreign Scholars from 1937-1944 and co-authored the 1948 book The Rescue Of Science And Learning: The Story Of The Emergency Committee In Aid Of Displaced Foreign Scholars with the Committee’s founder, Stephen Duggan. She died in Englewood, NJ. The Emergency Committee in Aid of Displaced Foreign Scholars was formed in New York City in 1933 for the purpose of employing refugee German scholars in American institutions. Many of the refugee scholars were Jews displaced by the National Socialist government. The Committee came into existence through the efforts of a small group of academics and philanthropists in New York City. In May of 1933, Alfred E. Cohn, Bernard Flexner, and Fred M. Stein contacted Stephen Duggan, the director of the Institute of International Education, to discuss the possibility of creating an organization to assist German scholars fleeing to the United States. These four men formed the organizing committee that became the Emergency Committee in Aid of Displaced German Scholars. The Committee operated for twelve years, raising funds on behalf of refugee scholars. Relief was made indirectly to scholars through a program of grants-in-aid to colleges, universities, and other institutions and later through fellowships that served mainly artists and writers. These funds were provided mainly through foundations, although many individuals did make significant contributions. In 1938, as Nazi aggression spread throughout Europe, the Committee broadened the scope of its mission to include refugee scholars from all countries overrun by the Nazi armies. The Committee changed its name to the Emergency Committee in Aid of Displaced Foreign Scholars, in order to reflect this new mission. Over the course of twelve years, the Committee provided grants for 335 scholars and assisted many others through references to other assistance organizations. The Committee disbanded in 1945. Source: Duggan, Stephen and Betty Drury. The Rescue of Science and Learning. New York : The Macmillan Company, 1948.