Far Eastern Jewish Central Information Bureau: Correspondence

Readers need to reserve a terminal in the reading room to access the digital version of this archive.

The Central Information Bureau for Jewish War Sufferers in the Far East was founded in 1917 by Sam Mason, a special delegate sent by the Hebrew Immigrant Society (better known as HIAS) in New York. Its function was to deal with the problem of refugees attempting to reach America (and other countries) from the Far East. The main office was established in Harbin, but branches were also set up in Yokohama, Japan, and Vladivostok on the eastern seaboard of the Soviet Union.

Though the Bureau continued to deal with the problems of victims of the 1914-1918 First World War until the late 1920's, it changed its official name to The Far Eastern Central Information Bureau in 1923 and took its cable address “DALJEWCIB” which became the organization's name in everyday use. At this time Meir Birman became involved in the Bureau's work and was to manage it until its dissolution some 25 years later.