The department was originally established in Paris, ca. 1937, under Baruch Zuckerman to increase membership, strengthen relations with and between affiliates, maintain contacts with branch offices, and improve the image of the WJC with its affiliates. When rescue activities diminished in the late 1940s, the Organization Department also inherited responsibility for the European Advisory Council. After the WJC headquarters moved from Europe, Zuckerman became the first director of the Organization Department in New York, ca. 1941. In February 1946 Zuckerman was succeeded by Isaac Schwartzbart, who continued as director until 1960 when the department was moved to Geneva and came under the direction of Gerhart M. Riegner, who carried the title, Director of Coordination. At that time some Organization Department files, especially correspondence from 1958—1960, were sent to Geneva and, as a result, are not included in this series.
14.4 linear feet (36 Hollinger boxes)
The series is divided into three (3) subseries: 1. Executive Files; 2. Office Files; 3. General Files.
Consists of of files of the Organization Department while it was based at the New York office of the WJC during the 1940s and 1950s. Materials in Series F. reflect the following activities of the Organization Department: fundraising (until May, 1946); producing reports on WJC activities for affiliates and on the situation of Jewish communities world wide; organizing commemorations (notably for anniversaries of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising) and celebrations; preparing for plenary assemblies and conferences; and maintaining relations with other Jewish organizations. Included in the series is correspondence with or about communities; records concerning commemorations, conferences, and affiliation; together with mimeographed materials (“stencils”) in the form of reports, form letters to affiliates, and memos to the Office and Executive Committees.
Organization Department