Introductory study

How the Joint came into being – a brief history

The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee was and is the largest
Jewish organization in the world, whose role is to help needy Jews from all over
the world. In August 1914, the US Ambassador to Turkey, Henry Morgenthau Sr.,
sent a telegram to American philanthropist Jacob H. Schiff, asking for $50,0001
to help Jews in Palestine2. Consequently, on November 27, 1914, the Joint
Distribution Committee was founded, under the presidency of Felix M. Warburg.
This was the result of the merger of two Jewish American relief committees –
founded a few weeks earlier – the Central Committee for the Relief of Jews and
the American Jewish Relief Committee. A third constituent agency of the Joint,
which joined the other two later on, was People’s Relief Committee.
The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, based in New York –
known as the Joint, abbreviated as JDC – was originally established to collect and
distribute funds in order to help the Jews of Eastern Europe and Palestine3. Until
1931, it was called the Joint Distribution Committee of (the American) Funds
for Jewish War Sufferers.
The resources of the JDC originated from funds raised by the American Jewish
Relief Committee – established on October 25, 1914, by Reform Jews of German
origin, such as Louis Marshall (Chairman), Jacob H. Schiff, Felix M. Warburg – and
by the Central Committee for the Relief of Jews – established on October 4, 1914
by Orthodox Jews originating from Eastern Europe, chaired by Leon Kamaiky. A
few months later, the People’s Relief Committee, under the chairmanship of Meyer
London and representing Jewish workers, became a new source of funding.
As far as the leadership of the JDC was concerned, the representatives of
various organizations were in, both secular and religious: Zionists collaborated
with non-Zionists and even with anti-Zionists; Orthodox Jews worked together
with representatives of conservative groups and of reformed Jews; the policy of
the organization was to seek the support and participation of all trends of the
American Jewry.
1. The equivalent of one million US dollars in today’s money.
2. “To save from starvation the 60,000 Jews of Palestine who had been cut off by the warring armies” (Moses
Leavitt, The JDC Story: Highlights of JDC Activities, 1914-1952, Published by the American Jewish Joint
Distribution Committee, Inc., New York, 1953, page 4).
3. President Wilson himself recognized the plight of European Jewry and lent his every encouragement to the
effort to raise funds, designating January 27, 1916, as a special day for contributions to Jewish war relief funds
(Albert Lucas, “American Jewish Relief in the World War”, in The Annals of the American Academy of Political
and Social Science, Vol. 79, War Relief Work, Sage Publications, Inc. and The American Academy of Political and
Social Science, [September 1918], page 225).

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At the same time, the JDC has always preserved its independence from all
political movements in general, as well as from specific Jewish ones. In this regard,
Felix M. Warburg, JDC Chairman, said:

JDC in its work of relief and rehabilitation of Jewish victims of war and persecution
has scrupulously refrained from political activities, and has never deviated from its
principle of exclusive adherence to its humanitarian role4.

The JDC started its activity by centralizing the funds collected for aiding
Jews affected by the First World War. In this context, the first action was to send
a transport of food and medicines5 to the Jews living in Palestine under Ottoman
rule. They were severely affected by the fact that the Ottoman Empire was at war
with the Allies, and this situation entailed the blockade of ports where aid could
penetrate the area from.

The first relief efforts for Romania

In Romania, the first news about the establishment of the Joint Distribution
Committee appeared in the Curierul Israelit [The Israelite Courier] newspaper, on
December 19, 1914 under the rubric “Letters from New York”. But the first piece
of information we have on the aid granted by the Joint to the Jews of Romania
dates from June 29, 1916. It is a memo signed by the chairman of the JDC, Felix
M. Warburg, which authorized the organization’s representative in Washington,
Fulton Brylawski, to send a check of $5,000 to the US Ambassador to Bucharest,
Charles Vopicka. The amount was to be distributed to poor Jews in Romania6. But
more help was on its way. Given that Romania joined the war (in August 1916, on
the side of the Entente), the JDC President sent a telegram to the US Ambassador
to Bucharest asking to be informed of the financial aid needed by Jews7.
4. Moses Leavitt, quoted work, page 4.
5. In March 1915, the JDC sent 1.5 million US dollars to Palestine, aboard the USS Vulcan, as well as 900 tons of
food and medicines. About 55% of these were meant for starving Jews, and the rest were distributed irrespective
of religion and ethnicity, under the supervision of the American Consul (Yehuda Bauer, My Brother’s Keeper: A
History of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee 1929-1939, Philadelphia, Jewish Publication Society
of America, 1974, page 7).
6. JDC NY Archives, Collection: 1914-1918, F #142, Letter from the Chairman of the JDC to Fulton
Brylawski, 06/29/1916.
7. Idem. Letter from Felix M. Warburg to Albert Lucas, 09/27/1916. Charles Vopicka replied on October 31,
asking for the amount of $40,000 to help Romanian Jews (Idem, Letter from Charles Vopicka to Felix M. Warburg,
10/31/1916). The Treasurer of the JDC approved $10,000. Of these, 5,000 were for helping Romanian Jews in the
territories occupied by German troops and 5,000 were to be distributed to Jews from the unoccupied territory (Idem,
Letter from the JDC Treasurer to Isidore Hirshfield, 12/29/1916). The same document stated that, when the receipt
of $10,000 had been confirmed, the JDC was ready to advance new aid in cash, up to the amount of $40,000 (Ibidem).

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After the United States joined the war, on April 6, 1917, also on the side of
the Entente, the JDC faced the problem of transferring funds to the territories
occupied by Germany and her allies. With government approval, in August
1917, a JDC committee was established in the Netherlands – a neutral country.
It was called the “Holland Branch”, and Joint funds could thus be distributed
to the Jews living in German-controlled territories. This was done through
diplomatic channels, through embassies and consulates. JDC representatives in
charge of this matter were Boris D. Bogen and Max Senior 8. In collaboration
with the State Department, the JDC also sent funds into Romania through
the Jewish Colonization Association (ICA) – Petrograd. These funds were
given over to Charles Vopicka, whose task was to hand them over to Jewish
organizations, for further distribution9. During 1916-1918, the JDC allocated
the amount of $155,000 for Romania: 1916 – $10,000; 1917 – $95,000; 1918
– $50,00010. Wilhelm Filderman, the future chairman of the JDC in Romania,
wrote in his diary:

This money allowed us to set up canteens and clinics, as typhoid and typhus raged
among the population11.

Representatives of the Joint Distribution Committee began working in

Eastern Europe in 1919, as officers of the American Relief Administration
(ARA). This delegation of mutual assistance was directed by Herbert Hoover –
future President of the United States – and was tasked with distributing food and
clothes to the needy of Europe. The JDC contributed 3.3 million US dollars to
the budget of the American Relief Administration.

Organization of the JDC’s activity in Romania

In the beginning of 1919, the Central Relief Committee was established in
Bucharest for the distribution of the effects send from America. It was headed
by the famous philanthropist, Adolf Salomon12. Immediately afterwards, in

8. Yehuda Bauer, quoted work, page 8, and Oscar Handlin, A Continuing Task: The American Jewish Joint
Distribution Committee 1914-1964, Random House, New York, 1964, page 30.
9. JDC NY Archives, Collection: 1914-1918, F #142, Letter from JDC Secretary to Charles Vopicka,
07/13/1917.
10. Idem, Letter to JDC from Moritz Wachtel, 05/22/1919.
11. Wilhelm Filderman, Memorii și jurnale, Volumul I, 1900-1940 [Memoirs and Diaries, Volume I, 1900-1940],
Hasefer / The Publishing House of the “Elie Wiesel” Institute for the Study of the Holocaust in Romania,
Bucharest, 2016, page 148.
12. JDC NY Archives, Collection: 1919-1921, F #235, Notes of the organization of the Jewish Relief Committee,
04/08/1919. On the establishment of this Committee, W. Filderman wrote in his memoirs:

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April 1919, Hetty Goldman13 came to Romania as a representative of the Joint

Distribution Committee. She reorganized the Central Relief Committee in
Bucharest, basically turning it, together with other committees in the country,
into a branch of the JDC. The Committee, which was meant to represent all
categories of Romanian Jews, included the following organizations: the Union
of Local Jews, the Central Zionist Committee, the Sacra Society (Chevra
Kadisha), the Union of Israelite Women, B’nai B’rith lodges (“Fraternity” and
“Light”), the Liberty Circle, the Unification of Graduates14, the Children’s
Home Organization, the Community of the Coral Temple and Spanish Jews
(Sephardim). Rabbi Dr. Beck, Rabbi Dr. Niemirower and Rabbi Dr. Alperin15
were also members of the Committee. The event was described in the Curierul
Israelit newspaper, in an article titled “The Joint Distribution Committee,
Romanian Branch”:

After an agreement was reached with Miss Hetty Goldman, sent by the Joint
Distribution Committee of New York, a committee of the same name was
established in Bucharest [a Central Committee – editor’s note], made of 12
members from the capital, four from Iași, two from Galați and one from the towns
of Botoșani, Dorohoi, Bacău, Piatra Neamț, Roman, Focșani, Brăila, Constanța
and Craiova16, each.

Hetty Goldman visited the most important centers, namely Bucharest, Iași,
Galați, Brăila and Constanța. She also went to Bessarabia to investigate living
conditions there. Her report is a comprehensive description of the situation of
the Jews in Old Romania and Bessarabia17. Acting upon her recommendations,
the Joint Distribution Committee took steps for new fundraising efforts.

“A Central Committee of 12 members was organized, seven of which represented the Union of Local Jews.
The branches of the Union, scattered across the country, became subsidiaries of the JDC” (Wilhelm Filderman,
quoted work, page 149).
13. Hetty Goldman, daughter of Julius Goldman, Director of JDC Europe, was the first emissary of the Joint
in Romania.
14. This probably refers to the Unirea [Unification] Graduates Association.
15. JDC NY Archives, Collection: 1919-1921, F #235, Notes of the organization of the Jewish Relief Committee,
04/08/1919.
16. Curierul Israelit, May 29, 1919.
17. After the Great Unification of 1918, when Romania incorporated her historical provinces previously under
foreign occupation, the JDC took into account the particular features of Jewish communities in each region.
Aid was distributed in line with the general requirements of each province: for example, Bessarabia, during the
famine, received special subsidies.

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After Hetty Goldman left Romania, the Joint Distribution Committee sent
Baruch Zuckerman, who mainly investigated living conditions in Bukovina and
Bessarabia. He prepared detailed reports on Jewish institutions in the towns he
visited and he also expressed his personal impressions.

Separating the work of the JDC into two sections

The first regional director that the JDC delegated to Romania in the
summer of 1919 was James H. Becker18. As of that period, the activities of
the JDC were separated into two distinct sections: temporary relief and aid
for reconstruction. In Old Romania, temporarily relief actions entailed: the
opening of canteens; medical assistance provided by doctors sent there for this
very purpose, as well as by establishing free of charge medical dispensaries;
fuel distribution to the poor so as to heat their homes; the distribution of food
and clothes from America. The aid also consisted of grants for orphanages,
for vocational schools, for trade schools, hospitals and other institutions,
as their overhead had increased substantially because of the war and they
could no longer be maintained by local Jewish organizations. An important
issue was the care provided to tuberculosis patients, whose number was very
high because of the poor physical condition of the Jewish people and the
unsanitary conditions they had to face. The JDC approved special funding for
the treatment and prevention of tuberculosis19.
The new policy of the Joint Distribution Committee was to keep the
temporary aid to a minimum and to direct subsidies towards reconstruction.
Given this purpose, as of August 1919, the organization decided that all funds
were to be used for reconstruction. This has resulted in: loans given to workers and
small merchants, for them to purchase tools and goods – these loans were to be
repaid in small monthly installments; saving money for establishing orphanages
and for extending existing such institutions20.
Particular attention was paid to reconstruction in regions that had been
devastated by war. The best examples, in this case, can be seen in the towns of
Panciu and Târgu Ocna. Repair of less damaged houses, in these towns, began
during the chairmanship of James Becker. They became usable, once again, in a
relatively short time21.

18. JDC relief work was entrusted to Lieutenant James H. Becker in Romania, for the period of August 1, 1919
to March 8, 1920. However, he was in Romania since May 1919, so as to investigate the situation locally.
19. JDC NY Archives, Collection: 1919-1921, F #236.2, Survey of the Work done by the JDC in 1919 and
1920, 09/24/1920.
20. Ibidem.
21. Ibidem.

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A noteworthy activity of the Joint during this period is the establishment of

nurse training classes at the Jewish hospital in Iași22.

Alexander A. Landesco’s role in organizing the work of the Joint

James H. Becker was succeeded by Alexander A. Landesco, a Romanian-
born American Jew. He was also much involved in organizing and developing
the work of the JDC. He would check all expenses, oversee fundraising activities,
plan the reconstruction of destroyed houses and initiate activities of medical
care. His assistant, Oscar Leonard, visited some Jewish institutions in order to
form a clear idea of the situation, as much as possible. Oscar Leonard was the
one to develop and organize local fundraising after the American model.
The organization of the JDC distribution agencies began in Old Romania,
Bukovina and Bessarabia; in these areas, local representative committees were set up.
They elected their delegates to the Central Committee of the province. In Bukovina,
the headquarters of the Central Committee was based in Czernowitz; in Bessarabia,
the headquarters of the Central Committee was based in Kishinev; in Old Romania,
it was based in Bucharest. Each province was entitled to three representatives into the
Central Committee for Romania. During the following period, similar distribution
agencies were also set up in Transylvania23. JDC representatives developed relief
work there, too, and founded the Central Committee24 for Transylvania, in Cluj.
One of Alexander Landesco’s first initiatives was to call for a conference
in early March 1920, in order to develop public welfare25, for he argued in his
opening remarks at the conference:

What the Joint Distribution Committee did, so far, was only a temporary, immediate
aid, because the need was great and urgent. Now, however, something must be done
systematically and this can be done much more since we have Mr. Oscar Leonard with
us, a specialist in this field, and he is happy to be at the service of the Committee26.

22. Ibidem.
23. On May 11, 1920, Alexander Landesco visited the city of Cluj, after an emergency call from the National
Union of Jews in Transylvania, based in Cluj, not to neglect this part of Romania ( JDC NY Archives, Collection:
1919-1921, F #246, Letter from Alexander Landesco to Julius Goldman, 05/18/1920).
24. Idem, F #236.2, Survey of the Work done by the JDC in 1919 and 1920, 09/24/1920.
25. “Jewish Public Welfare, managed by a committee elected by the general assembly of donors for relief, was
planned as a social clinic, to save from poverty, to give the poor the opportunity to work and earn a livelihood.
Each case was to have the causes of poverty examined. If the person was ill, he or she was to be healed, having
the opportunity to work, afterwards; if the person had no capital, a small amount was to be provided, so that
he or she could earn a living, etc. Relief work was supposed to help restore their ability to work. This is how
poverty can be lowered” (Curierul Israelit, November 23, 1920).
26. Ibidem, March 17, 1920.

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Focusing on reconstruction after the devastation of the war, Alexander

Landesco wanted to develop a Local, Independent Loan, Construction and
Savings Association, exclusively made of local capital and whose purpose was
to provide loans for reconstruction27. In this context, the aid for June and July
included a special fund of $100,000, to be used for repairing houses in Bukovina
and for solving the general housing shortage28.
Alexander Landesco had an important role in the organization of the so-
called credit cooperatives. During his tenure, the JDC approved $200,000 for
credit cooperatives29. These would basically have an explosive development in
the late 1920s and early 1930s.
Landesco also paid attention to the general situation of Romania, especially
after the end of the war and after Greater Romania came into being. Thus, in
March 1920, he wrote to Queen Mary, expressing his joy for the Great Unification,
and also sending a check of 50,000 lei, intended for war orphans. Landesco was
received in an audience by Queen Mary. She expressed a direct interest in learning
about the welfare system in America30. The Queen was so interested in this topic
that she sent a letter to the JDC chairman. The document was published in the
Curierul Israelit newspaper on September 19, 1920:

The work of the JDC was extremely good for the Jewish population. I also know
that your organization has provided many services to other citizens of my country,
as well, and I do hope that the work you have begun will continue as long as
needed. I learned about your projects to rebuild thousands of homes in Bukovina
and other regions, as well as about your plans to rebuild homes destroyed by the
war. Not only do I approve them, I also admire your efforts31.

In early April, A. Landesco, together with Horia Carp, Secretary of the JDC,
visited several localities in Bukovina which had suffered great damage during the
war. In order to have the destroyed houses rebuilt, some 5,000-6,000 of them,
the regional director of the JDC, together with the Committee of Bukovina,
commissioned architect Bochmer of Czernowitz to visit all destroyed localities,
to fill in the data on the homes to be rebuilt and to estimate the costs thereof.
On this occasion, Landesco made a donation of 50,000 crowns to the City Hall

27. JDC NY Archives, Collection: 1919-1921, F #237, Letter from Alexander Landesco to Julius Goldman,
03/24/1920.
28. Idem, F #244.3, Letter from Alexander Landesco to Julius Goldman, 05/22/1920.
29. Idem, Letter from James Becker to Felix Warburg, Re: Loan of $200,000 to Co-operatives, 05/07/1920.
30. Curierul Israelit, April 9, 1920.
31. Ibidem, September 19, 1920.

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of Czernowitz, for the smooth operation of the folk canteen where needy people
could eat, irrespective of nationality32.
On June 6, 1920, the conference of JDC country delegates was held in
Bucharest. It was attended by delegates from 52 cities of Old Romania. They
adopted the action plan of the Central Committee of the JDC for Romania.
Particular emphasis was put on the establishment of Credit and Savings
Cooperatives, meant to help improve the economic situation of all those who had
suffered from the war. A. Landesco held a comprehensive speech on the action
plan, indicating that the JDC would still focus on providing aid to war widows
and orphans. He also stated that public assistance efforts, if properly developed,
would enjoy the broad support of the JDC, so as to comply with modern Public
Assistance standards and provide medical care, school canteens, summer camps
for children, clothes and shoes for poor children, etc.33
The JDC conditioned the aid provided to the Jews in Romania by the equal
involvement of local Jews who were well off. A. Landesco visited several well-
to-do Jews. He raised 200,000 lei from Mauriciu Blank; 80,000 lei from Ely
Berkowitz; the same amount from Aron Schuller, as well as other large amounts
from Jews of Bucharest, Galați and other towns34.

Wilhelm Filderman – Chairman of the JDC branch in Romania

After Adolf Salomon passed away, on June 15, 1920, Wilhelm Filderman
was elected chairman of the JDC. He held this position until 1947. As chairman
of the Union of Romanian Jews and of the Jewish Community in Bucharest,
for a brief period, as well as of the Central Council and of the Federation of
Unions of Jewish Communities, he managed all these different positions in order
to represent the interests and needs of the Jewish community in Romania in
relation with the JDC, as well.

From his autobiographical diaries, it is clear he was involved in the work of

the JDC even before his election as chairman. When, in early 1919, the first JDC
representatives arrived in Romania, the starting point of the work was to make
records on the situation of the time, so as to know the areas where aid was needed:

We went to work immediately. We initiated a census of widows and orphans of war.

We made a list of medical, religious, cultural and philanthropic institutions needed for
the proper organization of Jewish life. We distributed food, clothes and sometimes

32. Ibidem, April 29, 1920.

33. Ibidem, June 13, 1920.
34. Wilhelm Filderman, quoted work, page 150.

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money (but only modest amounts). We helped the disabled, the crippled, and we gave
them orthopedic devices. Tuberculosis patients were admitted to the sanatorium in
Bisericani and a real amusement park opened for the children, in Cioplea35.

Shortly after having been elected chairman, on July 27, 1920, Filderman
presented an activity plan to the Central Committee of the Romanian branch of
the JDC. His proposal was for the activity to focus on two main objectives:
Prevention, which did not mean charity, but social welfare. They were to
monitor the medical state of the population, to learn about the living and eating
conditions, so that the aid was granted on the basis of permanent research of the
general situation of the Jewish population.
Vocational retraining, which entailed investments for professional
development, primarily of craftsmen; Jewish youth was to be guided towards
professional lucrative activities. In light of these objectives, W. Filderman wanted
the youth to be trained in various professions; they also planned to set up offices
in order to handle the labor placement36 process.

Decisions of the JDC conference in Vienna (November 15 to 20, 1920)

In the later part of 1920, the Joint Distribution Committee decided to begin
the closing down of its branches and to scale down relief work, which needed
to be completed by July 1, 1921. Following the Vienna Conference, held from
November 15 to 20, 1920, the Central Committee of the JDC Romania circulated
the following memo to the local committees:

We are proud to let you know that, following the decisions made at the latest
JDC conference of regional directors in Europe [...] our activity in Romania –
as everywhere else – will be scaled down, from now on, to helping only war widows
and orphans, whose plight needs our help37. The reason for this decision lies in the fact
that funds still available to the JDC in America, today, are dramatically low, so that
we can no longer afford to distribute even the smallest amount from these funds to
other purposes, except for the specific purpose for which the JDC came to Europe,
namely to help widows and orphans of war38.

35. Ibidem, page 149.

36. Ibidem, page 150.
37. Widows and orphans of war still benefitted from free meals at canteens and their school fees were
paid. They were also given free milk, soap and medicines. Sewing machines and tools for craftsmen, stored
in JDC warehouses, were to be provided to the cooperatives that would soon come into being (see Moshe
Ussoskin, Struggle for Survival. A History of Jewish Credit Cooperatives in Bessarabia, Old Romania, Bukovina and
Transylvania, Jerusalem Academic Press, 1975).
38. Curierul Israelit, December 12, 1920.

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Under the new conditions, JDC adopted a new policy, which consisted in
trying to help European Jews to support themselves by helping them develop the
so-called reconstruction work39. Thus, even if their offices were closed40, the JDC’s
activities in Romania continued; in the 1920s, until September 30, 1926, the Joint
had sent 2.6 million US dollars41.

The JDC’s contribution to the establishment and operation of credit

cooperatives
Starting from the idea that the charitable activity of the JDC was limited in
time and scope and that, in any case, the work of improving the lives of widows
and orphans of war was unilateral, the Joint Distribution Committee decided to
proceed to an action which, by its permanent character and continuous renewal,
would have a lasting effect upon Romanian Jews. In May 1924, the JDC and ICA
established the American Joint Reconstruction Foundation (AJRF) in order to
continue and develop the reconstruction program in Central and Eastern Europe
(except for the Soviet Union). AJRF took over the reconstruction activities that
the two organizations used to perform separately. This was done together with
Bernhard Kahn, on behalf of the JDC, and Louis Oungre, on behalf of the ICA.
The main tasks of the AJRF consisted in establishing credit cooperatives, trade
banks and rebuilding homes that had been destroyed during the First World War.
The JDC initiatives about cooperation entailed various aspects, depending
on the particular situation of each province. For example, in Bukovina, the Joint
provided a fund of 5,000,000 lei to the Reconstruction Society in Czernowitz
(Wiederaufbaugesellschaft). The society, founded in 1920, mainly focused on
rebuilding homes that had been destroyed during the war42. As far as Jewish
cooperatives in Bessarabia were concerned, they had a long tradition. In 1921,
the JDC provided them with the amount of 8,000,000 lei. The cooperatives in
Old Romania were also provided with 5,000,000 lei during the same period. This
enabled them to establish a central cooperative in Bucharest43.
Thus, the JDC provided aid for the establishment of Jewish Credit
Cooperatives: in the beginning, in 1920, the amount of $200,000 was allocated; in
1926, the amount of $551,775 was granted. At that time, there were 10 cooperatives
in Old Romania, 34 in Bessarabia, 4 in Bukovina and 6 in Transylvania, totaling

39. Yehuda Bauer, quoted work, page 16.

40. When it closed its offices, in August 1921, the JDC donated all its properties to the Jewish communities of
Romania (Wilhelm Filderman, quoted work, page 152).
41. Ibidem, page 153.
42. Curierul Israelit, January 30, 1921.
43. Ibidem.

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38,453 members. In 1930, in Romania, except for Transylvania, 109 cooperatives

totaling 82,000 members were operational. Loans up to the amount of 5.5 million
US dollars were given. In Transylvania, there were 10 cooperatives totaling 8,800
members. In order to maintain the Cooperatives in 1930, the JDC allocated
$125,234. During 1932-1936, the amount of $628,650 was provided. The aim
of the Cooperatives was to provide small and cheap loans that were especially
needed by craftsmen. Thus, the aid provided by the Joint was used for lucrative
purposes, which is exactly their objective44. The effectiveness of these institutions
was visible in the report for 1937: no less than 49,000 loans were granted, totaling
3.8 million US dollars45.
On the operation of credit cooperatives, Major F.J. Duncan, a former British
military attaché in Bucharest, noted the following, in a memorandum dated 1938:

These institutions have never practiced a policy of discrimination or narrow

sectarianism of any kind. Anyone who asks for assistance and complies with the
regulations and the provisions of the by-laws, receives it. The percentage of non-
Jewish members is very considerable, even though the funds are provided entirely
form Jewish sources46.

Major Duncan’s memorandum was a result of the law adopted on the operation
of cooperatives in June 1938. The entire cooperative system was thus taken over
and Mitiţă Constantinescu, the Minister of National Economy and Chairman
of the Higher Banking Council, became its head. Under the new legislation, the
minister could dissolve the cooperatives at any time; they lost their independence.
The financial policy of the Minister of National Economy, supported by King
Charles II, was directed against small credit cooperatives, more precisely against
small Jewish credit cooperatives. In this context, the Joint Distribution Committee
undertook all possible actions to try to save the cooperatives, as they were vital for
small craftsmen and traders of Jewish origin. Major Duncan, who was respected
in Romanian political circles, was asked to intervene in favor of the cooperatives
and he accepted the mission. But his efforts were unsuccessful47. The cooperatives
became share stock companies. They were reorganized, for a short period, after
the Second World War.

44. Wilhelm Filderman, quoted work, page 154.

45. JDC NY Archives, Collection: 1933-1944, F #899, Letter from JDC Executive Director to Oscar Leonard,
04/11/1938.
46. Idem, General Short Memorandum from Major Duncan on the Jewish Kassas in Romania.
47. W. Filderman wrote: “Given the current situation, one cannot get relief from America and the JDC cannot
provide funding for a credit cooperative movement across the country” (Curierul Israelit, June 12, 1938).

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Helping refugees
After the First World War, in the early 1920s, Jewish organizations in
Romania faced the issue of helping Jewish refugees48, victims of anti-Jewish
violence during the civil war that had begun after the October Revolution in the
territory of the future Soviet state. The White Brigades, led by Petliura, Denikin
and Wrangel staged pogroms and other criminal acts, threatening the material
and physical existence of the Jewish population. In February 1921, the number of
Jewish refugees rose to 22,000, the majority having been hosted in the towns of
Bessarabia.49 Relief committees in Romania, developed with JDC funds, provided
assistance to the refugees, as part of the general relief work.
In late June, Bernhard Kahn50, Director of the JDC Department for
Refugees, went to Kishinev to investigate the situation of the refugees in
Bessarabia. He estimated their number at 35,000, about 9,000 of whom were
supported by the JDC.

He believes that there will be an issue with a number about 25,000 refugees who will
stay in the town permanently. Perhaps 7,000 of them will emigrate to the United
States, 6,000 will go to other countries, but 25,000 will remain there, as I initially
said, and they will have to be reintegrated into a lucrative activity51.

B. Kahn estimated the budget for Jewish refugees in Romania amounted to

$5,000 / month, until November 1, 1921: “this amount is allocated only for those
who cross the border, not for those already in Romania for a few months”52.
During 1921-1923, the JDC program for helping refugees entailed the
following: distribution of food, clothing, medicines, provision of temporary
housing, care for children and orphans, education, providing loans53. According to
48. See Vadim Guzun on the refugees: Chestiunea refugiaților de peste Nistru: Documente diplomatice și ale
serviciilor române de informații, 1919-1936 [The question of Refugees over the Dniester River: Diplomatic
Documents and the Romanian Intelligence Service, 1919-1936], Argonaut Publishing House, Cluj-Napoca,
2012; Idem, Indezirabilii: aspecte mediatice, umanitare și de securitate privind emigrația din Uniunea Sovietică în
România interbelică [Undesirables: Media, Humanitarian and Security Issues on the Emigration from the Soviet
Union to Interwar Romania], Argonaut Publishing House, Cluj-Napoca, 2013.
49. The JDC ceased its activity in Bessarabia, in February, and officially announced its asset liquidation, except
for aid provided to refugees ( JDC NY Archives, Collection: 1919-1921, F #236.1, Letter from Morris Lewis to
the Executive Council of JDC Paris, 06/15/1921).
50. In 1924, Bernhard Kahn became JDC director for Europe, a position he held for 14 years. For the Jews of
Europe, Bernhard Kahn was “Mr. Joint”.
51. JDC NY Archives, Collection: 1919-1921, Folder #433, Extract from Summarized Diary of Dr. Bogen’s
Trip , 07/09/1921.
52. Idem, Abstract of Preliminary Report on the Refugee Problem, by Dr. Bernhard Kahn, undated.
53. “The Joint got involved from the first until the last day, from evacuation and transport to job placement

56
 DOCUMENTE

Wilhelm Filderman, who became chairman of the Committee for the Support of
Refugees, established at the end of 1920, this was a very difficult and complicated
task, and not just in terms of managing the material aid. It was very hard to
persuade the authorities to issue them permits so that they might stay in Romania,
while emigration to other countries, particularly the US, was very hard, as they
were refused entry visas:

Time and again, we had to recommence our efforts, because their decisions were
retracted, changed or interpreted differently the very next day, by the officials
concerned. The Government used to decide on certain issues, but the police or the
army claimed that the order was different from what had been said. Thus, it was
necessary for me to protest, to make clarifications or to ask for reinterpretations,
whether it was about an eviction, an arrest, an unjust sentence or a canteen ran
out of fuel [...]. Not to mention the constant distortions and lies of proven anti-
Semites [...] who claimed there were hundreds of thousands of refugees. [...] They
claimed we were so powerful, so influential, that we planned the Jewish invasion of
Bessarabia, together with the Bolsheviks. They accused us of having brought one
million foreigners into the country, even if the figures provided by the Government
showed that, in 1926, there were 3,500 refugees54.

Note that it was not the task of the Romanian state to take care of the refugees,
but of the Jews in Romania and international Jewish organizations. In 1926, the
JDC allocated the amount of $6,950 for activities pertaining to the refugees. They
collaborated with the Jewish Sheltering and Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS) and
with the Jewish Colonization Association.

Fighting famine in Bessarabia

Another immediate concern of the Joint Distribution Committee was to fight
famine in Bessarabia, as there had been poor harvests for several years. This crisis

offices and emigration. From February 1921 until June 1923, the Joint handled 42,903 refugees” (Wilhelm
Filderman, quoted work, page 153). In the chronicle of the Curierul Israelit newspaper issue dated September 26,
1920, the following information was released, under the title “An Inhumane Measure”: “[…] it was only in our
latest issue that we referred to the Government’s Decision to allow the temporary settlement of refugees from
Ukraine, as they ran from pogroms. But an article of the Adevărul [The Truth] newspaper says the government
has reconsidered this measure. The Ministry of War gave the following order (no. 9518/1920): <No Jewish
refugee from Ukraine will be allowed on Romanian territory as of August 18>. Indeed, the police in Kishinev
issued a notice that the Jews from Ukraine were to be stopped from crossing the Dniester. [...] Does the
government fear Bolshevism? But the best evidence that Jews cannot be Bolsheviks is that, when crossing the
Dniester, they flee Moscow” (Curierul Israelit, September 26, 1920).
54. Wilhelm Filderman, quoted work, page 145, 146.

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 AMERICAN JEWISH JOINT DISTRIBUTION COMMITTEE ÎN ROMÂNIA (-)

mainly affected the Jews living in central and northern Bessarabia. In a letter dated
October 14, 1926, addressed by Evelyn M. Morrissey, a member of the JDC leadership,
to Joseph C. Hyman, secretary of the JDC, it was mentioned that at least 35,000
Jews were slowly starving55. According to official records of births and deaths, infant
mortality had reached 100%. Given this situation, the JDC allocated the amount of
$2,500 to the Bessarabia Committee Against Hunger, every month, in 192656.
In late 1928 and early 1929 Bernhard Kahn, director of JDC Europe, wrote
a comprehensive report on the JDC’s efforts in districts affected by famine in
Bessarabia. The report says that the Joint allocated $10,000 for emergency
assistance, 3,400 of which having been used for clothing and food. As part of these
activities, Isaac Millstein, a JDC representative in Romania, gathered information
on the basis of which a Committee to help those affected by famine was created,
for the distribution of aid to those localities. B. Kahn stressed that their measures
meant a lot to those who received aid, but, given the seriousness of the situation,
their efforts were relatively small.57 Nevertheless, since famine was still a serious
threat, the JDC continued to send aid. In 1936, it allocated $5,000 for the hungry
in Bessarabia, as well as in certain areas of Moldova58.

JDC support for the victims of Borșa

In the late 1920s, there were numerous anti-Semitic incidents, the climax
having been reached in the events of Borșa (Maramureș), where Jews were the
majority of the 15,000 inhabitants59. In 1930, a fire that destroyed the entire
Jewish neighborhood broke out. Many homes were destroyed and nearly 2,000
Jews were left homeless. The Egalitatea [The Equality] newspaper reported:

By evening, the whole Jewish neighborhood, which is entirely separated from the
Romanian one, burned down. In total, 128 houses and 105 stables burned to the
ground. No less than 1,800 people are homeless, now. The four synagogues of the
small town burned down, as well60.

55. JDC NY Archives, Collection: 1921-1932, F #413, Letter from Evelyn M. Morrissey to Joseph C. Hyman
on Activities in Romania, 10/14/1926.
56. Ibidem.
57. Idem, Collection: 1919-1921, F #418a, Excerpts of a report submitted in a letter dated March 8, 1929 by Dr.
Kahn on Conditions in Bessarabia, 04/09/1929.
58. Idem, Collection: 1933-1944, F #898, Letter from B. Kahn to J.C. Hyman, 01/15/1936.
59. Carol Iancu, Evreii din România (1919-1938). De la emancipare la marginalizare [The Jews of Romania
(1919-1938). From Emancipation to Marginalization], Hasefer, Bucharest, 2000, page 200.
60. Egalitatea, July 17, 1930.

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 DOCUMENTE

The Joint was in charge of helping the victims of Borșa. According to the
letter sent by Bernhard Kahn to Morris D. Waldman, secretary of the American
Jewish Committee, the JDC provided the amount of $1,500 for immediate needs
and considered raising $20,000 for the reconstruction of the town. The children
of Borșa were taken to summer camps61.

JDC support of cultural and educational institutions

The relief program of the Joint Distribution Committee also envisaged the
support of cultural and educational institutions, so as to keep them operational.
The “Ciocanul” [Hammer] vocational school in Bucharest benefitted a lot from
the attention of the JDC, for it had received subsidies as early as 1920. Oscard
Leonard, Alexander Landesco’s assistant, said, after having visited the school,
that “this is a unique institution here”62. During this period, the JDC provided
the “Ciocanul” school with the amount of $1,00063. It was to be exclusively used
for purchasing new equipment, as the school had been left without during the
German occupation64. Over many years, the extensive correspondence certifies
to the permanent interest of the JDC in the “Ciocanul” school. In the late 1920s,
the “Ciocanul” school further developed, also due to the support of the JDC. On
June 30, 1926, B. Kahn sent a letter to the Jewish Community in Bucharest (that
the school belonged to), proposing a reorganization program, so as to: make the
most of the space provided by the school, which could host 100 children; provide
special aid packages; provide JDC subsidies and help from local Jews, for the
continuous operation of the school65.
Another vocational education institution supported by the Joint Distribution
Committee was the “Morgenroit” school in Czernowitz. In 1923, when the
school hosted a total of 600 students of Jewish origin, most of them orphans and
refugees, the government issued an order for them to leave the premises66. The
JDC decided to contribute $10,000 for the erection of a new building. In 1927,
an additional grant of $5,00067 was also awarded to the school.

61. JDC NY Archives, Collection: 1919-1921, F #434, Letter from Bernhard Kahn to Morris D. Waldman,
12/11/1930.
62. Idem, F #237, Letter from Oscar Leonard to Alexander Landesco, Report of activities, to March 15, 1920
03/15/1920.
63. Idem, F #242.5, Letter from Alexander Landesco to Dr. Julius Goldman, 03/25/1920.
64. Idem, Letter from James H. Becker to Alexander Landesco, 11/03/1920.
65. The Archives of the Center for the Study of the History of the Jews in Romania (ACSIER), Collection II,
folder no. 139, f. 159.
66. JDC NY Archives, Collection: 1921-1932, F #422a, Letter from B. Zuckerman to H. Lehman, 03/30/1923.
67. Idem, F #413, Letter from Bernhard Kahn to J.C. Hyman, 04/20/1927.

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 AMERICAN JEWISH JOINT DISTRIBUTION COMMITTEE ÎN ROMÂNIA (-)

The Joint also sent grants to the Vocational School for Girls in Kishinev. In
1922, they received an allocation of $1,000. The money was distributed from the
$75,000 fund to be used for the reconstruction of vocational schools in Europe,
which the JDC provided together with the ICA68.
JDC proved equally interested in helping Jews keep their identity in the
context of the Diaspora. They encouraged them to learn Hebrew and Yiddish, the
history of Romanian Jews and the history of the Jews in general.

Caring for children – Summer camps

Alexander Landesco was among the JCD representatives who initiated
childcare measures. In 1920, he established a series of summer camps for children.
The largest was organized in the resort of Techirghiol, which was famous for
the treatment of scrofula and lymphatic disorders. Two rounds of children were
accommodated there in the summer: some 600-700 children suffering from
the above-mentioned diseases were treated. The Techirghiol summer camp was
operational both during the interwar period and after the Second World War69.
Also during his tenure, Alexander Landesco established the summer camps
for malnourished children in Vijnița, Bukovina, as well as for ill children in Vatra
Dornei, also in Bukovina70.
The JDC allocated $23,000 for childcare in the first half of 192671.

Conclusions on the relief provided by the JDC to Romania in the

interwar period
By the end of 1937, the Joint Distribution Committee had spent $3,217,000
in Romania. The amount does not include money provided to the Credit
Cooperatives through the American Joint Reconstruction Foundation72.
Although the JDC no longer had an office or direct representatives in various
countries of Central and Eastern Europe, the relief and reconstruction program
continued through centralized Jewish aid organizations. Medical work, vocational
training, education, religious and cultural activities were all encouraged.

68. Idem, F #422a, Letter from Joseph C. Hyman to Herbert Lehman Re: Girls Kishineff Trade School,
04/12/1922.
69. Idem, F #242.1, Letter from Alexander Landesco to Julius Goldman, 04/07/1920.
70. Ibidem.
71. Idem, F #413, What the Joint Distribution Committee has done in Romania during the First Half Year of
1926, 04/05/1927.
72. In a letter sent on November 4, 1938, by the Executive Director of JDC, Oscar Leonard, former representative
of the Joint in Romania, he presented an overview on the relief work provided for the benefit of the Jews in
Romania for over two decades (Idem, Collection: 1933-1944 F #899, Letter from JDC Executive Director to
Oscar Leonard, 11/04/1938).

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 DOCUMENTE

In December 1939, marking the 25th anniversary of the establishment of

the Joint organization, the Curierul Israelit newspaper published a series of
interviews on the role of the JDC in the history of Jewish communities of
Romania, titled “Homage to Romanian Jews”. Wilhelm Filderman revealed
that the organization was not only a charity, having also preserved the noblest
guiding principles of Judaism73.

The JDC in the context of the Holocaust

The work of the Joint Distribution Committee was not limited to material
assistance. Although, not a political organization, it was not indifferent to the
anti-Semitic policy which endangered the physical and material existence of the
Jewish population; thus, numerous protests were staged against the government
of Octavian Goga, who, in his short time at the helm of the country (44 days),
promoted deeply anti-Semitic policies, adopted the law on the revision of
Romanian citizenship in the case of Jews and thus threatened the livelihood of
200,000 Jews. The JDC mobilized international fora, defenders of the provisions
of the Versailles Peace Treaty (1919) that guaranteed equal rights to all national
minorities living in European national states, in order to stop the enactment of
this law. All these efforts were unsuccessful.
After the onset of the royal dictatorship (February 1938) the JDC encountered
more and more difficulties in developing its work in Romania. Under the new
provisions, the JDC no longer had a legal status in Romania. Organizations
or institutions active on Romanian territory were no longer allowed to accept
aid from abroad. Thus, the operation of institutions subsidized by the Joint was
jeopardized. The American organization was increasingly under the radar of state
security bodies, and this was visible since the early 1930s74.
The work of the Joint in Romania thus entered a new phase, even before
the Holocaust. They had to find suitable responses to the new political
situation. Later difficulties were entailed by the policy of the United States
and the outbreak of the Second World War. In 1940, the JDC was still able
to provide aid amounting to more than $70,000 to the Jews of Romania75.
But, in November 1940, following Romania’s accession to the Tripartite Pact
(consisting of Germany, Italy and Japan), the JDC’s work became very difficult.
The United States defined Romania as a “country under the domination of
aggressor nations”. As a result of this classification, funds were blocked in

73. Curierul Israelit, December 17, 1939.

74. Archives of the National Council for Studying the Securitate Archives (ACNSAS), Documentary Collection,
folder no. 15338, f. 7, 8.
75. JDC NY Archives, Collection: 1933-1944, F #900, Letter from Moses A. Leavitt to Ruth Finer, 02/12/1941.

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 AMERICAN JEWISH JOINT DISTRIBUTION COMMITTEE ÎN ROMÂNIA (-)

the US and amounts could be sent only under special circumstances, with the
approval of the Treasury Department. However, the JDC continued its social
welfare work in Romania by using the funds of its affiliated organization, the
AJRF. They tried to send items without using of dollars, which would have
benefited Romanian or German economies76.
A few months before the United States joined the war, the JDC anticipated
the problems to be faced in case America became a belligerent country. Thus, they
authorized local committees in Europe, including those in Romania, in case the
means of communication were interrupted, to take loans on behalf of the JDC,
locally, for a period of up to six months. The Joint undertook to repay the debt
whenever possible, thus without helping the enemy. This was planned to happen,
most likely, after the war. A document of the time makes it clear that the amount
of 1.5 million US dollars was saved to repay the debt incurred as a result of these
transactions77. Eventually, aid continued to come into Nazi Germany affiliated
countries, or those occupied by it, under the aegis of the International Red Cross:

Meanwhile, any form of additional support, through neutral or allied governments,

the International Red Cross or the cooperation of any agency, will be explored and
used, whereever possible78.

Between October 1942 and March 1943, the amount received from the Joint
reached 25 million lei ($70,000). Also, during March-November 1943, the JDC
sent 10,680,000 lei79 through the representatives of the World Jewish Congress in
Romania, Wilhelm Fischer, Cornel Iancu and Mișu Benvenisti. According to the
activity report of the Autonomous Relief Commission, the Joint provided significant
amounts through the International Red Cross, as of the summer of 1944. In a
document dated August 18, 1944, it is clearly mentioned that the JDC disbursed
100,000 Swiss francs to help the Jews of Romania. This amount was used by children
aid organizations and for the benefit of inmates in prisons and concentration camps80.
The subsidies of the Joint, during the Holocaust, helped victims of pogroms,
evicted people, those having to do forced labor and especially the deportees to
Transnistria. The aid meant for the people in Transnistria had to be sent illegally.

76. Ibidem.
77. Idem, F #901, Letter from Fanny R. Alderstein to Henry Broker, 06/25/1942.
78. JDC NY Archives, Collection: 1933-1944, F #902, News, 12/20/1943.
79. Matatias Carp, Cartea neagră. Suferințele evreilor din România, 1940-1944, vol. III – Transnistria [The Black
Book. Suffering of the Jews in Romania, 1940-1944, vol. III – Transnistria], Diogene, Bucharest, 1996, page 315.
80. Andrei Şiperco, Ecouri dintr-o epocă tulbure. Documente elvețiene 1940-1944 [Echoes of a Troubled Era. Swiss
Documents 1940-1944], Hasefer, Bucharest, 1998, doc. 166, pp. 299, 300.

62
 DOCUMENTE

A separate chapter refers to the aid provided to Jewish refugees from

Hungary and Poland. Jewish organizations in Romania spent large amounts for
this purpose; half of the money was given by the Joint Distribution Committee81.
A new chapter in the cooperation between the Joint and Jewish organizations
in Romania opened after August 23, 1944.

JDC, a special section of the International Red Cross

After August 23, 1944, since the Joint was not registered as a legal entity in
Romania, it was named the International Committee of the Red Cross – Relief
Section I. On November 4, 1944, an agreement of cooperation between the
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Joint Distribution
Committee for Romania was signed in Bucharest. The agreement on the relief
of the Jewish population provided that the available funds were to be distributed
under the programs established by the JDC Committee for Romania and
approved by the ICRC delegation in Romania82.
One of the immediate tasks of this Committee was to help people returning
from camps, prisons, forced labor detachments, widows and orphans of Holocaust
victims, etc. To this end, it was in November 1944 that the amount of 685,710,356
lei83 was distributed. It is worth mentioning that the relief of these groups was
also supported by Jewish organizations of Romania, but the aid provided to
foreign refugees and to the orphans who returned from Transnistria was covered
exclusively from Joint funds84.
As of 1945, the Joint Distribution Committee in New York decided to focus
more on the collection of funds to be sent to Europe and especially to Romania,
“where almost all the Jews who were deported to different Nazi camps are in
transit”85. During the same period, aid was granted to the “Antal Márk” student
organization in Cluj86 and to the Jewish hospitals in Galați, Satu Mare and
Fălticeni87. In May 1945, the Jewish Community in Bucharest paid the salaries of

81. Wilhelm Filderman, Memoirs and Diaries, Volume 2, 1940-1952, edited by Jean Ancel. Updated and annoted
by Leon Volovici and Miriam Caloianu, The Goldstein Goren Diaspora Reaserch Center, Tel Aviv University,
Yad Vashem, Jerusalem, The International Institute for Holocaust Research, 2015, pp. 602, 603.
82. Andrei Şiperco, Acțiunea internațională de ajutorare a evreilor din România, Documente 1943-1945
[International Action to Help the Jews in Romania, Documents 1943-1945], Hasefer, Bucharest, 2003, doc.
44, pp. 161, 162.
83. Curierul Israelit, January 14, 1945.
84. ACNSAS, Documentary Collection, folder no. 14443, f. 183, 184.
85. Idem, folder no. 11425, vol. 2, f. 9.
86. Idem, folder no. 14443, f. 12.
87. Ibidem, f. 3, 8, 41.

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 AMERICAN JEWISH JOINT DISTRIBUTION COMMITTEE ÎN ROMÂNIA (-)

its officials, teachers and pensioners from JDC subsidies88. Besides this emergency
aid, the JDC supported the establishment of Small Credit Cooperatives, for the
economic recovery of the Jewish population. Loans were mainly granted to Jewish
craftsmen who needed to fix their workshops89.
The Committee also worked beyond the country’s borders. Holocaust
survivors in Hungary were sent food, medicines, blankets, clothes and money.

Work of the JDC under its own name (1946-1949)

On January 14, 1946, the General Police Department sent Bertrand Jacobson,
delegate of the JDC to Romania, the following memo:

We hereby have the honor to inform you that the Minister of Interior Affairs
approved the operation of the American Joint Distribution Committee in the
country, under your leadership90.

By appointing Bertrand Jacobson as head of the delegation to Romania,

the management of the JDC in New York continued their work of helping Jews
who repatriated from camps and prisons, as well as needy91, crippled and disabled
Jews, who were unable to work; they supported various Jewish institutions for
reconstruction and for labor retraining. In July 1946, the Joint also granted money
for medical reasons, to treat the ill92.
The American Jewish organization also helped the gentile population
of the country. In the years 1946-1947, the population of Romania faced a
severe drought, which triggered a great famine, especially in Moldova. Given
these circumstances, the Joint Distribution Committee provided relief without
considering the ethnic origin or religion93 of the beneficiaries. W. Filderman,
Chairman of the JDC in Romania, held a relevant speech during the visit paid
by Joseph Schwartz, a JDC representative to Europe:

Today, a greater misfortune has befallen our country and it is not only about Jews.
It is about the entire population of Romania, hard-working peasants with whom
we have always lived in harmony; it is about workers, civil servants and private

88. ACSIER, Collection VII, folder no. 98/1945, f. 373.

89. ACNSAS, Documentary Collection, folder no. 11425, vol. 2, f. 10.
90. Idem, Documentary Collection, folder no. 14471, f. 3.
91. Ibidem, f. 1.
92. Idem, Documentary Collection, folder no. 156, f. 185.
93. Liviu Rotman, Evreii din România în perioada comunistă: 1944-1965 [ Jews in Romania during the
Communist Period: 1944-1965], Polirom, Iaşi, 2004, page 69.

64
 DOCUMENTE

employees, up to the senior officials of the country [...]. We shall have to share – as
much as possible – what we are given, with fellow Romanians. Last, but not least, the
Joint, due to its means and authority, will have to facilitate access to cereal imports,
so as to save millions of innocent souls94.

And the aid did come. About 5,000 gentiles living in the most affected areas
of the country received food from the canteens of JDC (at least for lunch)95 on a
daily basis. The Joint also provided the prefectures and special committees with
121 freight cars of wheat and corn96.
Joseph Schwartz’s visit, in 1947, generally played an important role in the
development of the work of the JDC in Romania. It was a result of the good
relations between the Communist Party (of Romania) and the Joint, at a time
when the communists and even state authorities paid a lot of attention to the
relations with the US organization; the Chairman of JDC Europe was welcomed
by the secretary general of the Communist Party, Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej. At
the time, there were common goals, especially for the professional training and
retraining of the Jewish population97.
But, despite the good relations with the new regime and with the Jewish
Democratic Committee (CDE) – a communist Jewish organization – the work of
the JDC was still scrutinized by the State Security Agency. Intelligence agencies
were concerned with the fact that the Joint supported immigration, illegal
immigration in particular98. The work of the JDC was also closely investigated
by county Security Services. Inter alia, the briefing sent by the Security Service
of Neamț County to the Regional Security Inspectorate of Iași, on February
26, 1948, is most relevant. Referring to the welfare work of the JDC in Neamț
County, they found that “the organization is not making political propaganda
that may harm the regime of the Romanian People’s Republic”99.
Given this general context, the Joint Distribution Committee continued
its relief work in several directions. According to Elias Costiner, a member of
the JDC management in Romania, their work after August 23, 1944, reached

94. Hary Kuller, Evreii în România anilor 1944-1949. Evenimente, documente, comentarii [ Jews in Romania
during the Years 1944-1949. Events, Documents, Comments], Hasefer, Bucharest, 2002, pp. 280-281.
95. JDC NY Archives, Collection: 1955-1964, F #688, Report on JDC’s activity in Romania by Elias Costiner,
1/23/1970.
96. Liviu Rotman, quoted work, page 69.
97. Ibidem.
98. In the report dated February 17, 1948, it was stated that the emigration took place to Eretz-Israel (ACNSAS,
Documentary Collection, folder no. 14471, f. 26-30).
99. Idem, folder no. 8840, vol. 37, f. 8 f./v.

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 AMERICAN JEWISH JOINT DISTRIBUTION COMMITTEE ÎN ROMÂNIA (-)

a climax in 1948: it granted aid for the support of Talmud-Torah schools100 and
of Small Loans Cooperatives101; it met religious and management needs of
various communities from across the country102; it supported apprentice boarding
schools103, hospitals104, orphanages105, medical offices106, etc.
The report written by Elias Costiner in 1969 offers concrete data on the
diversity of the relief work provided in 1948. Thus, according to the report, 84
canteens that fed 50,420 people operated in 1948; more than 20,000 children
and youngsters received relief; 19 senior homes were rehabilitated, as 1,200 old
people found shelter there. Since medical assistance was of particular importance,
a special medical committee was established to take care of the serious medical
conditions of the Jewish population. The JDC supported 22 hospital having
1,550 beds, 6 maternity hospitals with 150 beds, 4 TB facilities with 80 beds;
they established dental clinics having the most modern equipment and a school
for nurses. Subsidies for religious purposes helped efforts to fix synagogues,
yeshivas and Talmud-Torah schools. The work of Rabbi Portugal der Skulener
was supported, too, as he opened an orphanage to accommodate and educate
children who returned from Transnistria. Another chapter refers to the support
of reconstruction efforts, of vocational school and the training of Zionist youth in
agriculture (Ha’acshara). Until 1948, more than 12,000 young people were trained
in these agricultural schools. A major success was the reopening of a number of
Loan and Savings Cooperatives, as well as Production Craftsmen Cooperatives107.
But the policy of the communist regime, which initially accepted the work of
the Joint, reversed quite soon. In this respect, the following report of the General
Inspectorate of State Security Iași, sent to the General Department of State
Security on August 5, 1948, is most relevant:

In compliance with the decision of the Government, the only managing forum of the
Jewish population is the Federation of Unions of Jewish Communities. The Joint can no
longer send any aid without the prior approval of the Federation. Zionist organizations
will only receive aid through local communities, after the approval of the Federation108.
100. ACSIER Collection VII, folder no. 53/1948, f. 68.
101. Ibidem, f. 2.
102. Ibidem, f. 82.
103. Ibidem, f. 32.
104. Ibidem, f. 17.
105. Ibidem, f. 57.
106. Ibidem, f. 224.
107. JDC NY Archives, Collection: 1955-1964, F #688, Report on JDC Activity in Romania by Elias Costiner,
1/23/1970.
108. ACNSAS, Documentary Collection, folder no. 8840, vol. 37, f. 1 f./v.

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 DOCUMENTE

This measure was a preamble of the Decree dated March 4, 1949, which
prohibited the activity of the following organizations on Romanian territory: the
Joint, the ORT (Organization for Rehabilitation through Training) and the OSE
(Oeuvre de Secours aux Enfants)109. Article 2 of the Decree-Law stated that “all
assets of these organizations will be taken over by the Federation of Unions of
Jewish Communities, which will be their official liquidator”110. The Unirea [The
Union] newspaper, published by the Jewish Democratic Committee, commented
upon the meaning of the Decision as follows:

The state will take over the job of social welfare throughout the People’s Republic of
Romania for all categories of Jewish population who are entitled to welfare, just like
they take care of these categories of people among the Romanian population and
other nationalities111.

State Security bodies sent various reports and briefings on the reaction of
the Jewish population to the closing down of these organizations. The memo of
March 21, 1949, shows that:

In Jewish circles across the capital, there is an increasingly growing unrest about the
closing down of the Joint and WIZO branches in Romania.
Zionist elements take advantage of this, considering it is a result of the direct
intervention of the CDE and an act of open anti-Semitism of the government112.

The closing down of the JDC branch significantly affected the situation of the Jews
in Romania: 100,000 people and many religious, educational and medical assistance
institutions used to enjoy the aid of the American organization, one way or another113.
However, the leadership of the Federation of Unions of Jewish Communities became
the vehicle of the policy enacted by the communist regime, by the Communist Party
of Romania in general, and considered that the closing down of the JDC, OSE and
ORT was right. The report dated June 30, 1950, on the takeover, by the Federation,
of the assets left by the banned organizations, included the toughest, yet completely
false accusations: they denied the contribution of the JDC to the material, religious,
cultural and spiritual survival of the Jews and Jewish institutions, even in political
contexts when their very physical existence was threatened. The work of the JDC

109. ACSIER, Collection VII-MR, folder no. 69, f. 8.

110. Ibidem.
111. Unirea, March 12, 1949.
112. ACNSAS, Documentary Collection, folder no. 14471, f. 205.
113. Liviu Rotman, quoted work, page 75.

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was politicized in the spirit of the Cold War ideology imposed by the Soviet Union
to countries under its influence. For the totalitarian communist regime, Western
countries and the primarily the United States, democratic countries under the rule of
law, were mortal enemies. In such circumstances, they could not accept aid that would
have only shed a positive light upon Western capitalist states.
The period 1945-1948, when the Joint and the Communist Party of Romania
collaborated, was simply wiped over, including the relations with the CDE and
the fact that J. Schwartz, the CEO of JDC Europe, was welcomed by Gheorghe
Gheorghiu-Dej during his visit to Romania. But, despite the aggressive language
of the report, one can get see a list of the assets of the Joint, thus indirectly
deciphering the importance of the organization to the Jewish society.

Unofficial relations
Having been unable to continue their work in Eastern Europe legally, the
Joint Distribution Committee organized an undercover relief program. In this
respect, the Société de Secours et d’Entr’Aide was founded and financed in 1953. It
was a front organization based in Geneva, tasked with helping Jews living in the
Soviet bloc, where the Joint had been banned114. The Chief Rabbi of Romania,
Moses Rosen, was told about the existence of this organization by Kurt Wilhelm,
Chief Rabbi of the Jewish community of Sweden. A confidential memo sent by
Moses Rosen, dated July 21, 1955, to the Minister of Religious Affairs, Petre
Constantinescu-Iași, makes it clear that Romanian authorities had been informed
of the existence of this organization and that it had concluded an agreement with
the Hungarian government so as to send aid to Jews there115. We do not know
whether such an agreement was ever reached with the Romanian government.
Surprisingly, there are documents which show that, despite all interdictions,
the JDC continued to send money and packages to Romanian Jews. The
representative of the Joint, Charles H. Jordan, wrote to the Executive Vice-
President of the JDC, Moses Leavitt, on March 3, 1959:

The Transiting Relief budget amounts to 3.3 million US dollars. Of it, I set the
following aside, for Romania, per month: $30,000 for packages and $35,000 to be
spent as cash116.

It seems that discussions on the return of the Joint Distribution Committee

114. Gershon David Hundert (editor in chief ), The YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe, vol. I, Yale
University Press, New Haven & London, 2008, p. 43.
115. ACSIER, Collection VII-MR, folder no. 6, f. 36.
116. JDC NY Archives, Collection: 1955-1964, F #681, Letter from Charles H. Jordan to Mr. Moses A. Leavitt
Re: Rumanian Special Emergency Fund, 03/03/1959.

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to Romania began in 1965. On September 6, 1965, Moses Rosen told Dumitru

Dogaru, Secretary General of the Department of Religious Affairs within the
Council of Ministers, about the discussion he had with Charles Jordan, Director
General of the JDC, about the resumption of relations between the Joint and the
Federation of Jewish Communities of Romania (FEDROM). Certain conditions
for the resumption of the collaboration were made by D. Dogaru during another
meeting with M. Rosen. Thus, aid was to be sent only as a result of the relations
between FEDROM and the Joint; The Romanian government was to have no
relation at all with the JDC; they simply agreed to the inquiry of the Federation on
whether they could receive the necessary aid; the JDC was not to establish any office
in the country, but only granted the agreed amounts to the Federation; the exchange
rate was to be 12 lei per dollar. Charles Jordan agreed to the above-mentioned terms,
except for the dollar/leu exchange rate. He also required a representative of the JDC
to be allowed into Romania informally, so as to check on the proper distribution of
the aid. As the Federation did not have the needed resources to provide the much-
needed aid, it was facing a serious financial crisis. Also, old Jews could not eat in
state-operated canteens, nor could they find shelter in state-owned senior homes,
where the food was not kasher. On top of all these, the main religious venues were in
need of expensive repairs. The documents included in this volume clearly show that
the communist regime did not solve the issue of welfare for the Jewish population,
as they promised when the JDC was banned from Romania.

JDC returns to Romania (1967)

An important step towards restoring relations between the Joint and the
Federation was the signing of an aide-mémoire by Chief Rabbi Rosen, President
of FEDROM, and Charles H. Jordan, Executive Vice-President of the JDC, in
Geneva, on February 1, 1967. According to the document, they hoped to obtain an
exceptional exchange rate of 15 lei per dollar, for the annual amount of $600,000; the
Federation undertook not to use the amount for other activities, but for its welfare
program. The payment was to be made over 12 months, as of the date on which the
Romanian government agreed with the proposals, and all banking transactions were
to be made only through a special account with the National Bank of Romania117.
This event took place at a time of thaw in the relations between the East and
the West. This is also clear from an article of the Revista Cultului Mozaic – RCM
[The Review of the Mosaic Religion] newspaper, titled “The Cooperation between
FEDROM and AJDC”. It basically reproduced the news published in the Bulletin
of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency in Geneva, on April 27, 1967, on the agreement
between the FEDROM and the JDC. The following sentences were not censored:

117. JDC NY Archives, Collection: 1965-1974, F #335, Aide-mémoire, 02/01/1967.

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This agreement is another symptom that the Cold War is losing ground, for it has
prevented us for too long a time from working with our brothers of the same religion,
in other countries. As the thaw continues, the international climate will warm up and
this measure will pave the way for future ties between Jews in Romania and in the rest
of the world118.

The first achievements of the Joint after returning to Romania were reported
by Louis Broido, JDC President, to the National Council, in June 1967. According
to his report, 1,300 people were dined at public Seders, opposed to only 300 persons
during the same period of the previous year. Moreover, 4,000 food packages were
distributed to those who celebrated at home119. This is an example of what they
could do during the Passover week alone.
On February 15, 1969, the RCM informed its readers about the inauguration
of the new venue of the ritual restaurant in Bucharest, renovated with the help of
the Joint. It ensured daily lunch for more than 300 people120.
Here is the JDC budget for the relief program in the 1967-1970 period: 1967
–$600,000; 1968 – $700,000; 1969 – $800,000; 1970 – $900,000.121 As far as the
purchase of goods is concerned, the Joint allocated $300,000 in 1968; $300,000
in 1969 and $500.000 in 1970122. The foreign currency, exchanged into lei, was of
help to the Romanian state, too.
In the 1970s, the work of the Joint Distribution Committee focused on the
care for the elderly. In a report dated April 9, 1976, Alexander Gonik, Director
of the JDC Medical Department, brought the issue of establishing senior
homes, on the agenda. A first step was made in Bucharest, when a home with
18 beds opened, but this was not enough123. Given this situation, the American
organization pledged to contribute to erecting a new building. On July 15, 1979,
the senior home “Amalia and Chief Rabbi Dr. Moses Rosen” was inaugurated in
Bucharest124. The ceremony was attended by Donald Robinson, President of the
JDC in New York; Aba Gefen, Ambassador of the State of Israel; by Ana Aslan
and by the Vice-President of the People’s Council of the Capital, I. Iordache125.
The senior home in Arad also played an important role in the life of the community.

118. Revista Cultului Mozaic (RCM), May 15, 1967.

119. JDC NY Archives, Collection: 1965-1974, F #335, Confidential – not for publication, 06/01/1967.
120. RCM, February 15, 1969.
121. ACSIER, Collection VII-MR, folder no. 69, f. 106.
122. Ibidem.
123. Idem, Collection VII-MR, folder no. 70, f. 139-146.
124. RCM, July 15, 1979.
125. Ibidem.

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On October 15, 1987, the RCM published a significant article, titled “Homage
to the Joint”. The two partners celebrated 20 years since cooperation resumed126
and it was marked by a series of events. On this occasion, a bimah cover was given
to the Coral Temple, with an embroidered text in Romanian, English and Hebrew.
Referring to this period, Zvi Feine, JDC Director for Romania (1988-2006),
highlighted the following achievements, since 1968: the expansion of health care
throughout the country, by 26 clinics; opening new sections of the medical center
in Bucharest, such as Cardiology, Urology, Ophthalmology, ENT, etc.127; sending
medicines to those in need; 1,800 persons in 75 localities received medical, food and
clothes packages; those in need received financial aid from both the FEDROM and
the JDC, including money to purchase fuel for heating their homes128.

JDC in Romania after December 1989

The December 1989 Revolution in Romania was not regarded with indifference
by the American organization. As it happened during the drought of 1946 or the
earthquake in 1977, the Joint Distribution Committee granted aid to both Jews and
Gentiles. The RCM issue dated January 20, 1990 published the following:

It was this Tuesday evening, on January 9, 1990 that a special-delivery plane landed
at Otopeni airport. It brought medicines and food worth $250,000. The generous
donors were the organization of British Jewry – the Central British Fund – and the
American Joint organization129.

The post-Revolution period marked a new stage in the partnership between the
FEDROM and the Joint. Healthcare and charitable efforts during the communist
period could finally be furthered. The Jewish Community, with the support of the
JDC, developed a wide network of institutions of informal education for the youth,
a program of innovative methods of health care for children, adults and the elderly,

126. Idem, October 15, 1987.

127. When referring to services provided by the Medical Center of Bucharest in 2012, we must say that a
physician who gives consultations at the clinic in Bucharest and in the provinces came from the United States
of America on a regular basis. Besides the old specialties of the Center, as of 2011, they have physical medical
balneotherapy and recovery treatment, plus the specialty of diabetes treatment, nutrition and metabolic diseases
treatment. New equipment for measuring eye pressure, diopters and retinal degeneration was received. It was
obtained from donations, with the support of the FEDROM and the JDC (Realitatea Evreiască [ Jewish
Reality], April 1 to 30, 2012).
128. Zvi Feine, “Joint Distribution Committee’s Activity in Romania: Before and After the Revolution”, in
Revista de Istorie a Evreilor din România [The Journal of History of the Jews in Romania], no. 1, Natalia Lazăr
(ed.), Hasefer, Bucharest, 2016, page 399.
129. RCM, January 20, 1990.

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as well as many measures that made it possible for the Jewish community to keep
up with the changing realities of modern and democratic Romania130.
At the initiative of the Joint Distribution Committee, the Organization of
Young Jews in Romania (OTER) was established, having had an important role
in educating and training future leaders of the Jewish community. In this regard,
Academician Nicolae Cajal, President of the FEDROM in 1994-2004, stated:

The American Joint Distribution Committee is for us not only a source of

support, but also of ideas and remarkable solutions. We are proud to work with the
representatives of the Joint in Romania. I hope we shall have the same impressive
results in the future, too131.

Establishment of the Jewish Communal Center ( JCC) – 2007

A turning point was the opening, at the initiative of the Joint, of the Jewish
Community Center ( JCC) in Bucharest, in 2007. JCCs were later opened in
other places, as well, such as Oradea, Timișoara and Cluj. According to Israel
Sabag, JDC Director for Romania since 2006, the purpose of this new type of
partnership between the Joint and the FEDROM was to reach people of all ages
and to attract them to communal life by developing cultural and educational
activities. In connection with this method of organization, Aurel Vainer, President
of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Romania, said:

We plan to develop three pillars of Jewish life, with multiple perspectives. The first
one is about religion (the Coral Temple and the Great Synagogue); the second one is
the JCC in Popa Soare Street; the third one is refers to medical and social assistance.
[...] our villas in the localities of Cristian, Eforie Nord and Borsec represent a
socializing background for all ages132.

An important place in the work of communal centers is held by Jewish studies

courses generically called Bereshit. The first such courses were held in Sinaia, in
2011. Other classes were held again, the same year, in Piatra Neamț, Timișoara
and Brașov. In 2016, the 13th Bereshit took place in Târgu Mureș. Over the years,
these courses were attended by hundreds of people.
Another educational program is called Keshet. It takes place on the same day
and at the same time in different communities in the country. Simultaneously,
conferences, workshops and activities for children are being developed.

130. Zvi Feine, quoted work, page 404.

131. Realitatea Evreiască, September 16 to October 15, 1997, page 3.
132. Idem, September 13 to October 10, 2007, page 6.

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The program is run with the support of the JCC. Special emphasis is placed
on developing communal leadership. Israel Sabag stated:

Due to the courses we have initiated, participants can learn about the essence of
Jewish civilization, from ancient times until today, from the best teachers.133

The report of the FEDROM leadership at the 2nd Congress, held in 2010,
and the report issued by Mr. Israel Sabag for 2007-2016 are most relevant in
order to understand the work of Jewish Community Centers.

Conclusions
The relief work of the Joint Distribution Committee in Romania was an
important contribution to the continuity of Jewish life during complex periods,
marked by: the First World War and its consequences; the economic crisis and the
rise of anti-Semitism; the Second World War and the Holocaust; the transition
period of 1944-1947; the disbandment of the JDC, in 1949, and then its return, in
1967; the communist and post-communist periods. In this context, the material,
moral and cultural support of the Joint was of major importance. As the analyzed
documents clearly show, the JDC’s work, both for relief and reconstruction, was
successful thanks to the close collaboration with the organizational infrastructure of
the Jews in Romania, that developed in time. As of the late 19th century, there was a
continuous effervescence of Jewish structures: school committees, charities, hospital
boards, cultural organizations, women’s organizations, etc. A Jewish Civil Society
developed, and it was open to modernity. The work of these bodies, of new Jewish
leaders, as well as of specialists, such as doctors, teachers, lawyers, all these made it
possible for the innovative projects funded by the Joint to be implemented within the
Jewish community. Moreover, there was this symbiosis between JDC representatives
and communal leaders in Romania. Thus, the activity of the American organization
helped the development and consolidation of a Jewish leadership in Romania. This
was an important factor in the historical dynamics of Jewish life.
At the same time, the efforts of the Joint in the Romanian Jewish areas – as well
as in other geographical areas – should be regarded as part of the modernization
efforts of the Jewish world, supported by large organizations, such as the Alliance
Israelite Universelle, Jewish Colonization Association, B’nai B’rith or ORT.

Natalia Lazăr Lya Benjamin

133. Idem, January 1 to 31, 2008, page 6.

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