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Jewish Relief Association, Bombay (Mumbai), India
Fading letters tell a story of transactions that occurred during World War II when hundreds of thousands of refugees were taken in from all around the world. In particular, these fading letters, point specifically to one refugee center, the Jewish Relief Association. 1 A letter by A.W. Rosenfeld one of the founders of the JRA describes the financial struggles of the agency. Others speak of the origins of the JRA and stories of refugees, to whom the agency offered shelter. 2 These letters remind us that in the world of turmoil, there was also compassion for the thousands displaced from their homes.
Note: Via the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee letter archives, documentation of there being an active office for the Jewish Refugee Association has only been located in Bombay. 3 Through the letter archive, there was no mentioning of a JRA office in Calcutta though one letter printed shows a Jewish Relief Refugee Association in Calcutta, where in the writer was acknowledging concern for orphans in the city. It is unclear as to whether the two organizations are directly related. 4
In 1934, the Jewish Relief Association (JRA) was founded by European Jews in Bombay, India. One source characterizes the head founders, A.W. Rosenfeld and A. Leser, as German refugees. 5 6 In fact, A.W. Rosenfeld was a German Jew, born in Heilbronn, Germany. He moved to India in the early 1930s to work for SAPT Textiles and became a British subject while residing there. Prior to the war, he used his status as a British subject to extract some individuals from Germany and settle them in India. During the course of the war, he worked tirelessly on behalf of Jewish refugees arriving in India, including getting them released from internment.7
At the time, a significant number of wealthier German, Austrian and Baghdadi Jews also contributed to establishing and supporting the JRA . 8 The JRA was designed for European Jews who were seeking refuge in India. The Central Council of Refugees London, Council for German Jewry and the Indian government gave primary support. 9 In 1944, JRA offices were opened in Kolkata (Calcutta) and Madras.10
Because India was still under British control during World War II, Britain and Germany were on opposite sides of the enemy spectrum. Thus, despite the JRA being systemized for European Jews, German Jews had a particularly difficult time being accepted into India for asylum. They were seen as hostile and suspect and were not allowed to speak German. They were told to only speak English. The JRA faced this type of xenophobia as well as having financial difficulties in providing for the refugees and helping them to assimilate into British India. 11
Despite these challenges in the time of the Holocaust, it was through the work of these relief associations, that India became a beacon of hope for Jewish refugees who were not allowed asylum in the nations of North America and Europe. 12 13
Description
The Jewish Relief Association in giving refuge to Jewish communities is remembered through the business and financial letters digitized by the American Joint Distribution Committee and family refugee stories in the Association of Jewish Refugees, such as “Seder in Bombay in 1944.” 14 15 For more information visit ajr.org.uk (Association of Jewish Refugees) & jdc.org (American Joint Distribution Committee).
Sources
Footnotes
1] "Letter from A. W. Rosenfeld to The Joint Distribution Committee, Rosenfeld, A. W." , Textual Material, May 28 1946, India, Refugees, 1945-1949, 1945-1954 New York Collection,American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee Archives. (accessed July 12, 2016).
2] Ibid.
3] The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee is supported by The Jewish Federations of North America, Joint Distribution Committee, Inc 2016. (accessed July 14, 2016).
4] "Letter from Robert Pilpel to Alwyn Ezra." 1945-1954 New York Collection, American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee Archives, (accessed July 14, 2016).
5] "Of the School Canteen Program which have to be remedied," 1955-1964 New York Collection, American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee Archives, (accessed July 15, 2016).
6] Roland, Joan, The Jewish Communities of India: Identity in a Colonial Era. ( New Brunswick (U.S.A) & London (U.K.): Transaction Publishers, 1998), 177.
7] Roland, Peter. Personal communication, 2018.
8] Hodes, Joseph, From India to Israel : Identity, Immigration, and the Struggle for Religious Equality, ( MQUP, McGill-Queen’s Studies in the History of Religion, V.2, 2014), 68-69. (accessed July 15, 2016)
9] Ibid.
10] Roland, Joan, The Jewish Communities of India: Identity in a Colonial Era, ( New Brunswick (U.S.A) & London (U.K.): Transaction Publishers, 1998), 177. (accessed July 15, 2016).
11] Hodes, Joseph, From India to Israel : Identity, Immigration, and the Struggle for Religious Equality, ( MQUP, McGill-Queen’s Studies in the History of Religion, V.2, 2014), 68-69 (accessed July 15, 2016).
12] United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, “United States Policy Towards Jewish Refugees 1941-1952,” United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, July 2, 2016. https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007094 (accessed July 18, 2016).
13] Ibid.
14] The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee is supported by The Jewish Federations of North America, Joint Distribution Committee, Inc 2016 (accessed July 16, 2016).
15] Walter Bergwerk, “Seder in Bombay in 1944,” The Association of Jewish Refugees, http://www.ajr.org.uk/index.cfm/section.journal/issue.May11/article=7992 (accessed July 16, 2016).
Bibliography
"Letter from A. W. Rosenfeld to The Joint Distribution Committee, Rosenfeld, A. W." , Textual Material, May 28 1946, India, Refugees,
1945-1949, 1945-1954 New York Collection,American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee Archives. (accessed July 12, 2016)
The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee is supported by The Jewish Federations of North America, Joint Distribution Committee, Inc 2016. (accessed July 14, 2016).
"Letter from Robert Pilpel to Alwyn Ezra." 1945-1954 New York Collection, American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee Archives, (accessed July 14, 2016).
"Of the School Canteen Program which have to be remedied," 1955-1964 New York Collection, American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee Archives, (accessed July 15, 2016).
Roland, Joan, The Jewish Communities of India: Identity in a Colonial Era. ( New Brunswick (U.S.A) & London (U.K.): Transaction Publishers, 1998), 177.
Hodes, Joseph, From India to Israel : Identity, Immigration, and the Struggle for Religious Equality, ( MQUP, McGill-Queen’s Studies in the History of Religion, V.2, 2014), 68-69. (accessed July 15, 2016)
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, “United States Policy Towards Jewish Refugees 1941-1952,” United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, July 2, 2016. https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007094 (accessed July 18, 2016).
The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee is supported by The Jewish Federations of North America, Joint Distribution Committee, Inc
2016 (accessed July 16, 2016).
Walter Bergwerk, “Seder in Bombay in 1944,” The Association of Jewish Refugees, http://www.ajr.org.uk/index.cfm/section.journal/issue.May11/article=7992 (accessed July 16, 2016).