Project Category: 1914-1921

Moving Forward: A Constructive Approach A Joint Effort: JDC's Beginnings, 1914-1921 Exhibit Gallery In Depth Introduction The World Upended Wrestling with Chaos Solid Ground in a Shifting World The Battle for Health Informed Function [An Outstretched Arm] Moving Forward: A Constructive Approach Moving Forward: A Constructive Approach JDC set a formal deadline (July 1921) for ending ''palliative relief.'' Much earlier, an August 1919 report summarized new objectives: "(1) to help develop and renew Jewish morale and the spirit of self-help...; (2) to help build up cultural, benevolent and technical institutions;" and "(3)...to help integrate the various divergent groups, organizations...

Informed Function - An Outstretched Arm A Joint Effort: JDC's Beginnings, 1914-1921 Exhibit Gallery In Depth Introduction The World Upended Wrestling with Chaos Solid Ground in a Shifting World The Battle for Health Informed Function [An Outstretched Arm] Moving Forward: A Constructive Approach Informed Function [An Outstretched Arm] While JDC field reports revealed a growing number of pressing needs abroad, contributions in America were shrinking. Every dollar needed to be spent as judiciously as possible. A successful outcome required functionally-run departments that were broadly coordinated yet flexible enough to address locally specific needs. These were launched in the fall...

The Battle for Health A Joint Effort: JDC's Beginnings, 1914-1921 Exhibit Gallery In Depth Introduction The World Upended Wrestling with Chaos Solid Ground in a Shifting World The Battle for Health Informed Function [An Outstretched Arm] Moving Forward: A Constructive Approach The Battle for Health During wartime, JDC sent medicine and emergency medical aid to countries under siege. Years of damage through privation, violent assault, perpetual flight, and unsanitary conditions created a whole new set of problems. Hundreds of thousands were left with untended injuries and compromised health. Recurring epidemics battered the weakened population. As conditions on the ground...

Solid Ground in a Shifting World A Joint Effort: JDC's Beginnings, 1914-1921 Exhibit Gallery In Depth Introduction The World Upended Wrestling with Chaos Solid Ground in a Shifting World The Battle for Health Informed Function [An Outstretched Arm] Moving Forward: A Constructive Approach Solid Ground in a Shifting World The war's end did not bring safety or stability to the survivors. Soviet Russia and Poland now warred over vast disputed territories, while civil war, banditry, and pogroms brought further bloodshed to Belorussia (now Belarus), Ukraine, and other nearby regions where Jews still lived. In this difficult time, JDC increased...

Wrestling with Chaos A Joint Effort: JDC's Beginnings, 1914-1921 Exhibit Gallery In Depth Introduction The World Upended Wrestling with Chaos Solid Ground in a Shifting World The Battle for Health Informed Function [An Outstretched Arm] Moving Forward: A Constructive Approach Wrestling with Chaos Chaotic wartime conditions made relief work slow and unpredictable. Through trial and error, JDC administrators learned whom they could trust, and how best to ship goods to their intended beneficiaries. A series of durable relationships were gradually established with government officials, diplomatic envoys, and regional groups. In the midst of these large endeavors, JDC helped individuals...