Series I: Refugee Documentation, 1942-1975

The National Refugee Service (NRS) was founded in 1939 as successor to the National Coordinating Committee, which dated back to 1934 as a coordinating body for refugee relief organizations. The NRS provided assistance to refugees at all stages in the immigration process, from aid with visas to resettlement and job training. The NRS became the United Service for New Americans in 1946. In Rochester, the NRS was represented by the Rochester Refugee Service, operating under the United Jewish Welfare Fund.

The United Service for New Americans (USNA) formed in 1946 from the merger of the National Refugee Service (NRS) and the National Service to Foreign Born of the National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW). As part of the United Jewish Appeal, the USNA served as the premiere organization representing and serving Jewish refugees in the United States between August of 1946 and August of 1954. The USNA aided Jewish displaced persons with obtaining visas, traveling to the United States, and obtaining homes, work and education once in their new home. In August of 1954, USNA merged with HIAS (see below) to become the United HIAS Service, which continues to operate as of the writing of this finding aid in 2021. In Rochester, the USNA was represented by the Jewish Social Service Bureau, which, for example, placed 2 Jewish families per month into homes in Rochester as of November 1948.

The Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society traces its history to 1881, when it was founded in New York City to assist the growing population of Jews coming from Eastern Europe. The organization has been a leader in Jewish refugee resettlement and assistance throughout the 20th and 21st Centuries. In the aftermath of World War II, HIAS aided in the resettlement of 150,000 people across 330 communities in the United States.