Russia and the Former Soviet Union
Three young men in a wheat field at the Khaklay (Heb., “farmer”) settlement.
Khaklay, Dzhankoy district, Crimea, USSR, c.1927.
During World War I and the Bolshevik Revolution, JDC sent emergency aid for destitute Jews caught in the maelstrom of war and devastation. JDC began a partnership with the American Relief Administration in the early 1920s; in the mid-1920s it established Agro-Joint, which developed agricultural settlements in Ukraine and Crimea until it was closed down by the authorities in 1938. Subsequently, JDC, while unable to send staff to the region, made every effort to ship packages to needy Jews. JDC re-entered the former Soviet Union in 1989 and initiated a vast network of Hesed Centers and Jewish renewal activities.
American Relief Administration (ARA) poster in Russian used in Ukraine during the JDC-ARA feeding program
JDC’s partnership with the ARA in the early 1920s enabled it to begin working in the region.
Aleksandrovsk, USSR (now Zaporozhye, Ukraine), 1922.
A group, mostly children and women, wait for the JDC soup kitchen to open
Aleksandrovsk, USSR (now Zaporozhye, Ukraine), 1921. Photograph: J. Kogan.
An Agro-Joint colonist's family poses in front of a John Deere tractor in the fields
JDC established Agro-Joint to develop agricultural colonies for Jewish settlers in the Ukraine and Crimea from the mid-1920s until 1938. Agro-Joint acquired thousands of modern American tractors for the new colonies; skilled operators were brought in to train settlers in their use.
Ukraine, USSR, c.1925.
Three young men in a wheat field at the Khaklay (Heb., “farmer”) settlement, which was established by Agro-Joint
Khaklay, Dzhankoy district, Crimea, USSR, c.1927.
Women thresh wheat as part of the Agro-Joint program
These settlements were successful until Stalin closed them down and arrested many of the Agro-Joint workers in 1938.
Crimea, USSR, 1930s.
Physicians check medical supplies to be shipped for Polish refugees in Soviet Asia
JDC sought various means to provide assistance to Polish Jewish refugees who fled eastward to Soviet Asia to escape the Nazis.
New York, 1942. Photograph: Hugh J. Stern, NYC.
Preparation of boxes of matzah and matzah meal for a JDC shipment to Kuibyshev, USSR (now Samara, Russia), to be distributed to Polish Jewish refugees who had fled to Soviet Asia during World War II
Supplies were sent from various locations around the world, often via Tehran, Iran.
New York, 1940s.
Crates of shoes purchased by JDC in Palestine for shipment via Baghdad and Tehran to Polish Jews who had fled to Soviet Asia
Jerusalem, Palestine, c.1945.
A Soviet Jewish client of JDC at the Vienna train station about to depart for immigration processing in Rome
JDC assisted these transmigrant clients in Vienna and Rome with care and maintenance, housing, medical care, and educational and cultural activities while they awaited emigration to the US or Canada.
Vienna, Austria, 1989. Photograph: Doron Bacher.
Simchat Torah at the Moscow Choral Synagogue
During the years of Communist rule in the Soviet Union, the holiday of Simchat Torah drew hundreds of Jews to gather outside the synagogue in Moscow.
Moscow, Russia, October 21, 1989. Photograph: Robert Riesman.
Children light the candles for Shabbat
Following glasnost, JDC initiated Jewish renewal activities in locations across the former Soviet Union.
Russia, 1993. Photograph: Richard Lobell.
Matzah factory
Following glasnost, Jewish communities in the former Soviet Union were able to return to producing their own matzah openly.
Kiev, Ukraine, 1994. Photograph: Kenneth Rubens.
A group of elderly women sharing a Shabbat meal in Chisinau
This group of elderly are part of the Warm Home program, which brings together a group of elderly once every few weeks for a meal and socialization.
Chisinau (Kishinev), Moldova, 1997.
Visitors browsing at the OFEK Jewish Book Festival, a program of JCCs across the FSU
Tiraspol, Moldova, September 1998. Photograph: Roy Mittelman
An elderly Jewish woman receives a food package during a home visit
Needy elderly Jews were assisted with food, homecare, and medication.
Tsebrikovo, Ukraine, 2003. Photograph: James Nubile.
A Family Day celebration at the Yesod Jewish Community Center
The JDC-developed Jewish community center (JCC) network offers a pluralistic roof beneath which all elements of a Jewish community can find their place, anchoring Jewish life in the former Soviet Union both spiritually and physically.
St. Petersburg, Russia, March 2009.
Beyond Relief: JDC in Interwar Ukraine and Crimea
By 1920, war, revolution, and famine had left the newly emerged Soviet Union in chaos. JDC brought aid to impoverished Jews in the region, especially desperate after years of bloody pogroms and ongoing exclusion from any government services.
Exhibit
Everything Possible:
JDC and the Children of the DP Camps
Featuring historic photographs from the JDC Archives, focuses on JDC’s significant efforts on behalf of children in the displaced persons camps established by the Allied Armed Forces after World War II. JDC was permitted to enter the camps to supplement minimal provisions with critical nutritional, medical, educational, and religious services for survivors.
